Memorial To the Murdered Jews of Europe

Not too far from where Hitler's Chancery building stood and close to where Hitler committed suicide in his famous underground bunker, lies this unsettling memorial to all of the Jews who were murdered in Europe.This memorial was dedicated in 2005 and has been controversial because some say the memorial doesn't attempt to answer questions like "how?" and "why?"I'm afraid that this photo doesn't come close to giving the viewer a sense of this place and a sense of my emotions as I looked for the right way to photograph it. In the end, I chose to include the trees bordering the monument to the west because I liked the contrast.For a brief video explanation, click here.

The Girls of Rothenburg

This was a nearly candid photo but one girl spotted my camera and acted uncharacteristically -- she smiled at me! This is not normal dress for children in this town; it just happened that on the evening we were there, There was a dress rehearsal for a pending religious pageant. Rothenburg, by the way, is in Germany and is a wonderfully preserved walled medieval city.

Arbeit Macht Frei

The Germans that we encountered in our visit there were polite, friendly and happy. They showed respect to us even when we made mistakes due to ignorance of their laws and customs.So when I walked through the famous "Work will make you free gate" at Dachau, I wondered, as many others have, about the paradox that Germany is. How could the country that gave us Bach and Einstein also give us "The Final Solution?"Because this is a photo blog, I won't attempt an answer other than to say that all countries, including my own, can offer up paradoxes in their history.

Deb and I visited Dachau 30 minutes before it closed on a cool, rainy day. It was eerily devoid of people. And it was almost completely devoid of color.Somehow that seemed appropriate.For those interested in photography, you should know that when I took this photo, I realized that tens of thousands of other photos have probably been taken of this gate. So I was thinking about finding a point of view that might help my photo be a little different. So, after taking a couple shots with my standard lens, I took my 50mm 1.2 lens to capture a very narrow depth of field.Canon 5DII 1/640s f/1.4 ISO640 50mm

On A Mission

This is a Greek kitten, discovered on a back street on the island of Mykonos. He/she is oblivious to my camera and refused to stand still for the photo.

The Orb of Power

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" hit the theaters in 1975. The sophomores in my world history class were born 20 years later. And yet, when I show a photo of this symbol of power of the Holy Roman Emperor in my history class, someone inevitably says, "That's the Holy Hand Grenade," which is what it was called in the Monty Python movie.This "Holy Hand Grenade" isn't unique - many royals had one in their possession. But this golden treasure can be seen with other spectucular crown jewels of a long-dead empire in Vienna, Austria.

Neither Holy, Nor Roman, Nor An Empire

The title of this post is from a statement made by Voltaire about the Holy Roman Empire, which was founded by Charlemagne in 800 AD. Even though the HRE may have had dubious value, the Emperors had great clothes and nice crowns. This is one of several in Vienna, Austria.Tomorrow, I'll show you the "Holy Hand Grenade."

01-29-11 Efficiency

Sometimes this blog attempts to be an artist enterprise but I'll have to admit that after over 700 posts, I'm running low on art. So today I am using this blog to document evidence of a lifestyle very different from our big-pickup-4-wheel-drive-our family-of-4-has-5-cars mentality.What you are looking at is a cute, yellow car parked neatly along a backstreet in Rome, Italy. If you saw the price of fuel and the size of back streets in Rome, you'd know what this car would be a smart choice.Notice that it has three wheels and that it's plugged in. How's that for efficiency?

Deux Amis

We were free men in Paris, unfettered and alive, posing somewhat awkwardly in front of a structure that is anything but awkward - the Nortre Dame de Paris. I handed my camera to a passing tourist. So I guess that this isn't really my photo is it?When I give my camera to a stranger so I can pose, I try to pick someone who appears to be slower than I am so that if they decide to run with my valuable equipment, I can catch them. I wouldn't tackle them, though, since that might harm my camera. . . .

The Bird Man And the Child

I was with a group of students in the Montmartre district in Paris and as we were walking down the steps of the Sacre Couer Basilica, I looked down and saw this man and this apparently mesmerized child. This isn't the only photo of a child marveling over birds. What is it about birds that is so fascinating to children?

Walls of Glass

The most famous Gothic cathedral in Paris is the Notre Dame de Paris. But I think St. Chapelle is the most beautiful, primarily because there is so little stone and so much glass in the walls.When I walked into this structure the first time, I stood for several moments in amazement. This structure was built in the 13th century. If I'm amazed, imagine how someone from the 1300s would have felt when walking into this sacred place the first time.

What Kind of Coffee Do They Serve Here?

Some of my readers will know right away that this "coffee house" sells more than coffee and that's why there is an age restriction. I was looking at the photos I took in Amsterdam a few years ago and decided to post this.What do they serve here besides coffee? They serve pot in a variety of forms. Not only can you buy joints (so I'm told) but marijuana infused brownies and cookies, too. Only a desperate person would smoke the last two but you can eat them and get more than I sugar high.For the record, I didn't go in to one of these coffee shops. Neither did my wife. Or my Lutheran pastor friend Billy. Honest!

One Particular Harbor

There are thousands of "safe harbors" in the islands that spread out along the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia. This particular harbor (to paraphrase a song title by Jimmy Buffett) is on the west end of the Island of Hvar, which I have visited twice.I've mentioned in another post that Deb and I hope to charter a sailboat and cruise the Croatian islands but she tells me that we need our son, Captain Jon, aboard. I agree, but I'm not sure that our need for a precise travel schedule can mesh with Jon's free-form lifestyle. Our goal was to do it in the summer of 2011. We'll see. . . .