Shooting, not shopping

While traveling in other countries it's the people, the culture and the landscape that capture my attention. It's more fulfilling for me to meet the villagers, learn a few words of their language, ask questions, take notes and shoot with wild abandon.

There are places to shop, little businesses that sell local crafts, and I always have the intent to investigate but I rarely follow through. Only later, when I look at some of the photographs in the comfort of my own office do I wish I had made the time.

Of course I do end up picking up a piece here and there - (and I've been known to literally pick things off the street - friends Michael deMeng, Stacey Mattraw and the gang from Cortona...you know what I'm talking about!) - but to spend time shopping means less time shooting.

Now that I've shot these images, now I want to shop these images!

In Bali, the markets have a colorful array of ceremonial supplies. I really wanted to know what each piece was used for, watch how they are made, etc.






I don't recall what was in this shop...never got past the window!




Fabric! So tactile!




Sure, those are postcards. But shooting the feathers in the foreground (intentionally using shallow depth of field) was more interesting:




An antique store in Singapore:




There's always time for a cold drink on a hot day in Bali:

Greetings froom Kuala Lumpur, and a glimpse of Singapore

Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, en route to Bali. We should be out exploring the city, or at the very least the gardens nearby our hotel but I can't bring myself to budge. Any efforts I make today will be to eat or have a massage. At the moment I don't even want to do either of those things; it's great to relax after some hectic travel days and just "be." I night feel differently if I didn't have such a remarkable view of both the city and the hillside from the 23rd floor of the Hilton. Thanks to Expedia - cheap price, amazing room. Paris won't be buying any Gucci handbags with what we paid!
I assume that this will be the last blog entry for a week or two, since internet access in Bali will be sporatic. So I'm just going to post some snapshots from our walk to Singapore's Chinatown - was that really only yesterday? My favorite moment of the day was late dinner at a Thai restaurant noting the sounds: The Carpenters on the radio barely audible beneath the chatter of many languages in the dining room, and night prayers wafting from the mosque across the street.

Gods and goddesses at the Sri Mariamman Temple
(So far, three people have suggested that I Photoshop my head into this photo and have it be my holiday card this year):



A tense game of Chinese chess...at least for two out of three guys:



Legs and a cigarette:



A few of the 10,000 Buddhas in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (Really!):



Incence at the Buddhist temple:



Singapore Explorer: