Back in Town

The posts have been few and far between because I returned to The Bahamas to attend a wedding on (one of) the most beautiful beach(es) in the world.
The sand was pink, the water turquoise and the bride wore a romantic yet edgy Morgane Le Fay white feather dress and the groom a beautiful white linen suit with a blue & white small-checker-print shirt and a pink& white small-side-striped tie.

We returned to sweltering heat and a sweaty city and I am still trying to catch up with all that happened while I was away.


While we were away Sentaor Obama won the nomination © Nina Buesing

I will post some images from my trip soon. One of the things I definitely reaffirmed while away is that I like to shoot analog. Digital has it uses and is great for commercial work and some documentary work. But analog is so much more beautiful and I also must say that my Pentax 67 & my Hasselbald once again performed perfectly, while my 5D had a little hiccup and decided to stop working for a little while (The heat and humidity was just too much for it).
It will be a few days until I have some images. I am actually holding off on processing my film today, because they said the power grid is at full capacity and just in case we have another power outage I do not want my film to be stuck in the processor if that happens.
Oh the joys of analog photography -- but you know what?It's so worth it.
I leave you with a Polaroid taken during my trip.


Beach towel / Mane's cottage © Nina Buesing

Scott Schuhman in India

I mentioned earlier that Scott Schuhman AKA The Satorialist has been travelling in India -- and the great captures keep coming.
Take a look here: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/search?q=new+dehli
Really exciting work!

Wear Palettes (Inspired by The Satorialist)

Wear Palettes is a blog about color palettes inspired by photographs taken by Scott Schuman for The Satorialist - one of my favourite blogs.
Wear Palettes is published by a graphic design student who extrapolates colors from images taken by Mr. Schuman and who presents these palettes alongside the images that they originated from. The color palettes presented are quite beautiful & inspirational . Wear Palettes also gives occasion to revisit some of the Satorialist's best pictures. Yesterday's palette was extracted from a Parisian portrait of the delightful Wes Anderson and a still from Mr. Wes Anderson's latest movie "The Darjeeling Limited" - which of course was filmed in India. Scott Schuhman has been travelling in India recently too -- capturing some beautiful portraits and fantastic outfits. My parents in law are also on their way to India right now. Seems like India is on everyone's mind :)


a palette inspired by the Indian Flag (by me)

(Exotic) Postcards

What kind of carbon footprint does a postcard have?! © Nina Buesing

Postcards are fun. I always enjoy postcards, especially from places I love or have never been. I like the idea that a postcard is a physical thing that traveled to me. My friends and family still do send me postcards -- particularly my mom and Andrea always remember. Andrea travels to some pretty unusual places and sometimes it takes months but her postcards always arrive --pretty amazing. I also like monies from different countries or little natural things like shells or sand.


old & new Afghani monies - thanks Andrea :)

Thus it is no surprise that I much enjoyed "Exotic Postcards -The Lure of Distant Lands" a tremendous collection of vintage postcard published by Thames & Hudson. It's beautifully printed and available new & used - both at a reasonable prices.

The Colors of Polaroid

Still thinking about Polaroid's 'Demise' © Nina Buesing

Another Horse - I can't help it ;)

Bianco- Nebbia ©Nina Buesing

Island Living

More Horse© Nina Buesing/Getty Images

I love the colors of the beach, particularly the colors of the Caribbean coasts. I love the blue and turquoise of the sky and water. The sand that ranges from light beige to white to a powdery pink. And the silvery color of drift wood.
A few years back we lived in a small rental apartment in the heart of Nolita that we had to renovate extensively (with the help of family & friends). The place came with 70's fake wood paneling, which we painted white, which made it look like a wooden house on the beach in the Caribbean. So we went with that concept and kept everything in hues of light blue, white, silver and with natural wood accents. We decorated it the way I imagine we would decorate a beach cottage. We were lucky to also have beautiful trees in front and back of our cozy apartment and in many ways this tiny apartment was a little oasis on the giant island of Manhattan.
Seemingly India Hicks' aesthetic ascribes to similar ideas. We much enjoyed 'The Landing', the boutique hotel that Ms. Hicks established with Toby Tyler and Tracy Berry on Harbour Island --an island a bit smaller than Manhattan ;)
While in Belize recently I came across Ms. Hicks Spider Lily Shower Gel from her 'Island Living' line and liked it. I don't like strong perfume too much, but I do like a very fragrant shower gel and this one puts me in a good mood every time I use it.

