The Land Down Under

My travels through the Southern Hemisphere led to me to Sydney, Australia. I didn't have enough time to see the entire country, that's for a separate trip. But I did manage to sneak in a few days in Sydney which was well worth the time. The two most recognizable landmarks are the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Sydney Opera House is quite impressive when you see it in person. Photographs often don't do it justice because the details, such as the tiles on the outside, are not always clear. Click on the photos to enlarge them.





The Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic image of Australia as well. The bridge's steel arch makes it one of the most identifiable in the world. You can walk across it, climb it with a tour or climb about 200 stairs inside one of the pylons to get a view from the top. That's where I shot this next photograph. The following picture I took as I walked across the length of the bridge which is less than a mile. You can click on both images to enlarge them.

Traveling Through Thailand

My trip to Thailand took me to various parts of the country, from the madness of Bangkok to the calm of the North and the overwhelming beauty of the South. The landscape is diverse, the people are so kind and of course the food is worth the trip alone. I shot these first two pictures on the Railay Peninsula in Thailand's Southern Krabi province. The area is surrounded by high, sharp cliffs. Some of that same rock formed the outcropping I shot in these picture at sundown.


Click on this next image to enlarge it so you can really see the detail. There are actually two mischievous macaques not just the one in the foreground. They were running all up and down the same beach where I took the previous photo, snatching food from wherever they could get it. It was a strange experience at first because living in the United States, you're not really used to seeing macaques or any primate for that matter running free on the beach or anywhere else.

Thailand's temples and ruins are plentiful, beautiful and more importantly, amazingly intricate. This one is made completely of small, pastel colored tiles some of which are used to make flowers while others appear to form jaws or teeth. Clicking on the photo will reveal more details.



I was on the River Kwai Bridge in the Kanchanaburi province when a group of Thai schoolchildren on a field trip walked by with their teacher. The area is perhaps best known internationally as being part of the Japanese government's so-called "Death Railway" during World War Two. POWs were used to construct the bridge which resulted in the deaths of some 16,000 Allied POWs and 90,000 Asian laborers.


For another image from Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, go to my previous post. If you're interested in the history of the bridge, you can find some archive photos by clicking here.

A Bridge Over Solid Water

The Ravenel (Cooper River Bridge) in South Carolina has the longest cable-stay span in North America and reportedly cost more than $630 million to build. The suspension bridge features two diamond shaped towers. I shot this photo from the Charleston side of the bridge, near the city's aquarium. What attracted me to the scene was the span of the bridge as well as the way the water looked. It looked almost solid, as if it had a definable shape and texture. Click here to view a larger, more detailed version of the above photograph. To see a picture taken from underneath one of the bridge's towers, click here.

Under the Bridge

This is a photo of the Ravenel Bridge (Cooper River Bridge) in South Carolina. The three-mile, cable-stay bridge connects Charleston to Mount Pleasant. I took this photo through the front windshield of a car.