Envision the World

The plumes on this bird are regal and magnificent. The colors of the feathers sporadically positioned to look like eyes create a near vertigo type of sensation to the viewer. This picture, taken by Scott Jarvie in Santillana del Mar, Spain is of a peacock.

The male peacock is generally always this ornate and attractive. And, that is the point. Peacocks must perform elaborate dances complete with bird karaoke to impress their female counterparts. It’s funny though, that these birds go to such lengths to impress the drab, unimpressive females. But, just as is the case with birds of paradise in New Guinea, years of competition and fickle females has evolutionarily made the peacocks feathers and courtship ritual more robust and intricate. The rituals for men and women are somewhat similar, except women generally are though of as the more beautiful ones. However, it is still the man that has to impress.

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Busy Month

August is a busy month for Me (Scott Jarvie) and Ian is in Brazil for the month.
I personally will be doing photo shoots all month long and that will keep me real busy.

Podcasts

We are going to postpone the podcasts until September.
Unless someone feels inclined to helping by editing the audio interviews.
In which case we could release a bunch more.

Blog Posts will continue

However we will write several more blog posts this month.

Writing for this Blog

We’d like to invite those that might be interested to write posts about different places and send them this way and we’ll review them and post them to the blog.

If you are really interested we are looking for consistent contributors/writers to join our team of authors to the blog.

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Today I wanted to discuss a place that is close to my heart.  It is called Morro Bay, California.  You may recall that Scott Jarvie and I passed through there on our big California road trip.  But for me it is more than just a pit stop.  I have been out there many times with friends and family.  My grandparents bought a beach house out there several years ago, and it has been my privilege to use it.  I have had several surf trips with friends, and have explored up and down the coast, loving every minute of it.

These next few pictures show a panoramic view from my grandparents’ beach house on a hill overlooking Morro Bay.  They are renovating it these days, so the view will be even better in the future.

In this shot you can see the peninsula full of dunes that stretches to Morro Rock.  The peninsula creates a nice bay and a great harbor for the city.

In this picture you can see the mouth of the Bay and the opening between Morro Rock and the peninsula.  You also start to see the smoke stacks of the power plant.

And there she is.  The power plant in all her glory.  The smoke stacks don’t really serve any purpose these days, and there is a big question that has been looming for the residents recently: “Keep them or knock them down.”  Some say they are nice and even historical, while others think they are an eye sore.  You choose.

Looking past the power plant to the storage tanks and generators and the big blue. (more…)

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This picture is quite inviting. It was taken in Brussels, Belgium by Scott Jarvie. The lamps seem to carry the light from the church down the path to the bench. Then, the bench gets its own lamp. The darkness of the evening are illuminated by amber hues and a faded gray sky. When I see the whole of it I want to have a good sit on the bench. Hypothetically speaking, there I would sit, framed by hedges, and enlightened by lamp light gazing off at the sky, my eyes wandering to the new nightly shapes made by the shadows of the church and its ornamental architecture. It makes one want to travel to Brussels.

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This is a picture of the Brazilian industrial capital of Sao Paulo.  And, generally when people think of it, they think, or at least I think, of tall buildings, endless urban sprawl, and the dirty river.  However, this picture creates a stark contrast to that mental image.  It was taken by Sean Bailey, and can be found on the Envision The World website.

I do not know all the sites below, but what you are seeing is the part of Sao Paulo and its outlying suburbs that grace the beautiful Paulista coast.  I would wager that the water is not particularly pristine, but it is beautiful, and as you leave the city, I’m sure it only gets better.  One of the better things about the water down there, despite what my Brazilian friends might say, is that the temperature is very comfortable.  It’s like bath water most of the year.  Contrast that with the frigid water of California, or the water around Boston or New York, and you’ve found paradise.  And this Brazilian paradise has all the amenities and expected opulence of a major world industrial capital.

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I couldn’t help but write a little something about this picture.  It was taken in Kilkenny, Ireland, by Sam Lambson, and whether he intended to or not, he found a whole lot of Irish flair.  In the foreground you can see some coaches looking anxiously at the Kilkenny County Championship Hurling match.  The two teams are St. Martins and Shamrock.  In the background over their heads you can see a rainbow.  In a lot of ways, the Irish are a very superstitious people and luck charms and curses abound in most of the country, and this particular day seems to be no exception.

Hurling is a Gaelic game that is played in both Scotland and Ireland, but is played primarily in Ireland.  It has prehistoric roots, and is the world’s fastest team field game.  The object of the game is to take the axe-shaped stick called a ‘hurl’ or ‘hurley’ and hit a small ball called a ’sliotar’ (pronounced slitt-er) in between the goal posts of the other team.  Without going into too much detail, the sport sounds pretty awesome and I’d like to get into it.  However, with only shoulder checking allowed, I might draw some bad calls, because as a former lacrosse player, I’m a fan of the full body check.

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I saw this picture and it almost seemed surreal.  I have seen paintings like it on the covers of fantasy books, but I never imagined that such a place could exist.  I don’t know how it came about, but it looks like a waterfall that might have been a manmade aqueduct at some point, or perhaps I’m just groping for some sort of explanation.  It is located in Caserta, Italy.  And, for the record I must say that Italy is one of the most mysteriously romantic and beautiful places I have ever seen through pictures.  There is so much history, art, and attitude there.  From Florence and the Medici’s to Rome and the Pope, to Venice and the merchants, it’s chock full of great things to see and explore.

Sam Lambson took this picture, so maybe he can shed a little more light on it.

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 Envisioning the Oregon Coast Episode 11 - Katherine Loveless: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this week’s episode (which was actually recorded a couple weeks ago) Scott and I talked about a few current events before we interviewed our guest. Only a short month ago a cyclone devastated Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and the military junta that controls the country did not allow enough foreign aid in to help its citizens. Thousands have died, and many are still in peril. To find out more click here. After that we discussed similar devastation, with a lot more help in Iowa with the flood that hit Cedar City. After our little stint with current events we jumped right into our fabulous discussion with Katherine Loveless about her photography, philosophy, and her pictures of the Oregon coast. She was in Oregon with her father to go to a workshop with renowned Bromoil artist, David Lewis.

For mp3 version of this episode click here

Katherine Loveless, the photographer

Ian and Katherine talk about a lake she camped near in Oregon

Katherine talks about why this picture of the crossed logs is a favorite

Katherine talks about the beach and the dead seal and the contrast of dark to light

Katherine talks about the people on the water and looking back on old photos; Scott agrees that there can be diamonds in the rough (more…)

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I’ve never been to South Africa. But, hopefully I will someday.

In this picture you can see a table in the foreground, and in the background you can see the famous mountain known as ‘Tabletop.’ The photographer was clever here. While it’s not your typical side view of Tabletop, I enjoyed the placement of a table in the picture. It helps identify what the subject is without being too explicit. And, given its notoriety, most people should be able to get it.

The picture was taken by Jacqueline Du Plessis. More of her work can be found on the Envision Project website.

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