being there elsewhere

I find I'm taking a camera, and sometimes a laptop, with me more frequently when I travel now. Sometimes I consciously chose not to take a camera - for a variety of reasons - but I almost always carry pad and pencil. Drawing rather than photographing demands a more leisurely pace. Taking a camera along creates all kinds of concerns; one being just another bloody tourist with a camera. I enjoy taking my Nikon Coolpix camera along however; it's unobstrusive and its ablility to swivel the lens relative to the body makes casual, non-invasive photography a breeze. I peruse my travel photos quite often, more often than I read the written journals, and have fun with them. I hope you enjoy these glimpses of my travels, some near and some further.

Is there a country more photogenic than Cuba? I travelled with a 35mm SLR and thirty rolls of film. I didn't know how Cuban Customs would react to a digital camera and a laptop. Turns out I needn't have worried about the digital equipment. I shot lots of film in Havana, Baracoa, Trinidad de Cuba and Santiago de Cuba. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cuba. I look at the photos and dream of returning ....

I wore my feet out walking around the streets of New York. And I certainly didn't see it all. Never even left Manhatten. Every time I turned around the contrasts, the immensity and the energy spurred me on, until finally my feet gave out and I left the city for the tranquillity of the countryside of upstate New York.