Los Angeles, California

After leaving the desert, I drove to Los Angeles, California and had the pleasure of meeting up with Pete Halvorsen in Venice. He’s such a great guy and super talented photographer.

The next day I picked up Lauren and the kids at the airport and we spent an extended weekend on the west side of LA. These are a few photographs from Venice, Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach.

Nicaragua

Part I

Earlier this month we visited Nicaragua for the very first time.

It was different than any other family trip we have made to date.

While the landscape is beautiful, you can see and feel the economic hardship of the country. The country is extremely poor. In fact it is one of the poorest nations in the world, with 80% of the population living on just $2/day. Buildings were old and often in ruin. There is no train system. They had to sell the metal and trains for money years ago. The roads are narrow and bumpy. Most people walk, take the bus, or ride bicycles because cars and gas are too expensive. And yet the people were incredibly kind, giving and warm from the coasts to the rural communities to the cities. We were greeted with a friendly spirit everywhere.

The people in particular made a striking impression on all of us. Lauren researched the country before our arrival and discovered a program called Empowerment International. We visited the founder during our trip and met many of the students in the program. They are doing really incredible work and we made a donation and brought school supplies from the United States. If you want to make a donation you can do so here. I am still thinking about those kids.

On the plane heading home, Lauren kept saying how she wants to go back and see more of Nicaragua. I feel the same way.

(Part II here)

Anguilla, Part I

December 2015

We visited the island of Anguilla last week. It was our first visit and we had a wonderful time. The country is beautiful and the weather was as warm and lovely as the people.

(Camera: Hasselblad 503cw, Leica MP, Leica M3; Film: Kodak Portra 400 & Tri-X 400; Processed and Scanned: Richard Photo Lab)

Honey Pot Orchards

Honey Pot Hill Orchards with Ellie | October 2015

(My old Leica M3 has a pin hole in the shutter curtain. One down side owning a camera that is over 50 years old. Off to the repair shop).