Eyes on Burma (October-November, 2011)
Chris Kogut, a photographer from upstate New York, gathered a group of family and friends for her third tour of Myanmar (Burma), and I was fortunate enough to be invited.
The tour was led by Chris and local guide May Khine Htoon, with local arrangements by Zarmani Travel. We visited Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake, Mrauk-U and other noteworthy locations as well as many less famous places, including a number of remote villages. We also cruised the Ayeyarwaddy, Kaladan and Lemro Rivers and some tributaries. One of our purposes was charitable, as will be explained on the last page (Tharyargone School).
Eyes on Cuba (December, 2011 - January, 2012)
The government now allows US citizens to visit Cuba legally, within restrictions, and I was quick to join a group from the College of Lake County (IL) in making a winter trip to Cuba. This was under an academic license from the State Department; the tour entailed a 3 credit-hour course in Art History as part of the qualification requirements.
The tour was led by Professors Bob Lossmann and Nick Schevera. Most of our time was spent in Havana, but we also traveled to Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Topes de Collantes and Varadero.
A Fortnight in Oxford (June, 2011)
The University of Chicago and the University of Oxford jointly offer a program called "A Fortnight in Oxford", whereby students can take a short course in history or literature while residing on the Oxford campus and getting to know the historic city and its many notable attractions.
I enrolled and chose a course on Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels. While there, we also made excursions to Blenheim Castle, Hatfield House, Stratford-upon-Avon, Salisbury, and the heart of Hardy's beloved Wessex in Dorset. Although not primarily a photographic trip, I did take a few.
Provence and Monaco (July, 2010)
This was a photo tour led by John Baker of Travel Images, at the height of the lavender season.
Starting from Marseille, we stayed at a villa just outside Gordes, from where we sought to find good photos at Cadenet, Lourmarin, Gordes, Senanque Abbey, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Bonnieux, Pont Julien, Les Huguets, Roussillon, Avignon, Pont-du-Gard, Arles, Fontvieille, Les Baux-de-Provence, Joucas, Sault, Goult, Saignon and Montfuron. Then moving our base eastward by steps, we also visited Castellane, Sisteron, Eoulx, Gourdon, Caussels, the Cote d'Azur and Monaco.
Splendors of Sacred India (December, 2009)
This was a study tour offered by International Seminar Design, Inc., in collaboration with Michael Di Giovane, an instructor in the Asian Classics program in the Graham School of the University of Chicago.
We started at Mumbai, and went on to visit Aurangabad, Ellora, Ajanta, Udaipur, Ranakpur, Jaipur, Agra, Orchha, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, and Delhi.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (September, 2009)
This was a photo tour led by John Baker of Travel Images, this time to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in autumn, where I joined five other photographers along with John and Laurie.
We spent eight days photographing geothermal features, wildlife, mountain scenery and horse ranching.
I took this trip to England in June, 2007, where I joined a small group of
photographers led by John Baker of Travel Images. Over a two week period
we visited Wessex, Cornwall, the Cotswolds, Midlands, Yorkshire and the
Lake District looking for great shots in all the places that John knows so well.
The format is an Adobe Flash picture gallery, in which you can browse the
images manually or play them as an automatic slide show. You must have the
Adobe Flash player installed in either case.
China: Exploring the Southlands in Winter (December, 2006)
This trip took place during the Christmas and New Year season, 2006-7.
It started at Hong Kong, and included Guilin, a boat trip down the
Li River, Yangshuo, the Impression Sister Liu Sanjie lightshow, Kunming,
Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zhongdian (aka Shangri-La), Leshan,
a visit to a peasant farm, Emei Shan (sacred mountain), a Panda Breeding
Center, Chengdu, and the beach resort of Sanya. It ended at Shanghai.
China Study Tour: The Middle Kingdom (May, 2006)
This was a study tour offered by the Graham School of the University of
Chicago, in collaboration with the Beijing International MBA Program.
Highlights in Beijing included the Summer Palace, Tian'anmen Square, the
Forbidden City, Beijing Hutongs, the Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven.
We visited Linyi and Qufu (home of Confucius) before continuing to Xi'an
(Terra-cotta Warriors, Wild Goose Pagoda, etc.). We finished at Shanghai.
Mongolia: In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan (July, 2007)
Part 1: To the Almsgivers Castle and Return
Part 2: Gandan Monastery, Kharkhorin, Naadam and Return
Part 3: Fine Arts, Winter Palace, Dinosaurs, Folk Dance & Music Show
Part 4: Lake Khövsgöl, Reindeer People, Black Market, Return and Farewell
Paris Photo Album (September, 2007)
This is a book. To view it you must have the Adobe Flash player installed.
For the moment (September 24, 2012), that's all -- just Burma, Cuba, Oxford, Provence, India, Middle and South China, England, Mongolia, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the Paris book. But please stop again at a later time for more. I recently travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia, and I hope to find time to add some of those photos to this website sometime soon. Other additions intended but currently on hold are Italy (composite of 4 trips), more of Paris (2 trips), and possibly New Zealand.