More Faces from India

People from India

Quoting the authors of the Lonely Planet travel guide of India 2009 “nothing can fully prepare you for India, but perhaps the one thing that best encapsulates this extraordinary country is its ability to inspire, frustrate, trill and confound all at once”. Dirty, annoy, polluted, chaotic, noise, too many people, an enigma, extraordinary, multidimensional, cultured, dynamic, doesn’t smell very good, out of control, traditional, spiritual, you named it. After all it did not take me too many days to felt in love. For me India is a very sublime and powerful country, and I cannot wait to go back.

Mostly of my traveling was in Rajasthan – the land of kings. I traveled the maharaja circuit (Agra, Jaipur, Puskhar, Udaipur, Jodpur, Jaisalmer). India at it most evocative; some people say. The Mughal heritage, the great Thar desert with its incredible fortifications, and colorful cities, saris and turbans. Countless bazaars selling Indian spices, fabrics, arts and crafts, and lots of food.

But what really marked my wandering through India was it’s people and how friendly and resilient they are. For me it was exhilarating to be in this country. It was a dream  to go there and to photographed such beautiful people. Here are some of them.

Art for Haiti Benefit Exhibition

I am honored to be part of the group show at Jose Vera Fine Art & Antiques titled "Art for Haiti" Benefit Exhibition located in Eagle Rock, CA.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude. 3 million people had been affected and after one year the death toll is more than 316.000 people. If it was not enough the cholera outbreak has spread to every part of the country. Haitians still need our help.
Even though my images are not from Haiti, they reflect Haitian heritage and the African influence in the Americans.

Santiago de Cuba - Cuba

Title: Carnival - Probably the most important celebration of the African Diaspora in the Americans

Havana - Cuba

Title: Chess and Rum - "Slaves were the first to discovered that molasses, a by -product of the sugar  can be fermented into alcohol". (Wikipedia)

Bahia - Brazil

Title: Bahiana - The African influence in Brazilian race and culture

Big Cypress Swamp

In my recently trip to Miami I decided to drive to the Big Cypress Swamp National Preserve in the subtropical Florida. It is not only the home of the great fine art photographer Clyde Butcher, and the natives of America Miccosukee and the Seminole. The wet cypress forest is the homeland of a very diverse flora and fauna. The land is made up of marshes, prairies, mangrove forests, orchid, alligators, mixed hardwood hammocks and a variety of birds among others. Today the park is covered mostly by dwarf pond cypress. The remained giant cypress or bald cypress (not too many thanks to the lumber industry) can live up to 600 years old. They are very popular in the Southern states and they are know for their shape, Spanish moss and buttress trunk. The following pictures were taken with a 35mm digital camera and unfortunately they don't show the beauty and details of this amazing place.

Spanish Moss

Bald Cypress

Looks like a bird nest but it is a Bromeliad

Cool product shots

I want to share with you some product images that I created with a good friend and photographer from Nepal, Sanjay Karki. We had a great time exchanging ideas and we had a lot fun by the difficulties of some of our chosen products. Product photography can be very complicate and it requires a lot skills. It was very challenging to light and to control some of the reflection. After a lot hours re-touching we were very happy. Our images look very cool. Here they are:

Lacoste Perfume

Pasta Machine

Lazy Fish

Wristwatch

Cappuccino

Red Sandal

Wine Tasting In Baja, California

It may sounds weird but yes la tierra de la tequila and bear grows and produces good wine. Not very far from Los Angeles is the scenic Guadalupe Valley in the Northern part of Baja. La ruta del vino is growing fast and becoming a fun and unusual wine destination. With a perfect climate ideal to grow grapes the small but promising wine industry, Mexico is already exporting world-class wine. The country is participating, and winning international competition.

 

This is my second wine-tasting trip to the Valley. I am not a wine connoisseur, but we tested some good wine. The most common grapes found here are Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard and Chardonnay among the whites, and Cabernet, Merlot, Nebbiolo and Trempranillo among the reds. Our trip was fun and not very challenger. Off course it is an assent if you speak Spanish, and if you don’t mind to drive dirty surface roads since most of the wineries are accessible only by dirty. It is not Tuscany but definitely a fun and adventurous trip with lots of Mexican charm. The casual, intimate atmosphere is the real attraction at Guadalupe Valley.

 

The Mexican wine industry began with the Spanish, who brought vines from Europe. In the 1900 with an influx of Russian immigrants into the area, the production grew. They cultivated grapes for wine and encouraged others to do the same. Most winery still young but today Mexican wine can be found in approximately 38 countries.

Highway 3 toward Tecate is the Wine Route. This scenic road cuts through the valley, and it is lined with vineyards, olive orchards, farms and all kinds of tacarias. Even a Russian bakery with its famous empanadas and breads can be found in downtown Guadalupe. Mostly of the wineries are small family owned and mostly of the time the person who is pouring your wine is the owner himself.

Our first stop was at Vinos Bibayoff, the only winery in Barra with Russian tradition.  At La Fuente Winery we tried a delicious Trempranillo wine; a variety of black grape, full-bodied wine native from Spain. The biggest winery is L.A. Cetto, founded by Italian immigrants. They are the largest producer of Nebiollo wines in the world outside Italy, and they export 60% of their production. Even Cuba gets a test of it.

I really like their classic white wine blanc de blancs. A mixture of 50% Colombard and 50% Chenin Blanc. Light yellow with fresh citric smell and flavors that confirm its fruity character. A delicious wine to enjoy with friends in a beautiful sunny day.