Feb. 6, 2010 at 3:55pm with 56 notes View comments
a sense of placeasoptumblr52tumblr52-5weathering the stormphotography
One might decide to focus on the damage, which would lead one to the conclusion that this house failed to weather the storm. I choose to focus on the fact that it’s still standing. Unconquered. (large)

One might decide to focus on the damage, which would lead one to the conclusion that this house failed to weather the storm.

I choose to focus on the fact that it’s still standing. Unconquered.

(large)

Jan. 24, 2010 at 10:44pm with 33 notes View comments
asopa sense of placegrenadacaribbeanphotography
Behold the spice market in Saint George’s, Grenada. Click here for a much larger version of the photo. You’ll see that the background is simply drowning in wonderful detail. Just looking at those shelves makes me crave nutmeg, pepper, curry and cocoa. Though not simultaneously (ew) and not necessarily in that order.

Behold the spice market in Saint George’s, Grenada. Click here for a much larger version of the photo. You’ll see that the background is simply drowning in wonderful detail. Just looking at those shelves makes me crave nutmeg, pepper, curry and cocoa. Though not simultaneously (ew) and not necessarily in that order.

Jan. 3, 2010 at 11:51am with 34 notes View comments
caribbeanphotographyhomesickasopa sense of place
This building is located in Saint David’s, Grenada and it’s called Natural Works. It’s kind of a restaurant and kind of a museum. On September 7, 2004, Hurricane Ivan passed through as a Category 5 storm and about 90% of the structures on the island lost their roofs in the wind. Natural Works was no exception. It has since been rebuilt. While I was living in Grenada, there were, to my knowledge, five other expats who kept websites. Most of them had something to do with the American medical school as Saint George’s University. But not the guy who calls himself Modern Day Gilligan. His right name is Joshua Yetman, and he’s from Minnesota, but married to a lovely lady from Trinidad and so ended up living in Grenada. His work is earthshatteringly beautiful. All the more so for me, I’m sure, because of my emotional connection. I mean, empirically speaking the images are simply stunning. But they probably won’t make YOU cry. It’s all so familiar, yet so remote, and while I certainly did not for a second expect that life would stop once I left… It’s kind of like when I went back to Cornell five years after graduation and discovered that the house I’d lived in junior and senior year had been razed and replaced with a ten-story apartment complex. I’ve been aware of his photoblog for ages but I hadn’t looked at it recently. Then this morning I stumbled across his Flickr. I wept when I saw the shots he got of this year’s Spicemas (Carnival) festivities. This one, of the Shortknee characters, is my favorite, but the entire set is lovely. Anyhoo. The reason for this overlong caption is that I really wanted to post his photo here, but I did not want to do so without contacting him first, but I also couldn’t bear to wait. So click the link. Go and look. Do it. I try to speak carefully about this. I’ve been spoiled. Most people never walk through this kind of beauty. This degree of color, the kind of color that always looks wet, that makes “vibrant” sound like a pale, hollow word. So please don’t think for a second that I’m complaining. I’m still pretty young and I’ve already gotten to enjoy the kind of life that most people only reach in their retirement fantasies. I know that. That I’m lucky. But I also know that the thousands of photos I took are not enough for me. I want more. And I will always want more. A million would not be enough.

This building is located in Saint David’s, Grenada and it’s called Natural Works. It’s kind of a restaurant and kind of a museum. On September 7, 2004, Hurricane Ivan passed through as a Category 5 storm and about 90% of the structures on the island lost their roofs in the wind. Natural Works was no exception. It has since been rebuilt.

While I was living in Grenada, there were, to my knowledge, five other expats who kept websites. Most of them had something to do with the American medical school as Saint George’s University. But not the guy who calls himself Modern Day Gilligan. His right name is Joshua Yetman, and he’s from Minnesota, but married to a lovely lady from Trinidad and so ended up living in Grenada. His work is earthshatteringly beautiful. All the more so for me, I’m sure, because of my emotional connection. I mean, empirically speaking the images are simply stunning. But they probably won’t make YOU cry. It’s all so familiar, yet so remote, and while I certainly did not for a second expect that life would stop once I left… It’s kind of like when I went back to Cornell five years after graduation and discovered that the house I’d lived in junior and senior year had been razed and replaced with a ten-story apartment complex.

I’ve been aware of his photoblog for ages but I hadn’t looked at it recently. Then this morning I stumbled across his Flickr. I wept when I saw the shots he got of this year’s Spicemas (Carnival) festivities. This one, of the Shortknee characters, is my favorite, but the entire set is lovely.

Anyhoo. The reason for this overlong caption is that I really wanted to post his photo here, but I did not want to do so without contacting him first, but I also couldn’t bear to wait. So click the link. Go and look. Do it.

I try to speak carefully about this. I’ve been spoiled. Most people never walk through this kind of beauty. This degree of color, the kind of color that always looks wet, that makes “vibrant” sound like a pale, hollow word. So please don’t think for a second that I’m complaining. I’m still pretty young and I’ve already gotten to enjoy the kind of life that most people only reach in their retirement fantasies.

I know that. That I’m lucky. But I also know that the thousands of photos I took are not enough for me. I want more. And I will always want more. A million would not be enough.