Jim Buell Photography

Marvelous Mangosteen

2011-06-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

I love trying fruits that I've barely even heard of before. My newest fruit is the purple mangosteen, a tropical fruit that can only be grown in consistently warm climates. Because of the climate required, mangosteens are rarely seen in North America. My mangosteen was grown in Thailand.

I found this curious fruit in my local supermarket and immediately put it in my cart without thinking too much about what it was. It was just so goofy looking. I had to have it. Plus it only cost ¥95 or so, about a dollar. Worst case scenario, it turns into a good story like that stinky durian I ate. Never again.

Let's look inside. When you slice open the thick, deep purple skin of the mangosteen, you reveal the creamy white edible center. The pieces inside are about the size of small orange or clementine slices.

It's a pretty fruit, but it tastes wonderful, too. The slices of mangosteen flesh are slightly fibrous, but very pleasant and easy to chew. It has a mildly sweet flavor and just a hint of acid that isn't at all overwhelming. Delicious. In an exotic fruit competition, the mangosteen blows the durian out of the water. Plus it has a cooler name. Say it out loud with me. "Mangosteen!"

Footprint of a Castle

2011-05-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

A man inspects the remaining stone base of a castle that once stood in what is now the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo. The castle was completed in 1638, but burned down only 19 years later. This stone base is all that remains.

Imperial Gardens

2011-05-09T03:44:00.005-05:00

I visited the Imperial Gardens in central Tokyo on a rainy day last week.

Despite the rain, people enjoyed the blooming flowers in the gardens.

This building is a teahouse that can be used for traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.

A couple works to untangle a necklace in the gardens.

Cherry Blossoms on Film

2011-04-17T10:28:00.004-05:00

Cherry blossoms in Japan are as beautiful as they are fleeting. The flowers bloom in the spring for only a few short weeks before wind and rain steal them from the branches. It's common for Japanese to celebrate the season with 花見（hanami, or flower-viewing parties). In light of the recent earthquake and tsunami, this year's parties were subdued. But the ephemeral beauty of the blossoms seems appropriate during this time of mourning and reflection in Japan. Indifferent to humanity's wishes, nature carries on.

Enough of that. Here are some pictures.

Picnics under cherry blossoms are popular in areas like Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. I visited the park with some friends to see the flowers. At the park I shot 12 pictures on a film TRL camera I bought recently.

I liked the discipline of shooting on medium format film. With my digital camera, I have thousands of potential pictures every time I shoot. With this film camera, I only had 12 clicks of the shutter.

I honestly have no idea what's going on here.

If anyone is curious, I got the 120 (medium format) film developed, then I taped the negatives to a light in my room, shot them with my digital camera, inverted the negatives digitally, and color corrected them. I like a good challenge.

By now most of the cherry blossoms around Tokyo are gone. They were beautiful while they lasted.

Chiang Mai

2011-03-30T03:44:00.000-05:00

Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai offered a more relaxed atmosphere than Bangkok, but it was still lively and full of attractions.

Though much smaller than Bangkok, the streets of Chiang Mai were still full of cars, tuk-tuks, and tons of motorbikes speeding through other traffic.

People offer incense at Wat Phra Singh, a temple within the oldest part of Chiang Mai. The original city center was contained by walls and a moat that remain to this day.

Joe Ryan walks through Wat Phan Tao, another temple within the city walls of Chiang Mai.

I took a cooking class at a farm on the outskirts of Chang Mai. Here our instructor watches a student use a mortar and pestle to grind garlic, beans and chilies to use in a papaya salad.

An Indian elephant native to Northern Thailand stares at me at an elephant camp in Chiang Mai. I got to feed the elephant bananas and sugar cane.

A driver leads his elephant into water to let the animal have a drink. If it's not clear, I'm riding on the back of the elephant. It was pretty great. Also I call the guy a driver because he used to drive tuk-tuks. I guess driving an elephant is an improvement.

Exploring Bangkok

2011-03-29T03:53:00.001-05:00

I explored the Thai capital of Bangkok for much of my ten-day trip. Here are some selected photos.

A monk walks along a pathway in the Wat Arun temple in Bangkok.

Matt Cartas writes a message on a roof tile at Wat Pho, a temple in Bangkok. Visitors could donate money to help refurbish the roof of a major building in the temple complex. Those who donated could write a note on the back of a tile.

A series of towers, or prang, dot a courtyard at Wat Pho. The temple complex also contains more than 1,000 statues and images of Buddha.

A monk reads a book in the courtyard of Wat Pho.

A girl investigates fruit in the Taling Chan floating market in Bangkok. Vendors ride boats filled with fresh food, and shoppers can buy the wares from a dock. I bought some delicious pork that was cooked on a boat.

A tourist and a beer promotor stage a fake boxing match on Khaosan Road in Bangkok. Khaosan Road is a tourist area filled with massage shops, restaurants, hostels, street vendors and fun. Yes, it's very, very touristy. Oh well.

Another beer promotor on Khaosan Road wears some rather provocative boots while plugging her wares.

The bustle of Khaosan Road at night as seen from the balcony of a bar. Every good bar seemed to have an equally good cover band that played Western music from the 90s. The authentic Thai experience it was not.

Temple of the Dawn

2011-03-22T04:50:00.000-05:00

In the wake of the nuclear disaster in Japan, I decided to leave the country for a time so I could feel a bit safer and evaluate the situation. Over the course of about 24 hours, I decided to leave, booked a ticket and was on a plane to Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok has many beautiful sites, and some of the most amazing temples I've ever seen. One is the Temple of the Dawn, or Wat Arun.

A group of tourists lounges in front of the central tower of the Temple of the Dawn. The tower, started in 1809, is covered in sea shells and porcelain.

Josh Buck climbs the side of the main tower to reach a pair of terraces near the top. The tallest point on the tower is about 250 feet tall.

From the top terrace you can see another tower in the temple as well as the Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok.

Matt Cartas carefully descends the steep stairs that lead down from the top terrace. It was a little frightening, but as long as you didn't look down, it wasn't too bad.

With Friends

2011-03-22T02:28:00.000-05:00

After a lot of thought and the pleading of my parents, I decided to take a short break from Tokyo to see how the current nuclear crisis would play out. I now feel as though everything will be fine in Tokyo, and I will be happy to return to my life in Japan. But when I left the country, many of us living in Tokyo were genuinely frightened. Just before leaving, I met with a group of friends in Shinjuku to relax and think about what our plans would be.

Masae Kotorii relaxes with friends in an izakaya in Shinjuku.

Jon Palmer passes a drink down the table.

Please ignore the darkness. There are other people around Tegan McKenzie.

Some of us left the country, others when to different parts of Japan, and some stayed around Tokyo. Regardless of our current locations, I think we'll all get together again in Tokyo soon.

Japan Earthquake

2011-03-11T22:03:00.001-06:00

I was on a train traveling towards Tokyo when a massive earthquake hit Japan on March 11. The train came to a quick stop and began shaking. Buildings around the train swayed back and forth for several minutes. Large aftershocks followed for the next hour or so. Finally, Japan Railway workers set up ladders, and passengers were evacuated.

JR employees help passengers evacuate a train near Urawa in Saitama, Japan. Seen on the New York Times.

Passengers walk along train tracks toward the nearest station following the earthquake.

A JR employee helps direct passengers following the evacuation of a train after the March 11 earthquake.

Sidelines

2011-03-08T08:35:00.001-06:00

I shot some pictures at a charity soccer match this week, but because I don't have a lens any longer than 55mm at the moment, I couldn't get any great sports action shots. So I shot the sidelines instead!

