Thinking of Florence and missing the magic...

Have you ever been to a place that does more than get under your skin?  Have you ever woken up to the morning bells of a dozen churches and been able to honestly tell yourself "I am happier here than I have been, would be or could be anywhere else?" That is what Florence, Italy means to me.  Of all the places I have been, it is the one where I felt least like a stranger.  To the contrary, I felt a part of it from the moment I arrived.  The people I met, the places I visited and the monumental relics of art and history to which I stood witness all beckoned me forward instead of pushing me away.

It has been just over two years since I was in Florence.  I've wanted to go back ever since, but can just never get the time and funds to align to make a proper trip there possible.

But I still have my memories.

Locking my camera away in an effort to literally avoid putting anything between myself and the city.

Clambering up campanile steps in a blind zeal to see the city by morning's light.

Botticelli's Venus hanging in the Uffizi; bigger than I thought it would be.

Being taught how to properly pronounce nocciola (hazelnut) at the Gelato Festival.

Walking across the Arno on one of the city's many bridges to watch the sun set from the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Getting lost on the way back from the sunset and seeing the southwest neighborhoods come to magical life in a manner rivaling scenes from Midnight in Paris.

That beautiful girl behind the counter at the pizza shop.

Michele, the hilarious shop owner near the duomo who always demanded a kiss, like a blustery Southern aunt.

Mirko, the architecture student who moonlighted as a waiter.  He emailed me a year later to that I photograph his wedding...I wish it had worked out.

Michelangelo's David, tall and proud in the Galeria dell'Academia.  I swear he was breathing.

Kissing the cold marble of the duomo when it was time to leave.

Myself.  Alone and quiet, entirely at peace and completely content to move through the city on booted feet, and simply bear witness to it.

Florence is magical.

Proof my business card!

As I continue to rebrand my online presence, I am also changing up my business cards.  Part of this is because I want to seek out a different kind of business (editorial and journalistic as opposed to the last couple of years' focus on glitzy portraiture), and also because I am simply exasperated with the reaction I receive when I give my current business card to older prospective.  They see featured headshot of my good friend Kimber Lee , and their first remark, either out of an attempt at humor or just missing the point, is without fail: "that ain't you." Eh, I just put it down to a generational gap.

Be that as it may, I want to avoid such problems in future conversations by choosing an image which has broader appeal and is more representative of the travel and journalistic photographs which have typified my portfolio choices for the past couple of years.

As part of this process, I want your help proofing this new card.  Be brutally honest and let me know if there is anything I left out, or anything unique that you feel should be incorporated.

For taking the time to help, I offer many, many internet high-fives.  Thanks in advance!

New Photography Hub: "Travel Photography: Practicing close to home for stellar images abroad."

I've been writing about photography on Hubpages again! In this latest article, I return to the subject of travel photography, going over the skills which every good travel photographer needs to have, as well as how they can develop their skills when not abroad. Give it a read and feel free to contribute your own tips and experiences! Travel Photography: Practicing close to home for stellar images abroad.

Travel photography requires certain skills.  A good travel photographer needs those skills to produce the best travel photography possible.  This article provides advice and ideas on how to practice skills necessary for travel photography before ever leaving home.

Annie is a graduate! - Pensacola Graduation Photography

Graduation photography is a blast, but college itself is an interesting thing.  More than just an avenue for making new friends, but it also has a way of bringing old acquaintances back together. I knew Annie years ago.  We went to church together, but we never talked much.  Then I arrived at the University of West Florida found out that our majors were in the same department.  We had quite a few classes together and became friends in the process.

We both graduated as undergrads few weeks ago, and Annie wanted to commemorate the event with some photos in her cap and gown.  As the designated friend with a camera, I made sure she had some good ones.  We shot photos from Pensacola Beach to UWF, covering everything from the scenic beaches to the stage where Annie performed and etched in University theatre productions.

Congrats, Annie!

