Statue of Turkmenbashi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (2004) When I visited Turkmenistan in 2004, I struggled to put into words my emotional reaction to how its leader, Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (aka Turkmenbashi), demonstrated his sense of grandiosity. There was the golden statue of himself that revolved during the day so that it always faced the sun. […]
30 Years Ago, Leaving On A Jet Plane
Me, about to board a flight from Port Moresby to Singapore (May 9, 1990) When you take a picture and then look at it the following week, it’s a straightforward action: you are looking at a recognizable person or place, an event still fresh. But tuck the picture away a while and then pull it […]
9 Photos: 2019 In Review
It’s that time of year again, when I inadequately summarize the year that was with a line of statistics based on international travel. Here it goes: In 2019, I traveled for 159 days and set foot in nine countries: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China, and South Korea. […]
He Asked The Birds To Forgive Him
It’s not easy being an animal in much of the world, or a person. This young crocodile had been recently captured when I took its picture in a village in Papua New Guinea’s East Sepik Province. There was something unsettling in how its eyes could see, yet its mouth was muzzled and its legs bound. […]