We'll call this "Taking a Break." The game was between English teachers in my company (including Australians) and Japanese staff and students we work with. The Japanese team won 2-0.

I love lines. That's all.

From Lee

2011-02-16T10:44:00.001-06:00

After visiting the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, I got inspired by artist Lee Ufan's series of paintings called "From Point." You can look at some of his work here. And here are a couple of small pieces I made in response.

I know this is a photography blog, and these are paintings, but technically these are pictures of paintings. So it still counts.

Red on White

2011-02-16T04:11:00.000-06:00

So I decided to do a little painting on my day off today. This might be the first time I've painted anything (other than a room) since grade school. It's been a while. Also I use the term "painting" loosely. Basically I was dipping wood blocks into paint and using them as stamps. And I only used red paint. Baby steps. Anyway, here's the aftermath of my experiments.

I was frantically stamping on printer paper for practice, and that's what you see here. This is the product of a large cup of coffee and the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat. After I was satisfied with a couple of the practice designs, I stamped on actual canvases. I'll post pictures of those once they dry.

Snowboarding

2011-02-12T09:01:00.000-06:00

During a national holiday yesterday, I went snowboarding with some friends on Mount Naeba in Niigata Prefecture. It was my first time snowboarding, and I can't say I was very good at it, but I did have a good time. You can't tell from the picture, but the place was super crowded.

Here my friends carry their snowboards toward a lift that will carry us up the mountain for the first time. Out of the five of us, only two had ever snowboarded before. There was much falling. As a side note, this picture was taken with my iPhone – a first for this blog. Wave of the future I guess.

Tokyo at Twilight

2011-02-09T22:21:00.000-06:00

Trees and a statue outside of the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

Buildings reflect into the moat surrounding the Imperial Gardens in central Tokyo.

Keeping Watch

2011-01-11T04:53:00.000-06:00

A guard at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine in Kamakura watches over the crowds of people gathered to visit the sacred place. It's traditional to visit a shrine in the beginning of a new year so the crowds can be quite large. This guard was helping to regulate the flow of visitors into the building.

Daibutsu - The Great Buddha

2011-01-11T04:16:00.000-06:00

This huge bronze statue of Buddha was first sculpted in the year 1252 in Kamakura, Japan. It's unknown whether the 44-foot tall statue is the original or if it has been rebuilt. The statue was repaired in the 1960s to protect it against earthquakes.

Speed of Light

2011-01-05T06:06:00.000-06:00

Travelers rush through Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, the busiest train station in the world. Panels of fluorescent lights normally used to display advertisements glow behind the travelers. The lights' flicker and a slow shutter-speed distort the shapes of those passing by.

Nikko

2011-01-01T10:15:00.000-06:00

Over the winter holiday I visited Nikko, a city in the mountains north of Tokyo. Nikko is famous for its shrines and hot springs.

The Sacred Bridge crosses the Daiya River in Nikko. The bridge is part of a nearby temple.

A woman cleanses her hands with spring water in Futarasan Shrine.

Moss finds a home on lanterns in Tōshō-gū Shrine. Originally lanterns like these served as an offering to Buddha, but later they appeared in Shinto shrines as well.

Actors portray an oiran-dochu in Edo Wonderland, a theme park that replicates an Edo-era Tokyo village. The oiran-dochu is a parade of a courtesan, her attendents, and the guest the courtesan is entertaining.

The underside of the courtesan's colorful umbrella.

A replica of a traditional Japanese home in Edo Wonderland. The doors are translucent rice paper and the floor is tatami, or straw mats.

Tokyo Bay

2010-12-23T07:46:00.000-06:00

Occasionally I need to remind myself that I live on an island. I'm forgetful. To help cement this idea in my head, I visited Tokyo Bay, which forms part of the southern border of the city. Now I'm pretty convinced Japan really is an island. I saw seagulls. You'll have to trust me about the water though. There aren't any pictures of it here.

There are a number of islands in Tokyo bay. Only one of them is natural. This bridge connects two parts of an artificial island called Odaiba. The island was made in the 1800s and was originally used as a defense fortress. Now the island is home to entertainment districts, businesses and residences.

What fake island would be complete without an indoor mall that looks like a fake European street? A tiny casino inhabits part of the upscale shopping center, and the "sky" throughout the building periodically changes from day to night. Also featured on the fake island: a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Seriously.

Next to the mall is a 377 foot-tall Ferris wheel. At least this isn't fake. I'll also take this time the mention that I think it's silly that we still capitalize the word "Ferris" in Ferris wheel. With all due respect to the inventor Mr. Ferris who died in 1896, I think it's time we start using lower case letters.

One of the perks of being near the bay was fresh sashimi. This wasn't the best fish I've ever eaten, but it was still very good, and the presentation was nice. I like it when I can look my food in the eye.

From the Top of Tokyo

2010-12-08T05:20:00.000-06:00

Buildings and bright lights sprawl towards the horizon in downtown Tokyo at night. The 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building lends this view from the Shinjuku area.

Touching the Thunder Gate

2010-12-01T04:32:00.000-06:00

A boy touches the underside of a giant lantern hanging from the Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, in Tokyo's Asakusa district. The gate serves as an entrance to the nearby Sensō-ji Buddhist temple.

Stone and Wood

2010-11-28T09:45:00.000-06:00

I arrived early on my first day of teaching in Nippori in Tokyo, so I had time to explore the surrounding area. I wandered up a hill near a train station and found all this:

A torii, or gate, welcomes visitors to a Shinto shrine near Nippori in Tokyo.

A visitor to the shrine prepares to bow and clap after throwing a small donation into a box as part of a Shinto ritual.

Clothed statues watch over another shrine down the street.

Nearly every person in Japan is cremated when they die according to Buddhist tradition, and their remains are interred in cemeteries like this.

The names of those buried in graves are written on the gravestones as well as on pieces of wood called sotoba.

Meiji Shrine

2010-11-24T03:03:00.000-06:00

Tokyo's Meiji Shrine, built in the early 1900s, is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji presided over Japan's modernization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The dense forest that encompasses the complex of Shinto shrines offers respite from the bustle of surrounding Tokyo.

Visiters walk over a stone bridge in the forest surrounding Meiji Shrine.

Empty sake bottles donated by brewers throughout Japan are bound and stacked near the shrine. Sake is used in certain Shinto rites, and shrines often use the empty bottles as decoration.

A bride and groom walk through Meiji Shrine during a traditional Shinto wedding. During the ceremony, the bride and groom and the wedding party drink sake to signify the union.

Visitors to the shrine walk through a huge torii, or gate, at the shrine's entrance. The gate symbolizes the beginning of a sacred space.

Harajuku Tunes

2010-11-23T10:16:00.001-06:00

Tokyo's Harajuku area is famous for its trendy teen fashion scene. Here young people listen to headphones at an outdoor music installment.

Sushi City

2010-11-14T09:35:00.001-06:00

I love sushi, and I can get the good stuff here pretty cheaply.

A sushi chef prepares makizushi, or a sushi roll. The plates in the foreground of the picture are on a conveyor belt that carts the fish and rice treats around the restaurant. If you want one, you grab it. Different colored plates indicate different prices.

If you don't like what's on the conveyor belt, you can order other items from the chef. This is a delicious tuna roll I requested.

A fellow diner receives nigiri he ordered from the chef. Instead of fish rolled in rice, nigiri is made by forming a clump of rice and pressing the fish on top.

