Maldives - Beautiful Sunset II

Around 6PM each evening, guests at the Holiday Inn Resort on Kandooma Island would gather on the roof deck to reflect on the day, drink cocktails, and watch the sky light up. For surfers, it was a time to rest/recover and talk about all the amazing waves they rode. For couples, it was a time to be together and enjoy the last few hours of the day. Regardless of who you were or what you were doing, the free show that Mother Nature put on each night was worth the daily resort fees.

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 4 "La Fin"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 3 "Seeing Red"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 2 "The Orange Phase"

Sunset at Butterfly Beach - Part 1 "The Beginning"

The Wonderful World of Santa Barbara - Sunset Over the Mesa

Relaxing on the Santa Barbara pier as the sun dips over the Mesa.

Peru - "The Surf" - The Cape

Just around the corner from Chicama is another amazing point break called "The Cape". The Cape will always be bigger than Chicama, but it is usually less powerful (and less crowded). Local fisherman claim that you can actually get a ride from the Cape all the way through Chicama... which would equal a ride of about 2.5 miles long. I didn't see this when I was there.

I liked having the boat driver take me to the Cape first, where I would catch my first "warm up wave"... and then drift over to Chicama to catch my second wave (which is just out of frame to the right). The only problem surfing at the Cape was the gigantic jellyfish floating around.

If you look out into the distance, you can see a little stump of an island. There is actually another point break off that island, but no one seems to surf it.

(recommend clicking on the photos to see them in full size)

Float On

I really liked the perspective and lighting of this photo... was actually rather surprised when I first saw it. The cherry blossoms looked like they were floating. 

The Daytime Calm at Djemma el Fna

One of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna (in Marrakech, Morocco). The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, snake charmers, water sellers, dancers and musicians (who all want your money). By night food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant.

Reflections and Water

Was trying to play with the shadows and create a "moody" feel for this picture. I like how it came out. This particular picture was taken back in November towards the end of the fall season. The John W Weeks Footbridge is in the background (construction had just started).

"Back Lit" New Hampshire

I took this photo towards the end of the day at a "semi-secret" surf spot in New Hampshire (can't consider surf spots to be fully secret when they have names and a parking lot). Regardless, this spot only breaks well when the waves are overhead in size (which does not happen to often). There are a bunch of jagged rocks and boils on the inside... and the waves need to be big enough to clear the rocks. Anyways, I liked the lighting and color of this photo. Thought it looked unique.

Shorts Sands Symmetry

Nothing too special about this image... I just liked the symmetry and angles that the sidewalk and lampposts made. Photo was taken at a little beach community in York, Maine (Short Sands).

End of Day Beach Scene

The end of the day at little cove in Maine. I really liked the deep blue color of the sky.

Beach Plants

For some reason, there are always interesting plants at the beach (that you don't see anywhere else). They seem to be a bit tougher and grittier than the normal plants. Here is one such example of a plant found on the beaches of Maine.

Driftwood & Rope

Relaxing on the rocks overlooking Long Sands beach in York, ME... enjoying the sunset after a long day of surfing and eating lobster.

Chicago Architecture

View from hotel room at Affinia (if you look really close, you can see me in the building reflection). It's kind of crazy to think that even though I'm on the 29th floor, I'm still surrounded by buildings twice as tall.

So... I meant to walk around the city of Chicago on Friday to do some shopping and take some pictures... but it was black Friday and the streets were INSANELY packed with shoppers, protesters, religious preachers, and street performers. I didn't make it out of a two block radius. Nonetheless, I still think I managed to capture some interesting pictures. Enjoy!

Sunrise Descent to ORD

Look closely at the shoreline and you can see smoke coming out of a nuclear power plant. This is the Indiana/Michigan side of the lake.

On an American flight from BOS to ORD. The series of photos here document the sunrise descent to ORD... first, flying over lake Michigan and then going past the city of Chicago. One of the reasons I like taking the 6AM flight to Chicago (other than the fact that it's the least likely to be delayed), is that you can see dramatic sunrises like this (just need to sit on the left hand side of the plane). 

Right now I'm about halfway over Lake Michigan. The center of the lake was covered in fog.

First glimpse of the Chicago skyline as we come out from the fog.

The city had a bit of a haze over it on this particular morning... and since the sun was still at such a low angle, it was casting shadows in the haze (behind the buildings). I thought it was a cool effect.

Art Deco - Miami Style

Miami is famous for its "art deco" style... and one of the tours that seems to be the most popular with tourists is the "art deco walk". Everywhere I walked in the city, some shop was advertising this type of tour. I'm not quite sure why people actually pay money for stuff like that. If you just wander around the city on your own, you're surrounded by those types of buildings... and you do not need to pay anyone to look at buildings. Anyways, these are a few pictures I took while wandering around Miami.

As I sit in my apartment in New England, I miss the warmth and sunshine.