Scenic Photos In My Backyard

 As a photographer, I’m all about presenting even tried-and-true destinations from a completely different perspective. I’m captivated by color and form. But, I don’t need to travel to locales that are far-afield. I find treasures right in my backyard — sometimes literally — as these images reveal. Of course, all my photos are available for purchase, whether as any occasion note cards or photo prints.

There are abundant botanicals to be found on New York City’s Roosevelt Island that’s a short tram ride from Midtown east.

These were the dramatically-hued leaves on my neighbor’s tree. 

After 15 mph winds, blowing most of those leaves off my neighbor’s tree, this is the picturesque scene nature left for me on my lawn.

I found this scene when I set foot on a wooden deck in the backyard of a tiny coffee shop in New York City.

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Gallery Showing My Photography

I’m so excited to be showing my winter landscape photography prints at the Brick Wall Gallery at Bar Dalia in Astoria. I’m joining four other awesome artists for the opening night party. If you’re in NYC, I’d love it if you could come by for the art and the drinks.

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New Collection: Any-Occasion Photo and Art Greeting Cards

 

After so many months of social distancing, giving an any-occasion greeting card with your personal message may be more important than ever before. I’m introducing my new collection of photo and art cards.

Each of my more than 2 dozen different any-occasion notecards (they’re blank inside) features one of my nature/landscape photos or paintings from my around-the-world travels. They are in limited supply — some images only have a quantity of 1 or 2 available so why not make it a surprise gift not knowing which image you’ll receive — and can be purchased singly or as a set of 5 or 12 different images, or as the entire collection. The note cards can be purchased here. 

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Travel Photography - Sea + Sky Landscapes

 After asking what’s my favorite destination —I love every place I visit for different reasons — most people want to know why I travel all over the world. Aside from my keen interest in learning about other cultures, there are myriad psychological benefits to traveling, including learning to be present centered, and developing resilience, skills that are especially useful in these days of the pandemic. Below are a few of my landscape photos from my round the world travels.

Traveling far afield — where the unknown resides around any corner — offers opportunities for resilience.

During these turbulent and challenging times, I strive for a sense of serenity, even if it lasts for only a moment.

Watching the ever changing shapes of clouds and the placid movement of the waters is a balm for the soul.

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Travel Photography - Pastoral + Mountainous Landscapes

 Whether I travel to far-afield locales or domestically, I often gravitate to non-urban environs. These are a few of my photographs that focus on some of my favorite subjects: sky, mountains and trees.

I derive a sense of comfort from nature.

Trails that thread through mountainous terrain into cozy villages and hamlets offer so many possibilities.

Unlike when I’m in most urban environs, when I’m traveling in the mountains, moody weather makes for a joyful experience.

The trees breathed energy into this bucolic scene that I wandered into.

Trees dominate my thoughts.

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Iceland - Reykjanes Peninsula - Photos

At this time, calming travel photos are welcome. Whenever I visit Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, I’m filled with peace and joy, surrounded by dramatic and pastoral landscapes — something I especially crave now.

Though the Reykjanes Peninsula is most noted for bustling Keflavik Airport, I roamed the landscape windswept seascapes and volcanic reminders. It’s  chock full of curious geological features. The second photo below shows off Gunnhver, a geothermal area where I strolled a boardwalk, surrounded by plumes of steam that pour from cracks in the earth. This area is named for Gunna, a female ghost that was said to plague the peninsula until she was thrown into a roiling hot spring. The thick clouds obscure much along the boardwalks, including any apparitions. .

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Any-Occasion Greeting Cards As We Self-Isolate

As we continue to self-isolate, many of us crave connections with others more than ever, to recapture some of the intimacies we had in the “before time” or maybe to reconnect with those we’ve lost touch with. Sure, we no long send cards and letters to friends and family whether to commemorate a special event or just to say “hi hi.” But at this time, receiving a handwritten card emblazoned with a landscape image that provides travel inspiration and satisfies some of our wanderlust might be especially appreciated. Each of my any-occasion greeting cards features one of my landscape, nature and travel photos from my around-the-world travels, including India, Corsica, Nicaragua and Israel.  Some of the cards are vertical and others are horizontal. (This montage represents a sample of the many photo images available.) They can be purchased singly or as a set of 5 or 12 or more different images. (When purchased, you’ll receive a random sampling of the number of cards desired.)