Higashi Omiya by Night

2010-11-07T01:51:00.001-05:00

So I just moved to Japan. Now that that's over with, let's get to some pictures.

The city I'm living in is called Higashi Omiya. It's in the Saitama Prefecture, which is basically a suburb of Tokyo. The area around the Higashi Omiya train station has a fair amount of restaurants and shops and lots of lights to brighten up the night.

I saw this sign for a yakitori restaurant when I was trying to find a local ramen shop. Yakitori is chicken grilled on a skewer and ramen soup is that noodle you ate in college. The ramen I ate on this excursion was much better than the college variety and had a raw egg cracked over it. This should be considered normal. It tasted fine.

A woman on a bicycle stops to check out the wares from a shop near my apartment. Bikes are everywhere around here, and sometimes you have to watch out for cyclists riding behind you on sidewalks.

While looking for the ramen shop, I found a 14 story apartment building that appeared to have a good view. So I got into the elevator, which spoke to me (no kidding), and headed to the top where I got this view of the broader area. (The elevator asked what floor I wanted, but I had to push a regular button. No voice commands.)

And this is the building that I went up into. The whole building kind of creeped me out for some reason. There was an outdoor staircase that went all the way to the 14th floor. That and the weird blue lights made me uncomfortable. Glad I don't live here.

Sound in the Fog

2010-09-22T20:03:00.011-05:00

Dead Confederate played at the Firebird in St. Louis this week. The band made heavy use of a fog machine and stage-level lights. I also made heavy use of these with my camera. PICTURES GO!

Dead Confederate bassist Brantley Senn pounds the strings in a shroud of fog.

Guitarist and singer Hardy Morris plays during the end of the band's set.

Hardy Morris creates odd neck indentations while belting out a song. As a side note, his shirt reminds me of the time I saw Dinosaur Jr in concert and thought I went deaf for two days.

Two-Face

2010-09-01T21:00:00.004-05:00

My brother Ryan is moving into a new apartment, and to celebrate his new living quarters, he naturally wanted a Two-Face style poster of him and his roommate to hang up. Ever the accommodating brother, I took pictures of Ryan (the face on the left side of the picture) and his roommate Taylor, and I photoshopped them together into this monstrosity. So just to be clear, this is not a portrait of a guy with an odd idea of hair style. It's two faces stitched together. Now I kind of want to watch Face/Off.

Water Colors

2010-08-24T22:26:00.002-05:00

Water + blue and yellow food coloring + a penny = splash.

Insert song lyric about San Francisco here

2010-08-12T18:22:00.006-05:00

I had never really been to the Western part of the US before my visit to the San Francisco Bay Area. I'll go ahead and generalize an entire region of the US by saying, "It was pretty." By the way, here are pictures. They don't have color.

Buildings tower over a BART station entrance in Oakland, the city across the bay from San Francisco. The BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit, connects several cities around the bay and links San Francisco to the East Bay through an underwater tunnel.

A girl dances and stumbles down San Francisco's Market Street at night. It looked like the girl had a lot of fun during the evening and was probably still having fun staggering alone in the dark.

The top of the Bay Bridge disappears in the afternoon fog. Coming from the humid, upper-90's weather of St. Louis, San Francisco's fog and its mid-50's weather were quite a change.

Tourists walk down a corridor filled with prison cells in the former federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island. The island operated as a federal prison from 1934-1963. Living in these cells didn't even look too bad. It would be a lot like spending everyday in a cubicle. Zing!

Travelers walk through a hallway in the Los Angeles airport. I had a layover in LA on my way to San Francisco, so I spent some of my free time taking pictures. There are plenty of annoyances when flying, and layovers are no exception. However, I did eat a pretty delicious cheese danish in the Phoenix airport on my way home. Props to that Phoenix airport pastry chef.

The wing of my airplane stretches out over the mountains of Arizona. Perhaps the only advantage of out-of-the-way layovers (other than eating delicious pastries) is getting to see new landscapes from thousands of feet in the air. Being from the the Midwest, mountains are a pretty exotic sight. And how cool does that wing look?

Straight to the Head

2010-06-27T11:47:00.003-05:00

I made some head shots for St. Louis comedian Andrew Topping, and I like the way this one turned out as a portrait. I set up a makeshift studio in my bathroom and used part of a table-covering for the backdrop.

Funny. People.

2010-06-15T14:55:00.006-05:00

Scenes in and around O'Malley's Irish Pub in Benton Park during an open-mic comedy show.

Comedienne Tree Sanchez. I love the word "comedienne."

Highway Patrol

2010-06-11T15:53:00.003-05:00

There's something peaceful about the lights of highway traffic at night. This is a short project I made with a still camera, Final Cut, and Garage Band.

Low light, High ISO

2010-06-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

I've been playing around with the noise reduction in Lightroom 3 for a couple days, and I'm reasonable impressed. I shot this image last night around 1:00 a.m. in lighting conditions I usually think of as unusable. I bumped the ISO on my old 20D up to 3200 and shot this at f2.8 with a 1/5 sec image-stabilized shutter. The image is a little soft, but I'd say it's usable. Maybe it's not ideal, but I think I'm more willing to shoot super-high ISO if absolutely necessary.

Stage Lighting

2010-06-04T03:27:00.002-05:00

Max performs in a comedy/debate show in St. Louis' Central West End. Max won his debate with a rousing defense of wrestler Hulk Hogan, who is apparently better than Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Yeasayer

2010-05-03T16:50:00.002-05:00

I saw Yeasayer perform at The Gargoyle on Wash U's campus in St. Louis last week. Here are a couple shots.
Yeasayer's Ahmed Gallab plays an electric drum during a concert in St. Louis.

Yeasayer's Anand Wilder plays keyboard at the end of their St. Louis show.

Glass Blowing - Guatemala

2010-04-28T12:53:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite things to photograph in Guatemala was people making things with their hands – weaving, squeezing juice, patting tortillas, etc. The most fun I had taking pictures was at a glass blowing factory in Cantel, a small town outside of Quetzaltenango. The workers let me get close, and it was fun to use the light coming from the molten glass in my pictures.

Piles of broken bottles and glasses wait to get melted down and recycled into new glass products. Guatemala has a problem with waste management and littering, so it was great to see a factory that uses glass waste in a productive way.

Workers heat and shape glass in the factory.

A worker blows air into a ball of hot glass to create a bubble inside.

After the glass is blown, it is shaped using various tools including molds and flat surfaces. Here glass is shaped using a stack of newspapers.

Workers use tweezers to add detail to a hot wine glass.

When workers are finished shaping the glass, it is placed in a furnace called an annealer. The furnace controls the rate at which the glass cools. This regulated cooling helps the glass from becoming brittle.

When the glass is finished it is receives finishing details like polishing before it is sold. The factory in Cantel sells glasses, bowls and other kitchenware.

Pacaya Volcano - Guatemala

2010-04-26T16:52:00.002-05:00

Climbing an active volcano was one thing I insisted on doing during my week in Guatemala, and I accomplished that goal on Pacaya, a volcano near Antigua. The volcano was certainly beautiful, but it was a little nerve racking climbing on the smokey summit. But that's what makes a great adventure.

Here the tour group I was with begins the last part of the ascent up the side of the volcano. Quite a bit of smoke was pouring out of the crater, so the guide wouldn't let us go to the very top. Still we climbed pretty far up the side and found some lava to roast marshmallows over. I'm very serious. They were tasty.

The 8,300 foot tall volcano yielded spectacular views of other nearby volcanoes. Here a German member of my group begins the final part of the hike up Pacaya.