My Harbour Island timage that New York Magazine used. © Nina Buesing/Getty Images

Another Picture from Cayo

Nina has a little lamb © Nina Buesing

Taking a Break

I'm spending a little time away from the computer and spending it with the horses instead.


Magical Cayo ©Nina Buesing

Belize

Here are a couple of snapshots from Belize -- a beautiful country and for me another home. I am always happy to return to Belize. Erik Torkells was on our flight to Belize City and hopefully Belize will be featured in Budget Travel Magazin in a future issue.

Beautiful Belize ©Nina Buesing

Milk Machine - il mio latte appenda munto: latte crudo self-service

In Europe change is slow to come and it can still be difficult to buy things later in the night or on Sundays or on holidays. This is combatted by planning ahead but modern society is not quite as satisfied with this. Thus the other night while in Italy I was introduced to a self-service milk machine.


delicious fresh milk © Nina Buesing

You can buy fresh organic unpasteurized milk from this machine any time of day. While the mass cultivation of milk cows is bad for the environment I was happy to see that this milk was organic and that you could bring your own container -- thus creating less waste.

Mustique & Peter

My friend Pete just recently returned from Mustique.
A place I have not been (yet!) and thus I had asked him to
bring me a sample of their monies and something from the
beach. And he did :) -- I particularly love the piece of pink
coral he found on the beach.


Thanks Peter! © Nina Buesing

Francis Ford Coppola, Belize

Today on the Leonard Lopate Show Francis Ford Coppola was a guest for the occasion of his new movie "Youth Without Youth" premiering next week.
Listen here:



I have always been a bit ambiguous or conflicted about some of Mr. Coppola's ventures. Having family with Italian, American and Belizean roots, I perhaps feel the impact of Mr. Coppola more consciously than others. While The Godfather I &II are absolute cinematic master pieces, these movies also cemented negative stereotypes into mainstream American culture that have been very painful for many Italian Americans.
Mr. Coppola Southern Belizean resort Turtle Inn is not without cultural controversy either. Turtle Inn is a gorgeous luxury resort close to Placencia that stylistically looks completely Balinese. It is a walled compound furnished with exquisite & imported Balinese furniture & art and serviced by saronged clad staff. Belize, independent from Great Britain since 1981, is a melting pot of Mayan, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, Mennonite and English culture, and while Belize is located in Central America, it also identifies as a Caribbean Country . Thus male waiters in sarongs were a cultural adjustment or in the very least a new element in the Belizean melting pot. The walls that enclose Turtle Inn were also a first in Placencia, however they are typical in Bali. Mr. Coppola has created a beautiful oasis celebrating Balinese style (the resort also offers very decent Italian cuisine that is vegetarian friendly), but to experience Belize, guests of Turtle Inn should venture outside the compound.
Belize has much to offer: Mayan Ruins, the Rainforest, the Blue Hole, the Barrier Reef, many idyllic cayes, Mennonite communities, Garifuna drummers, the Jaguar Reserve, waterfalls, caves, visits to close by Guatemala, scenic drives along beautiful
Hummingbird Highway, great diving, snorkeling, sailing and more.


Beautiful Belize © Nina Buesing

To find out about quotidian life in Placencia take a look at Fiona's blog: picturinglifeinplacenica.wordpress.com or read
Dr. Rosita Arvigo's memoir "Satsun: My Apprenticeship with a Mayan Healer" to find out about Belize Rainforest and what Dr. Arvigo learned from a Mayan healer.

