Another year has come and gone faster than I imagined. As I reflect, there were many more good memories than bad. Most significant of all was marrying my wonderful wife. The rest, however, makes for a good list in any year: a new job at Kiva, the launch of Farmanac – my first iPhone app, a trip to Bali, three visits to British Columbia, and a great year of skiing in Tahoe and surfing at Ocean Beach. With so much of our attention constantly focused forward it’s great to take a minute and look back. Here is a brief recap of my 2011.
Bali – the word conjures up a vision of idyllic beaches, perfect surf, and terraced rice fields set to the backdrop of a rich Hindu culture. This fabled island was at the top of my list of desired destinations for many years. And in November I was fortunate enough to spend three weeks on the island with my new wife. She indulged me as I dragged her from one famous surf spot to the next. And in between my search for waves we explored Hindu temples, trekked through a rice field to find an organic restaurant, and ended our trip diving on the reefs off the island of Lombok.
But what we experienced on Bali was not a perfect island of exotic cultures and tropical beaches. It’s an island drowning in its own success. Its infrastructure is struggling to keep pace at the same time as the area is speeding towards becoming just another mass market holiday destination. The results seem almost inevitable with annual visitors to the small island topping two million. This influx of tourist dollars has become a doubled edged sword: the Balinese people enjoy the highest standard of living within Indonesia but are saddled with a grotesque boom of development. Traffic congestion and an epidemic of garbage are the two most visible problems but even more troubling is how the tourist industry dominates much of the southern Bali. For the locals the money that can be made in the tourist industry is far greater than that of almost any traditional avenue of employment. So tourism is king, around every corner and from each doorway a vendor is hawking something: “Boss, you want taxi?” “Yes, massage,” “Drink special.” The problems are beginning to get attention both in the media and by local officials. Hopefully this will lead to change, smarter development, better infrastructure, and a preservation of the unique culture found on Bali.
Great waves, a stunning sunset, even a rainbow. San Francisco’s Ocean Beach was at it’s best on the last day of the year. Lucky for you I snapped a few pictures.
A storm will blow for hours or days generating waves that will travel thousands of miles eventually breaking on some far off coast. On that journey a wave will hardly shift the position of any of the water molecules it carries. Only the energy of the wind travels, not the water around it. As a surfer I’ve been tossed every which way by waves. Depending on the force, it can slam you into the ocean bottom or calmly lap over your board. One second you’re riding on top of one, or pushing through one, and the next second that wave has broken, it’s gone.
After six weeks of traveling through both the north and south islands of New Zealand I managed to take over 1500 pictures. And even with all those gigs of photos I still managed to miss some of the most memorable scenes I came across.
We stumbled into Havana with a barley passible vocabulary of Spanish phrases, a copy of Lonley Planet Cuba, and two cameras. Our nebulous plan involved wandering the streets, snapping photos, and soaking in this forbidden country.
Freelancing has its advantages, one of which is the ability to travel and live in places that you wouldn’t normally have access to while working a typical office job. Currently 2 Out of Three is half way through a two month stint in Santa Cruz.
New Mexico has an alarmingly high number of natural & health food markets including the standards like Whole Foods and Wild Oats, the smaller local varieties as well as the international Talin Market.
At it’s best art gets us to consider ourselfs and others within the world around us. With that in mind photography is a direct medium that can be used to hold a mirror up to the world around us.
Last weekend I headed down to Grouse Mountain and did some night riding for Mel’s birthday. Grouse is located in the mountains around the city of Vancouver giving an amazing view of the skyline while you enjoying some night skiing.
Little things like icons and graphics turn a web site into a memorable browsing experience. The next time you’re looking into a new product that you might purchase take a look at the company’s web site and look at their visuals.
Last week we packed up the 2 Out of Three design studio and moved our operation north to Whistler, BC. The trip went smooth and a few days after saying goodbye to our San Francisco home we made the border crossing at the Peace Arch.
New Mexico is dry and dominated by the colors brown, red, and yellow. I learned that and a few others thing over the past five days while I was visiting my Mom in Albuquerque. My sister Yasha also joined us for a few days making a family reunion out of it.
Hiking is an activity I’ve been overlooking a great deal in the past few years. As a kid my father would take my sister and I for regular hikes in the East Bay hills, occasionally we would even motivate to get over to Marin and explore a coastal trail.
I’ve been an employee at EA for a longer period of time than I was in high school. But all good things must come to an end and today is my last day. As for me, I’ve decided there are some new challenges and growth opportunities outside my cube.
Conde Nast Traveler is having a “Live The Cover” great travel memories contest. You upload a photo and an explanation of what made that moment so unforgettable. Having done my fair share of traveling and photography over the past
Kenny has been in Montreal this summer, which gave me a good excuse for a visit. We spent most of our timing walking around the city exploring everything from the cobble stone streets of Old Montreal to the nightlife of Boulevard Saint-Laurent.
Green Apple books, a sustainable brick and motor store with the qualities to compete with the modern online shopping experience. Without fail every time I’m in their store I overhear, the familiar sentiment, “I could spend all day in here”.
I spent a recent weekend in Albuquerque visiting my Mom. The weekend was spent visiting with the animals on the farm, going on short walks in the high desert and even getting up over 10,000 feet on the worlds longest aerial tramway. Check out the photos I took with my new lens.
Being injured is a difficult thing, especially when your sport is nature dependent like surfing. Last weekend things warmed up in San Francisco and the surf look pretty good. Unfortunately, I’ve been nursing a bad back so I was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch. Luckily for me my highly anticipated new camera [...]
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