There's a stark contrast between the black volcanic rock and the grass growing just beyond the summit. Pacaya has been erupting periodically for the past several years spitting out lava that hardens into the porous rock.

Weaving - Guatemala

2010-04-22T19:04:00.006-05:00

While in San Juan on Lake Atitlán I had the opportunity to visit a local weaving co-op. Weaving is very important in Guatemala, and many indigenous Guatemalans – especially women – wear a traditional woven costume called traje. Each small town has its own unique traje complete with different colors and patterns. A woman in the San Juan weaving co-op demonstrated how Guatemalans weave items like scarves, belts, traje and other articles.

First pieces of cotton are selected and are smashed together. A thread is then pulled from the mass of cotton and wound on a spool.

Natural dyes are used to give the cotton vibrant colors. Here seeds from the achiote shrub are used to give a red color.

During the first step of the weaving process the yarn is strung on wooden pegs so that other yarn can be woven into it.

Most of the weaving is done using a backstrap loom that is suspended between the weaver and a solid object. The weavers are skilled at manipulating various pieces of wood connected to yarn to create intricate patterns in their creations.

Finished belts sit next to balls of yarn in the co-op's store. Beautiful!

Lake Atitlán - Guatemala

2010-04-21T14:01:00.004-05:00

Lake Atitlán is a beautiful body of water surrounded by mountains and volcanoes in the southwestern part of Guatemala. The lake was formed thousands of years ago when a volcanic eruption caused the earth's surface to collapse, forming a basin for the lake. A driver climbs into a small taxi, known as a tuk-tuk, in Santa Cruz, a small town on the northern shore of Lake Atitlán. The tuk-tuks could be hired to take passengers up the side of a mountain leading to the main part of the town where most of the native Mayan population lives.

A driver looks around the side of his boat as he steers it from one small town to another. Many small and medium size towns line the shore of Lake Atitlán, and the easiest way to get around is to hire one of the boats that act as public transportation.

Though the lake is stunning, there have been ongoing problems with pollution. Unfiltered sewage from nearby communities is dumped into Lake Atitlán, and the water has become infected with cyanobacteria that can be toxic to humans. Even so, I kayaked in the lake, and I feel fine.

Here's a panorama I made by stitching together several different images. Click on the picture to see it full size.

Guatemala - Introduction

2010-04-19T13:56:00.009-05:00

Guatemala often made me question reality. We so often see recreations of beautiful landscapes or colorful costumes in movies, museums and amusement parks that it's natural to be skeptical of the authenticity of something exotic even when we see it with our own eyes.
Tropical plants, active volcanoes, colorful outdoor markets and charming customs make up the landscape of Guatemala, and it is all very real. There is also poverty, violence and poor education, and the problems are just as real as the beauty.
Through the good and the bad, Guatemala was a wonderful and hospitable place during the week I traveled in the country. This is the first of five blog posts with pictures made around the country.
Women sell flowers in an outdoor market in Zunil, a small town near Quetzaltenango. At the market an announcer advertised items over a loudspeaker as farmers hurried around the square carrying huge bushels of vegetables.

People cross a cobblestone street in Antigua. Founded by conquistadors in the 1500s, the city, then called Santiago de los Caballeros, stood as the capital of Spain's Guatemalan colony until it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1717 and 1773. The official name, La Antigua Guatemala, literally "The Old Guatemala," appeared after the capital was moved to Guatemala City.

Farmland clings to one of the mountains that comprise the landscape of much of the country. Driving from one area of Guatemala to another consists of being flung back and forth in your seat as the driver navigates curvy, mountainous roads.

A guide points out coffee berries growing at a plantation in San Juan La Laguna, a city on the shore of Lake Atitlán. When the berries are red, they are harvested and the beans inside are dried and prepared for roasting, grinding and brewing. Coffee is one of the main exports of Guatemala, making the country one of the top ten producers of coffee in the world.

Las Fuentes Georginas, a natural hot spring, sits high in the mountains around Zunil, Guatemala. A nearby volcano heats the water that flows into baths around the complex. The steam and relaxed bathers make the springs feel like huge hot tubs surrounded by tropical plants.

A man works on the roof of a church in San Juan La Laguna. Christianity is very important to Guatemalans, though some have untraditional beliefs. For instance, Maximón, also known as San Simón, is a quasi-Christian figure worshiped in some areas. The saint seems to be a blend of Catholicism and Mayan religions, and worshipers often leave sacrifices of alcohol or tobacco products at his shrines to appease the somewhat-malevolent deity.

A woman sells various tropical fruits at a market in Zunil. One fruit I tried in Guatemala that I had never heard of was zapote. The flesh of the fruit looked a little like a sweet potato and tasted a like a date.

Brennan's

2010-04-09T00:52:00.003-05:00

Scenes from Brennan's in the Central West End in St. Louis.

A bartender rests for a moment between pouring drinks.

Sitting alone, but still connected.

Max Fitzgerald writes in a fellow comedian's notebook after a show.

Toronto

2010-04-04T13:53:00.004-05:00

I spent a couple beautiful days in Toronto in the beginning of April. It was a lovely, clean and eclectic city.

The CN Tower, the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere, sits near the harbor in downtown Toronto. The structure rises 1,800 feet in the air and is used as a communications tower and observation deck.

This King Street club had an interesting facade. I'm not even sure how one would enter the building if so inclined.

Leaving the airplane and ending the trip. Painfully obvious symbolism abounds.

Well Suited

2010-03-30T14:22:00.003-05:00

I was trying on a suit for a job interview and decided to do a self-portrait. I look kind of tired. I used a 17mm lens with a diffused strobe on-camera.

Pairs

2010-03-08T20:06:00.003-06:00

Two themes from a winter party in Columbia, MO.

First: A pair of pairs.

Second: Eyes closed, eyes open.

Keys and Cameras

2009-12-11T19:51:00.006-06:00

Kris Dyer: English major, soon-to-be graduate, typewriter user, kitchen owner.

Jim Aiken: geology guy, occasional artist, camera user.

On the Beach (And in the City)

2009-11-25T15:41:00.004-06:00

Some shots from my Thanksgiving holiday trip to Chicago. The first two are from the beach in Edgewater.

This is downtown. The tennis ball sort of ruins the severe look of the lettering. Nice touch, random ball-thrower.

Mizzou Homecoming Drums

2009-10-28T23:40:00.003-05:00

Before each Mizzou home football game, the drum line performs in front of former Mizzou drummers. Halfway through the performance, the old guard takes control of the drums and puts on a performance of their own. Here is the drum line before the start of last week's homecoming game against Texas.

Birds in Beijing

2009-10-26T18:09:00.003-05:00

The park near my hotel in Beijing was a nice place to sit and relax. It had a large bird cage, a canal, bridges and sculptures. A nice little oasis in the middle of the city.

The Great Wall

2009-10-08T06:29:00.003-05:00

I challenge anyone to create a more impressive 3,900 mile-long structure on top of a mountain.

The wall was about an hour outside of Beijing, and it was crawling with people. The whole thing was built between the 5th century BC and the 16th century AD.

Look at it snake into the background. The wall changed direction so often that it appeared to be in multiple locations from some vantage points.

The Temple of Heaven

2009-10-06T08:50:00.001-05:00

The Temple of Heaven is a series of buildings in a Beijing park used by ancient Chinese emperors for prayer.

This is the top of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests where emperors from the 15th century and onward prayed for – you guessed it – good harvests.