Smosch.com & Berlin pics

Berlin is one of my favorite cities. And I came across photography on www.smosch.com that really captures the spirit of that growing but still laid back metropolis.
The pictures by Sandra Juto aka Smosch are taken in the Eastern part of Berlin, which is full of creative energy, small stores and lots of cafes.
Smosch.com is a neat blog that besides these evocative imagery from Berlin offers also a lot of information on crafts, illustration, travel impressions and more photography -- and you can buy some of Smosch's crafts on Etsy.com. I came across www.smosh.com courtesy of Ms. Rona.
Oh! And Smosch also loves tea :) and she hails from beautiful Lapland!

Coins from Countries I Traveled to/from this Year

These are coins from countries I have spent time in this year.
Technically I also visited Singapore, but since that was really just a stop over on my way to Bali and because I only have a bill but no coin left from that trip, it is not included.
In my day to day life I use less and less cash and I wanted to take a step back and look at cash money.


click on the image to enlarge image by Nina Buesing

My favorite coin might be the one Cent from The Bahamas. I love that it depicts a sea star, it's so evocative of my trip there. I like the deer on the Canadian quarter too, it's quite beautiful.
And I find the difference in style of the eagles on the American, German and Indonesian coins interesting to compare. The sea faring theme of the Belizean coin is neat -- as is its shape.
Many of the coins make me nostalgic and thus make perfect souvenirs.
NOTE: The one Euro coin pictured above obviously is valid as currency of the European Union and not an exclusive German money , however the particular eagle references Germany and indicates this particular Euro coin was issue by The Federal Republic of Germany.

Travel Deal

Check out: www.plumandlion.com about two traveling for the price of one on on Virgin America between major towns in the US.
Thanks Rona!

L'asso - Pizza & Beer

L'asso at 41 Kenmare (@ Mott Street) has delicious brick-oven-thin-crust-pizza for $1 a slice and $3 a draft beer during Happy Hour (Monday through Friday 5-7 pm currently).
L'asso's Happy Hour is a great deal, however this is a good place to get a solid slice and/or a nice salad anytime. The staff is polite and accommodating. L'asso delivers and is vegetarian & vegan friendly.

Tea

Two Earl Grey © Nina Buesing

Studio 360 had a great little segment on tea preparation this morning titled "Design for the Real World: Tea Bag" (with tea expert/historian Jane Pettigrew) - play below to listen :



For readily available tea (loose & bags) and everyday use
Twinings is outstanding.
Twinings Earl Grey flavor in my opinion is hard to beat. For the advanced tea lover (and design enthusiast alike!) Mariage Feres
is a treat (they have a wonderful store in Paris, and now also in Berlin & Tokyo). If you find yourself in Germany and would like
to buy quality tea at a very good price the German drugstore chain Rossman's house brand is surprisingly good & a great deal.
New York's Chinatown also has some fantastic tea stores.

More Afghanistan

Afghanis 2007 © Andrea Woodhouse

Andrea has posted more pictures from Afghanistan on Flickr.

Yesterday at the Pace/McGill Gallery I saw the latest exhibit by Fazal Sheikh, who has extensively worked in Afghanistan and some of those portraits are included in his current show. The exhibit ends in a couple of days, but you can also see these images in his book "The Victor Weeps: Afghanistan". Mr. Seihkh is a gifted photographer, and he always approaches his subjects with respect, producing dignified portraits.

Afghanistan

My friend Andrea, who is like a little, but much more brilliant sister to me, is currently travelling through Afghanistan. You can see some pictures she took along the way on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/andreawoodhouse/2040525582/


Afghanistan November 2007 © Andrea Woodhouse

Andrea's friend Rory Stewart in turn wrote a non-fiction book about his experience walking through Afghanistan in 2002 called "The Places in Between". Conde Nast Traveler called it one of the 86 greatest travel books of all time.
The Kite Runner, the fiction bestseller by Kabul born Khaled Hosseini is also a touching read. An epic story that encompasses three decades of Afghan history and re-introduces Afghanistan to the post 9/11 (western) world.
The Kite Runner also opens as a movie December 14, 2007. You can take a look at the trailer here: www.kiterunnermovie.com.