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Quebec Maritime Photo - 4

In Quebec Maritime in the village of Sainte-Flavie, some 100 wooden human-like sculptures pepper the shore of the Saint Lawrence River. The sculptures traverse the landscape from the water to the land, with some appearing and disappearing with the tide.

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Independent Art Fair - Video

I and a fellow artist, Oliver Correa as well as additional artists: Ash Fox, Cadence Hooks, Ari Fraser, Bibi Tran, Vanessa Burkly, and Marine Naotika recently showed our contemporary paintings, collage works and photography at two independent art fairs that we set up in New York City.  (Oliver showed several paintings of his dad, Alfredo Correa, a prominent Venezuelan artist.) It's something we hope to do several times a year. The fair was a big success, both for the congenial vibe as well as the networking options, and being able to get the word out about independent artists.

My photography prints that are mounted on board are for sale all year on my website . And, any additional photos from my Instagram feed are also available upon request.

This short video shows off some of the varied works from our art fairs.

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My Travel Photo Prints - Now on Sale

I'm offering photo prints from my round the world travels. 

Sizes vary -- and I can arrange custom printing -- but most are approximately 8" x 10" and are printed on foam board. 

And, because the holidays are approaching, anyone who purchases one photo print for $30 will get either a limited edition AngryJ t-shirt (sizes and colors are limited) or my Doc-in-a-Bag first aid kit organizer. Each represents a $25 value. And the offer is in effect until Christmas Eve 2016.

To purchase a photo print of your choice, click here. And, when you place your order, indicate whether you'd like the t-shirt or first-aid kit organizer. 

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All-Occasion Photo Greeting Cards

In a world that’s rife with texting and other non-intimate, digital experiences, there’s a lot to be said for reaching out to others the old fashioned way: in person, with a phone call or with hand written notes and letters. That’s why, a year ago, I created a line of any-occasion photo greeting cards. They’re blank inside, giving you plenty of room to personally connect with those who touch our lives all year long -- not just around the holiday season -- for life-affirming occasions such as a wedding, anniversary, birthday, job promotion, or for events that bring sadness, anxiety or depression, such as an illness, job firing, or death. Or perhaps you just want to say “hi hi” to let someone know you’re thinking of them.

Each card features a different image -- nature, landscape and travel images -- from my around-the-world adventures. Send them to friends, family and colleagues who are avid adventurers or those who prefer to travel from the comfort of their home. 

My collection now features 22 images from such places as Bosnia, Corsica, Nicaragua, Japan, Iceland and Thailand. (I'm introducing 10 new additions to my collection. A limited supply of the original 12 are still available.)

They can be purchased singly or as a set of 5 or 12 different images, or as the complete set of 22. 

The cards are on sale here.

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Travel Photo Greeting Cards For Every Occasion

To some of us, sending a greeting card seems so 19th century. Oh sure, you send a greeting card for the end-of-the-year holidays, maybe. But for the other occasions that touch those around us -- birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, a promotion, sickness, death and more -- we resort to showing a sense of intimacy or connectedness by what we have at hand: text message or e-card. What if, instead, you sent a friend or relative a physical card, one that exuded specialness because of the dramatic image on the cover as well as the message you handwrote inside? Try it sometime and see what reaction you get. I'll bet they'll recognize the time and energy it took to pick the card and write the message and then, of all time-intensive activities, actually address it and bring it to the mail box or post office.

I've been selling my line of all-occasion landscape and travel photo greeting cards. The time to think about recognizing those you love is throughout the year, not just around the end-of-the-year holidays, and not with an impersonal e-card. The stock of each of these cards is high-quality; the inside is blank, providing plenty of room to compose your greeting. And each of the 12 cards features a different photo from one of my many trips: the two below represent first Japan and then Bangkok. You can purchase them singly or the entire dozen. Hopefully we'll find that sending physical greeting cards isn't an extinct activity.

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Cool App To Frame Your Instagram Photos

Here today, gone tomorrow. That's what it sometimes feels like after uploading images to Instagram or Facebook. They  don't have any sense of permanence. My Instagram gallery includes many lovely, evocative images from my travels. And I've had people ask me if they could buy them framed to hang on their walls or to give as a gift to someone. There's an app for everything, right? Why not an app for getting your dreamy photos off your iPhone or iPad, have 'em framed to hang on your wall? Instantly Framed to the rescue.

chapel along the Camino de Santiago - credit: Jeanine Barone

This free app allows you to choose the image you want framed and one of several desired sizes (8x8, 6x6, 4x4, 4x6, 6x4) -- it recognizes the image quality, not allowing you to choose one larger than is reasonably possible, pixel-wise. Once you pay the $65, which includes free shipping, expect your beautifully framed -- it's handcrafted, sustainably-farmed walnut -- image in three business days. (The shipping in theh U.S. is free, too, except to Alaska and Hawaii. Your photo will be printed using archival inks on photo luster paper behind glass in a 12" by 12" frame.