Here's a less abstract view of the same building. Apparently the wooden tower was built without any nails. I guess it's held together with a combination of luck and spit. There were other similar buildings throughout the complex also used for prayer and sacrifice. Best building name: "Animal-beating pavilion."

The park around the temple complex was full of people playing games, dancing, singing and exercising. This woman twirled a long cloth attached to a stick, making pretty, ribbon-like patterns. (Photographer's note: I was eating a delicious milk-flavored popsicle when I made this picture. The popsicle cost about 45 cents.)

Moon Festival

2009-10-03T08:31:00.005-05:00

Today the Chinese celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. The festival dates back to a tradition of moon worship in an ancient Chinese dynasty and takes place when the moon is said to be at its fullest and roundest. During the festival people traditionally eat mooncakes made of lotus seed paste, bean paste, or other ingredients.

Another tradition some practice during the Moon Festival involves lanterns and riddles. Today the China Open put up some of these lanterns.

Here China Open spectators read a riddle tied to a hanging lantern.

Try to guess the animal being described in this picture's riddle: "A crescent longbow with a tassel on top, when living they wear sackcloth, dead they wear scarlet."

I know the answer. It is not a flamingo. Post comments below with guesses.

If you think you know the answer, you take the paper down and present it to the question master. If you're right, you win a prize. Today the prizes were cell phone ornaments, which must have provided a big incentive for people to win. I'm pretty sure the Chinese collect phone ornaments like the Louvre collects paintings.

*Thanks to Matt for help with the Chinese translation above.*

Opening Ceremony - China Open

2009-10-02T23:40:00.001-05:00

The China Open officially starts today, and they kicked it off with an opening ceremony. Unfortunately for the Chinese, any opening ceremony will forever be compared to the spectacle that was the Olympic opening performance. This was not an Olympic performance.

But it was still kind of cool. These girls were really good at hitting their drums lightly enough so that the prerecorded drum soundtrack could be heard clearly.

And these girls were occasionally able to wave their giant mutant balls in sync.

There was also some confetti.

Djokovic on center court

2009-10-01T21:48:00.004-05:00

We get some good access at the China Open tennis tournament. Yesterday I watched Novak Djokovic, ranked fourth in the world, practice on the center court of the tennis center in Beijing. The court is impressive, especially when you have a private viewing of a practicing tennis star.

Djokovic is famous for his impressions of other tennis players, so when he was done practicing, a friend dared me to asked Djokovic to perform. Djokovic said he was too tired from jet lag. Bummer.

The Bird's Nest

2009-09-30T05:42:00.004-05:00

Today we visited the 2008 Beijing Olympic venues. The track and field events were held at Beijing National Stadium, usually called the Bird's Nest. The stadium is the world's largest steel structure and is incredibly impressive in person. Here are some shots in and around it.

I love this building. Can my house look like this?

Many Chinese tourists visit the Olympic venues, and many seemed surprised to see Westerners. Here someone asked Matt to pose for a picture. This was not the only time people asked to take our picture. It was kind of weird being being a "celebrity."
This man seemed really impressed with the vastness of the inside.

And vast it was.

Tiananmen Square

2009-09-29T18:51:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday a group of us wanted to visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. When we arrived at the entrance to the Forbidden City, we found out that it was closed for the upcoming holiday. With preparations being made for the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, security was high, and access to many landmarks was prohibited.

A guard stands in front of the gateway to the Forbidden City, which was unfortunately forbidden.

Tiananmen Square, however, was open and full of people observing its many monuments. But not long after we arrived, a police van began driving around the square announcing in Chinese and English that everyone had to leave the square immediately.

Guards march through Tiananmen Square forcing hundreds of visitors to leave the area.

It sounds like everyone got kicked out so the government could prepare the area for upcoming celebrations. But I was a bit nervous at the time, especially in light of past events that have happened in the square. Everything turned out all right, and now I can say I was removed from an area by a communist government.

Preparing for the China Open

2009-09-29T10:09:00.005-05:00

As the China Open tennis tournament draws closer to starting, many sponsors and tournament workers are busy preparing for the arrival of players and spectators.

A worker at the Wilson booth strings a racquet before the start of the China Open in Beijing.

Workers construct a scoreboard on Court 1 at the tennis center.

Painters work on a symbol of the China Open inside the tournament grounds.

One of the food booths cleans its chairs for the coming crowds.

(Real) Chinese Food

2009-09-29T04:52:00.004-05:00

I love eating local food anytime I travel. Beijing has been no exception. Some of the food I've eaten here reminds me of Chinese food I've eaten in the States: meat, veggies, rice. Some is a little different.

Last night we went to a restaurant called Hot Pot where we cooked our own soup right at our seats.

Here Sarah adds ingredients to her soup. Each person selected a base for their soup - I had curry - and then added ingredients.

Vegetables, noodles, tofu, an egg, a gelatinous square of duck's blood, and some "fatty beef" were all available for cooking. We ate the noodles and other ingredients with chops sticks after dipping them into a sesame seed sauce. Yum!

First Day in China

2009-09-27T18:12:00.006-05:00

I'm in Beijing, China (!) for two weeks covering the China Open tennis tournament with a group from Mizzou. Here are some pictures from my first partial day.

Travelers walk through Beijing Capital International Airport near the immigration checkpoint. The airport also had temperature-sensing cameras used to check arriving passengers for Swine Flu.

A fleet of Mercedes line up outside of the Beijing Airport ready to take us to our hotel. The China Open sent an individual car and driver for each member of the Mizzou crew. My driver got slightly lost for a while, but it's easy to deal with such things from the back seat of a luxury vehicle.

While my driver ran out to ask for directions, I rolled down my windows and grabbed this image. The traditional-looking building is a bridge and the McDonalds is a McDonalds.

Chefs slice our Peking Duck at a restaurant in Beijing. In addition to eating normal duck meat, a few of us tried the duck's brain. Later we ate a lovely duck soup that the restaurant made from the leftovers. All told, there were more than a dozen different dishes served to us.

Lotus root - a slightly sweet component of our meal. AND SO PRETTY.

Venice

2009-09-27T17:51:00.004-05:00

Back to Europe pictures from the summer.

After Barcelona, I spent a night in Nice before moving on to Venice. Venice was more interesting, so let's just move on to Italy.

At one time, gondolas were the most common type of transportation through the canals of Venice. Now vaporetti, public transportation water busses, are most often used for day-to-day travel. Gondolas are still prevalent, however, but are mostly used as a tourist attraction.

Here the top of Venice's Saint Mark's Basilica can been seen from a nearby bell tower. Construction started on the Byzantine-style basilica in the 11th century.

Hundreds of masks lined the walls of one shop in Venice. Each year before the Catholic season of Lent, tourists (and probably a few natives) celebrate Canival by donning masks and making merry in the streets - much to the chagrin of the natives who don't celebrate.

Ah! The canals of Venice! Now featuring all of the pretty but less of the smell!

Laumeier Sculpture Park

2009-09-13T23:25:00.003-05:00

I'm still working on posting Europe pictures, but in the meantime here are some things I recently shot at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis. (Verticals with Liz.)

Park Güell - Barcelona

2009-09-12T16:18:00.006-05:00

Park Güell is a large garden built high on a Barcelona hill during the beginning of the 20th century. Architect Antoni Gaudí, the man behind the Sagrada Família church, designed the park.

The house Gaudí lived in for nearly 20 years sits overlooking a gorgeous view of Barcelona. (The house was designed by one of Gaudí's assistants, not by Gaudí himself.) The park was originally designed to be a housing development, but only two houses were built in the area.

