Feeling short, standing tall

The ant's eye view of the Monteverde Natural Preserve. Here I am. Waiting for you.

Peek- A- Boo

I admit to my addiction to El Alhambra.



3 days away from home and being in your arms again.

View from the bus window...

After eliminating the funny blue tint of my bus seat window, I managed to salvage this shot of the mountain. It's calling me to climb it and take a picture from the top, but I don't think my little lungs would let me.

In the far off distance...

Before we went to watch flamenco in the caves, we had a guided night tour of El Albaicín, the Muslim neighborhood, which means, your house, in Arabic. We also got the chance to take shots of El Alhambra from a romantic ledge. I know someone would have had a field night with this one.

Wrong Side Up?

Another shot from El Alhambra, which I couldn't get enough of...Here's a reflection of the facade in one of the various fountains. Hope I get to come back here again someday.

Way Overhead

Watch out! Ceiling made to imitate stalactites. We learned that Muslims weren't allowed to make statues of animals or people for fear of not reaching paradise, with their souls captured and imprisoned on Earth. They worked with geometric and nature's shapes instead. Did I mention I love El Alhambra?

El Alhambra

We went to El Alhambra in Granada today. It pretty much blew my mind. I wish I could take this home and put it in my backyard One week from being home.

Wandering Madrid

We were looking for the arts and crafts in Plaza de la Condesa but we never found it. We just walked the streets in the 98 degree weather. I want Heaven too.

I'm here. You're there. Let's do lunch.

Holy Smokes

It's the Rebirth of Spain today, meaning the beginning of the rebellion against the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. We went to El Valle de los Caídos today and we saw the wonderful monument/ church they placed in honor of those who fell during the Spanish Civil war.

Allan on green

Yep. Def. need to find a new model.

Allan on the stairs

So my new umbrellas came in, and Allan became the guinea pig once again. I think this one turned out rather nicely, actually. There's just the kick light (visible), and another flash shot through a white umbrella on a stand above and camera right.

No Better Pear

I walked into the cafeteria at Casa do today for some nice Spanish breakfast. Much to my surprise, there were these adorable pygmy pears. I was hesitant to try them, but Emily told me they were good and San Pedro told me they were ricas [delicious]. That's me and my Mattom reborn as fruits.

El Museo de Reina Sofia

I went to El Museo de Reina Sofia and saw the awesome works of Dalí, Goya, especially La Guernica and Moró. This was the entrance into the collection of contemporary art. I also got suckered into buying some tiny pieces of art...postcards and a matching game of Dalí works. Tourist stuff gets me EVERY time.

Sunset in the T-W backyard

Unfortunately the forest does not make for the best view...

Beware: Trolls

Happy Birthday, Emily! I don't know where she got the hammer from, but breaking and entering are definitely against the law in Spain. I didn't know if I should call the policia or the billy goats' gruff.

Hoh Daiko

Another shot from Sunday. I think her name was Amanda?

NY Obon - Soh Daiko

This woman, from Soh Daiko, was one of the most (if not the most) energetic of the group! Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of her somersault : /

Toledo, España

We stayed overnight at Toledo to get some peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of Madrid. Emily and I had wandering the streets, narrow and winding up and down the wild terrain. I wish we had a donkey to ride on.

NY Obon - Hoh Daiko

Today was the New York Buddhist Temple's annual Obon Festival at Bryant Park, NYC. Two local taiko groups performed, Hoh Daiko from Seabrook, NJ, and Soh Daiko from New York.

They both gave very good performances, and we got to meet with members of both groups after Hoh Daiko performed. It was lots of fun : )

The above is Karl (IIRC) from Hoh Daiko, who gave me plenty of good picture moments, especially with his solo.

Capes, Gore and Swords...Oh My!

I went to the Plaza de Toros in Ventas, Madrid tonight. It was more athleticism and action than I had anticipated. Did you know that 40,000 bulls are killed each year in Spain. And 200 victims fall victim during the bulls' being teased and provoked into submission? Ole!

Toledo NOT Ohio, Spain

We went Toledo today, the city of convivencia between the Christians, Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages. I liked La Puerta del Sol the most. I played peek - a- boo with the sun there.

Kelly

Also from Tara's party. I had set one light up on a tripod at a corner of the pool and held another one on my opposite side so I was shooting between them.

Second lesson learned tonight - it's alot harder to focus in almost-pitch-black with no AF-assist! (the pool actually had a light shining on it, thank god, but the rest of the backyard was alot darker)

Sonia and Billy

So tonight the high-school crew had a small gathering at Tara's grandmother's house. While some people went in the pool, the rest of us hung around and talked. I took this opportunity to snap a few pictures in the process.

First lesson learned from tonight - it's alot harder to light two people than to light one (especially if they have dissimilar complextions!)

AV-D57

So a few days ago, when there were some storms in our area, our surround sound reciever in the library decided to stop working. It would only show a red light, and would make a clicking noise whenever you tried to turn it on. After some tinkering, I finally made it work again. Took about... 15 minutes or so.

Chaos's Niece

Chaos grooming his niece (whose name escapes me atm) at the family's 4th of July BBQ.

Where's the pajarito verde?

We were walking in the park on our way to the supermarket and an orange nearly fell on my head. This friendly little fellow lost grip of his lunch.

T-W House, in the middle of the night

So in the middle of the night, there aren't too many people awake to model. The downsides of being nocturnal... Also, one of these days those weeds will get cut.

Segovia, El Alcazar

This picture is pretty fresh, Alcazar in the midafternoon light. Hopefully this freaking internet connection stays open enough to load...Stuck on an island with weak wireless. Less than 26 days till I get back home.






and your name is baby =]

La Luz y La Sombra

This picture isn't from today, but it's an under the desk shot of Emily "studying." We like to burn that midnight oil.

T-W Network

The T-W network center in the basement, complete with new sexy router.

El desfile de Orgullo 2008: Madrid, España

I heart Spain for not having gratuitous nudity laws or crowd control. The Orgullo parade was awesome, we got there late but still managed to take some awesome shots of the people marching.

Nicole and Rob, at Nicole's House

Probably my favorite picture of the night. While playing Mario Kart on the Wii, the camera was passed around to whoever was not playing. I was going to take a shot of just Nicole, but after going "Ahhh! No! Get one of me and Rob!", they posed for a quick shot. Then I went back to beating people in Mario Kart.

The rest are at http://photos.mtwstudios.com/summer08/080705_nicoles/ .

and your name is baby : )