The photo you see here now hangs on my wall and everyone who has seen it was impressed with the quality of the framing. It arrived in great condition and speedily. My only problem with the entire process was that that app kept on crashing because I'm on an older iPad. That being said, it was worth it and I would use the app again.

My readers will get $10 off their order by using the discount code: CITRAVELAUTHORITY10. It's valid through April 6. 

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50 Places of a Lifetime - National Geographic Traveler iPad App

National Geographic Traveler recently released their iPad app: 50 Places of a Lifetime and it provides everything you'd expect from this illustrious publication. This is the iPad travel app for those who want to dream with their eyes open. Who want to be inspired by jaw-dropping photographs. Who want to learn about creatures and cultures and curiosities.

You'll find that the 50 magical destinations are divided into five categories: Urban Spaces (Jerusalem, Istanbul +), Wild Places (Antarctica, Tepuis +), Paradise Found (Amalfi Coast +) Country Unbound (Danang to Hue +) and World Wonders (Easter Island, Angkor +). Once you select different categories and places, you'll be presented with evocative articles by luminaries that include Bill Bryson, Gore Vidal and Paul Theroux. (A cool bar at the bottom allows you to rapidly scroll through all the articles.)

Each article is accompanied by a check-mark icon that, once tapped, leads you to "your place of a lifetime" list. You can think of it as a bucket list -- a term I abhor. Instead, this one has two columns: one for the places you've already visited and the other for those you desire. Simply drag the photo of the place into either column. It could be used to boast about all the amazing places you've managed to visit or to show your friends and colleagues where you're planning or hoping to travel. (I dragged Mesa Verde, Tuscany and New Zealand's North Island into the Places I've Been category and added Tepuis along with Kerala, India and Angkor to my Places I Want to Visit column.

I found the interactives (videos, slide shows and photo galleries) the most captivating. (Clicking on another icon in the articles brings you to the photo gallery.) After all, these stunning images are all taken by some of the world's best photographers. A slide show on Vermont reveals a dense growth of sugar maples rimming a country road, forming a tunnel of foliage. But what makes it oh-so-lovely is that I can tap through the slides to see the exact same trees and road evolving through the seasons: the crimson reds of fall contrast with the icy snow-draped branches of winter. For Paris, the photo gallery depicts a series of images that are all about dogs: a terrier sitting atop of table in a brasserie, a poodle, standing against a Peugot. (It's all so French.) For San Francisco, a slide revealing a dim sum sampler -- mini octopus, shrimp dumplings -- sparked my appetite so much so that I was forced to order Chinese food for dinner that night.)

Among the video selections, I watched the Amazon at sunset, following the rippling waters, the clusters of birds nesting in tree branches, a tarantula attached to a tree trunk and a guide showing off a reptile specimen. The images are so intimate that I found my skin crawl when I spied the spider. In a video of the Alps, I had vertiginous views of an alpinist as he climbed up the Eiger to a soaring perch amongst the sweep of craggy peaks touched by a whisp of mist. My stomach dropped out from under me when he base jumped and the earth promptly fell away. For Istanbul, the video shows an ice cream man who's got his sales pitch down perfectly. (He entices passersby by tempting them -- and me -- with the stick traditional ice cream that he holds at the end of an enormously long metal rod.)

With all these treasured features, perhaps the most stellar is the wide 360º-panoramic images, such as the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde. (First you tap to enlarge the image, then you swipe, pinch and zoom in.) I swept my finger around the image of this the largest of the sandstone dwellings rapidly producing a dizzying view from the rooms set in the cliff side to the lip of the rocky overhang and up to the clouds and then back down to the ruins of the chamber-like rooms set in the floor. I felt like a bird sweeping over these ancient ruins. The 360-degree of the Grand Canyon had me flying from the waterfalls tumbling into the Colorado River to the striated cliffs above and up to the jagged crack in the Elves Chasm revealing the cerulean blue sky

I could go on, but I'll let you experience these 50 great places. You won't be able to take your eyes off the images and the words. As a travel app that stimulates your mind and warms your heart, it doesn't get much better than this.

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