When the housing development failed, the park was converted into a municipal garden. Here visitors look at the city from the park's main terrace which features mosaics designed by Gaudí. The terrace covers a large open area in which musicians played classical music while I was there. Also note the palm trees in the background giving the park a tropical feel.

A guitarist entertains a crowd with songs in Catalan or Spanish. Or Portuguese. Or something. The crowd found him funny. I wouldn't know.

Three crosses sit on the mound here representing the highest point in the park.

Park Güell was one of the most beautiful places I saw in Europe. If you visit Barcelona, make sure you get to this place.

Yours,

Jim Büell

Barcelona

2009-09-04T13:15:00.004-05:00

After London, I flew down to Spain and stayed in Barcelona for a few days.

The Sagrada Família church, one of Barcelona's most famous landmarks, has never even been completed. The massive church has been under construction since 1882 and is still years from being finished. The church's architect, Antoni Gaudí, designed many buildings throughout Barcelona, and is responsible for Park Güell, a beautiful place I'll discuss in my next post.

A view from the inside of Sagrada Família. Construction equipment is ever-present inside and outside of the church.

My tour guide discusses the Arc de Triomf, built for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. This is part of a great bike tour of Barcelona I took that showed me all around the city. There was even a stop in a park for some sangria!

Looking up in the gothic-style Santa María del Mar church. The church was built in the 1300s. I think they actually finished this one.

Thousands of people gather every summer evening in Barcelona to watch the magic fountain light up. The huge fountain produces a light and water show set to classical music.

Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath

2009-08-24T15:47:00.003-05:00

During my stay in England, I took a day trip to three places west of London: Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath. As a bonus, all of the pictures in this set are vertical! Woah!

Stonehenge: Largely a bunch of rocks propped up in a field. The people who built the structure remain largely mysterious. No one knows who they were or what they were doing, but their legacy remains hewn into the living rock... of Stonehenge.

Visitors at the cathedral in Salisbury observe stained glass windows reflected in a pool. The cathedral houses one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta.

The Pulteney Bridge in Bath is one of only four bridges in the world with shops lining the inside. Another I saw on a later trip is the Rialto Bridge in Venice. As far as I can tell, the Star Trek-like symbol in the river is just for decoration.

The ancient Roman baths give the city its name. Natural springs feed the baths built by the Romans during the first few centuries B.C.E. (or A.D. Which is the preferred term these days?)

Next stop: Barcelona!

London

2009-08-19T09:49:00.004-05:00

I just spent the last three weeks backpacking around Europe, so I haven't been able to update my blog at all. But the traveling is over, I'm staying at a friend's place in Brussels tonight, and I'll be back in the States tomorrow! I finally have my computer back, so here's the first post recounting my travels over the past few weeks.

London was my first stop after a brief return to The Netherlands.

The London Eye, a 443 feet high Ferris wheel, sits on the River Thames in London. The huge wheel, the biggest in Europe, affords riders a great view of the London skyline, including the County Hall building next door.

The Houses of Parliament can be seen from the top of the London Eye. About 25 people can fit in each window-filled car on the Farris Wheel.

What tourist's visit to London would be complete without a trip to Abbey Road? Yes, there is a picture of me walking across the street. If you ask me nicely, you may look at it.

A fountain glows different colors near the National Gallery on London's Trafalgar Square. The oddly named square gets its title from a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars.

I'll update my blog with pictures from the rest of my travels over the course of the next few weeks.

Sailing on the North Sea

2009-08-03T15:48:00.004-05:00

My internship ended last week, as did my time in Brussels. But I'll be in Europe until August 20, and I'll be traveling around until then. My first stop is London, where I am now. To get there, I took a boat over the North Sea from The Netherlands to Harwich, England.

This shot of the the harbor in the Hook of Holland shows the smoke stacks from the huge boat I was on. There were restaurants, a movie theater and a casino on the boat, but I spent most of the over-night journey sleeping in a private cabin. Luxury!

Brusselization

2009-07-28T17:20:00.004-05:00

The architecture around the EU Quarter in Brussels varies widely. Modern glass and steel offices are built adjacent to old, classic-style buildings, and decaying structures are just as common as new construction. The EU recently unveiled plans to redesign the area around its institutions, stating that it wants to make the EU Quarter look and feel friendlier to people. Will more construction simplify the chaotic landscape of the EU Quarter or just contribute to the mess? This photo essay takes a look at the current state of the buildings around Europe's capital.

Brussels is home to many classically styled buildings, such as these houses and shops near the EU.

However, glass and steel buildings, like these EU Commission buildings, often dominate much of the city's skyline. The juxtaposition of both classic and modern buildings is a common sight in Brussels. In the second half of the 20th century, many old structures were demolished to make room for modern buildings, roads and infrastructure. Such construction was so common in Brussels that city planners refer to the phenomenon as "Brusselization."

Construction was not just confined to the last century. Today the EU Quarter is home to many building projects. Here workers build a wall in what will become an apartment building in the EU Quarter.

Giant cranes constantly loom over life in the ever-changing EU Quarter. In addition to the current private development in the area, the EU plans to increase its office space in a redevelopment effort that officials say could take about 15 years.

In contrast to constant construction, many buildings around the EU Quarter are falling apart or being torn down. One EU building's neighbor is this half-demolished structure with debris in the revolving door. It remains to be seen whether or not the EU's efforts to improve the area will be successful.

Brussels Milk Protests

2009-07-23T18:41:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday, I shot a dairy farmer protest in Brussels. Dairy farmers drove their tractors into Brussels to call on the EU to cut milk quotas to lower supplies. A 50 percent drop in milk prices over the last year is forcing them to sell below cost.

A young farmer hangs on the side of a tractor while riding into Brussels.

A farmer signals to his friend while driving his tractor in Brussels.

It was a great rush to ride with the farmers during part of their journey into Brussels.

An angry farmer spars with a police officer outside of EU headquarters.

Belgian National Day

2009-07-22T13:49:00.002-05:00

July 21 is Belgian National Day which celebrates Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. The celebrations were a little like 4th of July in the States: Parades, food, and fireworks.

Jets fly over a military parade while painting the sky with the colors of the Belgian flag (assuming the far right color is black, not blue).

A parade viewer tries to get a better view from the wall of a building.

Tom carefully aims a crossbow at a target near the city center in Brussels. Many events and interactive booths lined the streets of the city center to celebrate Belgium's independence.

Erika takes her turn with the crossbow.

Fireworks shot above the royal palace at night. The display easily rivaled anything I've seen in the States.

The Hague

2009-07-21T10:16:00.003-05:00

I took a slightly unexpected trip to The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch) over the weekend. I usually just think of The Hague as the home of the UN's International Court of Justice, but it turned out to be a beautiful and diverse city. There was art everywhere, a huge beach on the North Sea, museums, and a vibrant city center.

A sculpture by Mexican artist Javier Marín sits in a park near the city center of The Hague. Several of the artist's sculptures were displayed in a park including giant heads, horses on stilts, and circles make from body parts.

The Binnenhof in the city center houses Dutch parliament. Though Amsterdam is technically the capital of The Netherlands, The Hague is the de facto seat of government housing embassies and other national government buildings.

There was a huge amount of construction happening right next to Den Haag Centraal, one of the city's train stations. The signs around the construction talked a lot about the history of the land, but nothing explained what they were building with six cranes. Also I can't read Dutch.

One of the many unique chandeliers in the M.C. Escher museum hangs over a series of prints. The museum had a great collection of Escher's works and featured interactive exhibits as well.

