David Howell Travel Photography and Map Blog

Strange rock formation suggestive … of art or science? Where does all this sand come from?

Millions of acres of sand, farther than the eye can see. To the horizon and beyond. Moved by water and wind.

Then moved again or buried by later deposits. Time passes….

Both male and female forms are present. Together, resting comfortably in the sand that they created….

It is now the heart of summer in the northern hemisphere and the heart of winter in the southern. But winter can feel like summer.

If you have harsh winters you may long for winters that look like the beach in this photo.

The beaches of Rio de Janeiro are normally sunny and warm throughout the year. Although as I write this they are having a cold snap.

This photograph was taken in the month of July so this is as ‘wintry’ as you would expect Rio to be. Typical winter daily high temperatures are around 75 degrees F (24 C)….

Artistic data. An oxymoron?

Do you have to be a mathematician or a statistician to think that data can have artistic value? Or a geographer?

What artistic expression is possible if you blend a beautiful aerial photograph with elevation data? Is it art or is it cartography? When does cartography become art?

“Plan to equip yourself with good brouges as the land is craggy.”

Terrain like this Mojave Desert photo is what came to mind when I read this advice. But this shoe guidance was included in the welcoming information from a ‘riad’ in Fez, Morocco. A riad is a traditional Moroccan guest house. The streets in the old town section of Fez must be rough. But they certainly aren’t as rough as this jumble of boulders in Joshua Tree National Park.

I am making arrangements for my next photo excursion. This fall we will tour Andelucìa in southern Spain. Then I will continue on to Morocco and finish the trip in The Dolomites of northern Italy….

Does your image of electric transportation look like a tiny light weight car that can only drive around town?

Do you imagine it powering over mountain passes and up precipitous cliffs? In the Swiss Alps transportation is provided by a network of electric trains and cablecars. They serve tourists gaping at the alpine scenery and carry supplies to small car-free mountain villages….

The beaches of Los Angeles are bathed in yellowing light as the evening sun shines through the haze euphemistically known there as the ‘marine layer’. Traffic is crawling as the freeways are filled with frustrated commuters. Angry horn blasts, sirens, and road construction equipment add background chaos. Air conditioners are overloading the electric grid. It is a typical August day in southern California.

There is an oasis of quiet nearby….

Sitting on your porch you can see Jungfrau.

On warm summer evenings you watch the alpenglow on the glaciers and listen to waterfalls and bird songs. Perhaps you sip tea and relax with a world class view of the Bernese Oberland….

In a quiet glacial canyon in Les Pyrénées Parc National the tallest waterfall in Europe pounds onto the jumble of rocks at the base of Cirque de Gavarnie.

The Cirque de Gavarnie retains a few remnants of the glaciers that carved the sheer wall. The cirque wall is up to 1,500 meters (~4,900 feet) in height and 3,000 meters (almost two miles) wide. The small glaciers hang in the ledges high above the canyon floor and their melt water feeds the waterfall which is called la Grande Cascade….

Jungfraujoch. The Top of Europe.

The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Three peaks at the top of the Bernese Oberland in the Swiss Alps.

The fable is that the Mönch (Monk) which is in the middle protects the Jungfrau (young woman) from the Eiger (Ogre). Mountain lore.

Jungfraujoch is a train station, observatory, and restaurant at the top of the Mönch. The entire area is served by a network of electric trains and various cable cars and tramways….

The snow kept falling. Eventually we couldn’t see out the windows. But the massive logs still blazed in the old stone fireplace.

We didn’t need to leave so we settled in and enjoyed the rustic mountain setting.

Everything about Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon is over-sized and handmade. It is a place filled with rough cut stone and exposed timber beams….