Visual India

Last weekend, I joined with some friends for a night of Indian food and a screening of the Criterion release of The Darjeeling Limited on blu-ray.  It was a fun night all the way around.

After traveling to India several times, (always working, never for simple tourism), I've become very attached to Indian culture.  I'm certainly not an expert, but I enjoy the food, the art, the history, and most of all, speaking with the people there.  One is hard-pressed to find kinder, gentler and more interesting people than those who live in India.

India has become popular in America over the past few years.  I think that mass notice of Bollywood and its surrounding culture has had something to do with that it.  Personally, Bollywood song-and-dance films are [very] far from my favorite genre of cinema, but I do enjoy the energy they convey.  India is incredibly well-suited for such an indigenous film industry, because the country is so amazingly visual.

The visual beauty of India almost belies the poverty and grittiness of what everyday life is really like there.  The people are so colorfully arrayed, the landscape is so varied and the traditional architecture is so nuanced that it is harder to attain bad imagery than good imagery in such an environment.

I think that its sheer visual beauty has led to many Americans falling in love with the idea of India without ever facing the country itself.  I said as much to a German backpacker I spoke to at the Delhi airport earlier this year.  She was going home after several weeks in Goa, and she said to me "I don't see many Americans traveling in India.  Why do you think that is?"

Given the amount of business we do in India, I was surprised that Americans seemed underrepresented in a vacation hotspot like Goa, but I could understand why, and said as much in my response.

"I think that most Americans like the idea of India--the colors and the food.  They just aren't too crazy about the smell."

Possibly a harsh thing to say, but I still feel it to be true on principle.  India is a shocking country to visit upon one's first arrival into a nation where the air smells like burning cow dung as much as it smells like cinnamon.

But the sheer beauty of the country, and the beauty of soul which shines out of the eyes of its people, will charm any visitor into submission.  I was reminded of this while watching The Darjeeling Limited last night.  It made me excited that Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens in American theaters this week.  It made me ecstatic to return to India myself later this year.

The beauty of India can almost be called a gateway drug to the culture.  There is poetry in its harsh landscape and simple country dwellings.  India's cultural fabric is a frenetic tapestry of crowded streets and heart-stopping traffic; shouts of the street vendors, passive-aggressive inquiries from beggars and blindingly white smiles from inquisitive children.  The paradoxical contrast and cohesion of all these elements make it a country which lures in the curious and claims them for its own.  Whether by force of charm or the underlying mystery which such a culture presents to outsiders, India is an experience.

The principal characters in The Darjeeling Limited are so representative of how visitors are affected by the country.  That's one of the reasons why I love the film so much.

Francis (Owen Wilson) goes to "have an experience," but his purposeful strides from temple to temple, punctuated by side-trips for power adapters and painkillers hold him back from actually experiencing anything until he abandons his control issues by the end of the film..

Jack (Jason Schwartzman) distracts himself with his girlfriend in Europe and a temporary fling with a train attendant.  He allows his more carnal impulses to distract him from the larger picture of what is going on around him.  He allows the specific to totally detract from a full perspective.

And in the middle of it all is Peter (Adrien Brody), who seeks out novelties like a child, all the while resisting the responsibilities of being a father which await him at home.  He matures by the end of the film, but one wonders how he ever expected to get a cobra through customs.

As an American, it is my responsibility to represent my country and my fellow Americans in a positive way.  After all, we have set ourselves up as the guardians of world democracy, and it's the least we can do to be pleasant and teachable.  We cannot allow inconvenience, different or expectation to hold us back from visiting countries like India.

The world is huge.  Just think about it!  Consider the varying climates and cultures in India, China, Egypt, Germany, Britain!  And many people are content to spend their entire life living in one city, considering travel to be "for other people;" perhaps to be reserved as a reward given to one's self when too old to fully enjoy the experience.

Never settle for the sedentary life.  The world is there for a reason.  See it.  And visit India first.