Liz looks through an interactive exhibit at the Escher museum. Looking into mirrors in the exhibit gave people an new view in an unexpected direction.

Sand dunes near the beach in The Hague were green and full of plants. There was lots of white sand as well near the water, but I really liked the look of these dunes. Walking between the beach and the dunes felt like you were totally changing environments.

Travel Guide: Brussels on the Cheap

2009-07-14T12:53:00.005-05:00

On Monday I made some pictures for a feature story about visiting Brussels on the cheap. The assignment was fun as I got to travel all around the city looking for fun things to photograph. Here's a copy of the story for anyone interested in coming to Brussels. And below are some of the images used in the story.

Workers tend to the gardens on the Mont des Arts near the Grand-Place in Brussels on Monday, July 13, 2009. The garden is just one of the many free or cheaper places that help visitors enjoy Brussels on a budget.

John Keywood of Birmingham, England, enjoys one of Belgium's numerous beers after finishing a pot of mussels at a restaurant in the center of Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2009. Brussels is famous for its food and drink including Abbey beers, Belgian frites, waffles, fine chocolates and mussels.

Statues, which include artists, statesmen and scientists, line the steps in the park on the Place du Petit Sablon in central Brussels, Monday July 13, 2009. With more than 2,900 acres of parks, Brussels is considered one of the greener cities in Europe.

Marie-France Bourret of Paris, France, stops to smell the flowers in the park on the Place du Petit Sablon on Monday, July 13, 2009. The park in central Brussels is known for its numerous statues representing guilds and famous Belgians.

Visitors walk around the Grand-Place, a spectacular square in the historic center of Brussels on Monday, July 13, 2009. Known for its ornate architecture, the Grand-Place includes Brussels City Hall as well as former guild houses for skilled professions such as brewers, bakers and butchers.

Ghent

2009-07-13T09:57:00.003-05:00

On Saturday we spend a few hours in Ghent, another Belgian town in Flanders. There were canals, a castle, a cathedral and a belfry.
Mary, Morgan, Lauren and Liz hang out in front of the belfry in Ghent. The belfry was built in the 14th century and is about 300 feet tall. We climbed to the top where there was a nice view of the city.

Amsterdam

2009-07-07T16:46:00.003-05:00

I celebrated the 4th of July in Amsterdam over the weekend. There were lots of museums and plenty of culture, and of course there was the famous red light district, which was a little surreal.

The canals really dominate the city. They're everywhere, and they're all pretty nice. Also everyone rode bikes here. Cyclists also dominate the city, and if you walk in a bike lane, you're basically a target.

The gang hangs out in front of Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam - the photo museum. The museum was quite nice. It featured work from just a few photographers, but each photographer had a significant amount of work represented. A highlight was Massimo Vitali's series of overhead shots of people at beaches. The images were huge, allowing you to see both the large-scale patterns of people as well as the close-up details of individuals' behavior.

Tourists play on the giant letters that spell "I AMSTERDAM."

Visitors of the Heineken Experience gather around a vat of wort, the liquid that is fermented into beer. The old brewery in Amsterdam was turned into a tourist attraction. With beer samples, a make-your-own-music-video booth, and a ride that "turns you into beer," we deemed the Heineken Experience the "best advertisement we ever paid for."

Green Heineken bottles were turned into the ceiling at a lounge. Classy.

Madagascar Protest

2009-07-06T17:56:00.003-05:00

Here's something I shot today for AP in Brussels.

Protesters gather outside EU headquarters in Brussels to call on the EU to further condemn Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina on Monday, July 6, 2009. Rajoelina met with European officials in an attempt to convince the EU of his legitimacy after rising to power in what the EU has called a coup d'état. The sign in French reads "No to the coup d'état."

Atomium

2009-07-02T08:54:00.003-05:00

The Atomium in Brussels is a rather large monument, though it doesn't seem to be very well known outside of Belgium. The monument was built for the World's Fair in Brussels in 1958 and is over 330 feet tall.

Each of these spheres contained an exhibit or attraction. One had a sandwich shop while another had comic-style drawings of the Atomium.

The Atomium's structure is that of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times, representing the technological advancements of the 1950s. An elevator (the world's fastest in 1958) takes visitors to the top sphere where there's a pretty nice view and a pretty expensive restaurant. The other spheres can be accessed through escalators in the tubes that connect the spheres.

Paris

2009-06-29T15:52:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we took a train down to Paris, a large city in France that you may have heard of. It really was a beautiful city, and I think we saw just about every main attraction there. It was fun to see all of the famous landmarks, but I'd love to go back some time and spend more time in some of the neighborhoods like the Latin Quarter.

A street performer juggles a football (soccer ball, whatever) as he hangs from a lamppost outside the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The Basilica is on top of a hill in northern Paris overlooking the city. Street performers, shady vendors and tourists lined the stairs leading up to the cathedral.

The Eiffel Tower peaks through the trees in park surrounding the monument. I went up almost 1000 feet to the top on Friday night. Built for the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889, the tower was intended to be a temporary exhibit to be dismantled in 1909. However, the structure was useful as a communication tower during World War I and was kept intact.

A couple dines on the banks of the Seine River that runs through Paris. Tons of people flock to the river to eat, drink or just enjoy the scenery. Great place for a picnic.

The pyramid entrance to the Louvre sits in a courtyard in the museum's huge complex. Originally the Louvre was used as a palace for French kings, but was later converted into a public museum during the French Revolution. And yes, the Mona Lisa was underwhelming.

A man takes a picture of the Paris skyline through a clock in the d'Orsay museum. Though less well known than the Louvre, the d'Orsay housed many nice works from artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Seurat.

A makeshift shrine to the late Michael Jackson sat near the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Flowers, pictures, candles, and notes in many different languages were arranged to honor the King of Pop who died last week.

The Eiffel Tower again. It's pretty when it's all lit up. What else can I say?

London (Briefly)

2009-06-29T04:03:00.003-05:00

Last Monday I spent less than a day in London as part of my class. Mainly the visit consisted of a tour of the BBC, a trip to the Natural History Museum, and a EU-related debate.

The BBC's main television center opened in 1960, and its studios were home to shows like Fawlty Towers, Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Dr. Who.

Tom receives breaking news in a fake earpiece while reading the "news" during an interactive portion of the BBC tour. As a broadcast television major, Tom looked confident reading news bulletins that mostly consisted of BBC advertisements.

A BBC employee works in a studio at the television center. The lights in the foreground are just a few of the dozens that can be lowered from the ceiling to create lighting conditions for almost any show.

The Natural History Museum's impressive building housed dinosaur bones, animals bodies, and tons of other stuff I didn't get a chance to see. While there I saw a BBC crew filming for a show. Full circle.

I wasn't in London for very long, but I'm looking forward to coming back for about five days in the beginning of August.

Iran Protests

2009-06-24T10:21:00.007-05:00

Protesters gathered outside of European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday to speak out against the government crackdown of protesters in Iran.

Demonstrators in Brussels also called for a review of the recent election in Iran, claiming that Iranian President Ahmadinejad's reelection was fraudulent.

A woman shows the victory sign at the protest in solidarity with the protesters in Iran.

Protesters in Brussels hold signs questioning the actions of the Iranian government. The sign in French reads "Stop the Repression of the Iranian People."

A man hangs an Iranian flag from a statue near European Parliament in Brussels.

Iranian Human Rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, left, addresses protesters in Brussels.

A man flashes the victory sign at the protest in Brussels.

I shot these pictures for my internship with the Associated Press, and several of the pictures here are currently on the AP wire. The LA Times used one of them on a blog and CBS News used one in their Day in Pictures section.

Ireland

2009-06-22T18:22:00.008-05:00

We had a great, busy few days of travel this weekend. We were in Ireland from Friday until Sunday, and then we took a day trip to London on Monday. First Ireland.

On Sunday, we traveled to a small fishing town near Dublin called Howth. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The cliffs and hills were spectacular, and the colors were really vivid.

Morgan looks out into the Irish sea while standing on a cliff in Howth.

Baily Lighthouse sits on the southeastern part of Howth. It was quite a long hike from the train station we arrived at to the lighthouse, but the whole walk was very nice. It was a little rainy that day, but the slight drearyness somehow contributed to the atmosphere. I would love to go back here or see other parts of Ireland like this. So, so nice.

As great as the countryside was, we spend most of our time in Ireland in Dublin. Dublin is a smallish, but very fun city. There were plenty of old building, nice bars and restaurants, and fun things to do.

On Saturday, we visited Bedford Hall which is part of Dublin Castle. The buildings were just a couple minutes away from our hostel, and currently serve as an Irish government complex. Until Ireland broke away from Britain in 1922, the castle served as the seat of British power in the country.

The buildings were nice enough, but we soon pulled out a map to figure out what we would see next.

Also near our hostel was Trinity College. The campus was pretty, and we took a tour of an old library and saw the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript bible made over the course of the 7th to 9th centuries.

A stencil painted on a Dublin wall calls for the rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty of Lisbon is an EU proposal that would grant more power to the European Union, giving the democratically elected Parliament more control of legislation and introducing a President of the European Union. Each EU nation must ratify the treaty for it to take effect, and the national assemblies of most EU countries pushed the treaty though. However, Irish law required that the treaty be put to a referendum, and in 2008, Irish voters rejected the treaty, halting the ratification process. Critics of the treaty have suggested that the treaty will decrease democracy by moving power to the EU and away from national politics. A poll found that Irish voters rejected the treaty largely based on lack of knowledge about the treaty or a desire to preserve Irish identity.
Though voters rejected the treaty, there are plans to present the referendum to Irish voters once again. At last week's meeting of EU leaders, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen secured the assurances that the treaty of Lisbon would not affect Irish military neutrality, taxes or abortion. The assurances were made in an attempt to mollify voters' concerns about the treaty. A new referendum is expected in the next several months.

During the beautiful day on Saturday, we spent a little time in St. Stephen's Green, a park in central Dublin. While there, I approached some jugglers because fellow jugglers always seem to be friendly people. The jugglers invited us to a street performance competition at another park nearby, and we watched a couple shows there. There was a funny breakdancing troupe and then a woman who fit into a 16 inch box. There were tons of people watching, so I couldn't get close enough to get good pictures with the lens I had. Too bad.

On Saturday, we also went to the Guinness Storehouse, a museum that is part of the Guinness brewery. The museum was very well designed, but unfortunitely we did not actually get to see the beer being brewed. There were some interactive sections though, and at one point we were shown how the brewers taste-test the beer, and we were given samples to try.
When we reached the top of the museum, they gave everyone an additional free pint of freshly brewed Guinness, as you can see here. Mmmm.

The panoramic view of Dublin at the top of the museum was a wonderful backdrop to a wonderful beer.

The museum also included a history of Guinness advertising and a collection of memorabilia, including bottles. I learned that the Guinness Book of Records was started by the Guinness company as a way to resolve arguments in pubs. I had never put that together before.

Ireland wasn't all sightseeing. We hit some pubs in Dublin, giving Becky and Amy a chance to dance to oldies. The pubs we visited on Friday were ok, but on Saturday night we went to a great place called Messrs Maguire, a microbrewery with dancing and a fun, young crowd. There are no pictures from there. I was dancing, too.

On Monday we took a day trip to London. I'll post pictures in a day or two. Stay tuned.

New Design

2009-06-14T15:13:00.002-05:00

I got tired of the old design of my blog, so I found a template that I liked online and modified it for my use.

What do you think? Any suggestions?

Antwerp

2009-06-14T06:28:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, I spent the day in Antwerp, a beautiful port city in northern Belgium. Though Antwerp had some very touristy areas, there were many lively local areas as well, which made the city seem like a fun place to live.

A street performer in Antwerp performs tricks with a flaming stick on a busy tourist street. Later the performer juggled the flaming stick, a blade and an apple, which he ate. I was impressed.

Pink balloons rise above Antwerp City Hall in the Grote Markt, or main square. A wedding party released the balloons just before the bride and groom drove away to live happily ever after (or at least in some approximation of happiness).

It was wedding day in Antwerp. A second newly-wed couple leave Het Steen, a medieval castle near the city center. The castle, known as The Stone, was originally used as a duke's residence, but was converted into a prison in the 14th century. Apparently it is the oldest building in Antwerp, having been constructed around the 7th-9th centuries.

A jeweler in a diamond store in Antwerp welds the band of a ring together before filing it smooth. Antwerp is a huge diamond center, and about 80% of the world's diamonds pass through the city at some time. In 2003, the biggest diamond heist in history happened in Antwerp where over $100 million worth of goods was stolen.

People enjoy various rides at a fair in Antwerp. The fair was large, having many rides, including a roller coaster and giant Ferris wheel. Carnival games were also set up, some with prizes that included big-screen televisions and computers. There was also a Disney-themed ride that likely included the extra thrill of copyright infringement.

People step over the opening in a fountain outside the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The fountain consisted of a large, textured area that would periodically become flooded when the opening, pictured here, released water.

Lunch! We went to a little cafe near the city center, and I ordered Carpaccio and fois gras - thin, raw beef and goose liver served on bread. So good. So good. I might need to go back to Antwerp just to eat it again.

NATO Defense Minister Meeting

2009-06-13T15:10:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, I worked at NATO headquarters in Brussels covering a meeting of the world's major defense ministers. Robert Gates, the US Secretary of Defense was there, along with other military leaders. The defense ministers held closed meetings throughout the day, but there were also press conferences to advise the press of the ministers' decisions.

German Minister of Defense Franz Josef Jung answers questions during his arrival at the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on June 11. During the day's meeting, the ministers discussed troop levels in Kosovo and the response to maritime piracy.

European Elections

2009-06-09T03:24:00.009-05:00

European Parliament elections took place between June 4-7, and Belgium voted on Sunday. Over the course of the day, we covered events at polling stations and at the Parliament building. The EU is a bit complex, but I'll provide a quick explanation at the end of this post if anyone is interested.

Journalists, EU workers and others walk through a hallway in the European Parliament in Brussels. Despite extensive advertising, turnout throughout Europe was only around 43%. Over 700 Members of European Parliament were elected, so there was no single political star drawing voters to the polls.

A father lets his son insert his voting card at a polling station in suburban Brussels. Though turnout throughout Europe was only 43%, Belgian turnout was around 90%. Belgians tend to be in favor of the EU, but the high turnout is mostly due to voting being mandatory in Belgium.

Former Belgian Prime Minister (1992-1999) and current Member of European Parliament Jean-Luc Dehaene waits in line at his polling station in northern Brussels. Though he served as head of state, Dehaene waited in line as if he were any other citizen. There were a couple police officers outside, but his only entourage in the polling station was a group of journalists and his wife. Dehaene said he hoped the elections would bring about a stronger Europe needed to combat economic and environmental problems.

Journalists seemed to rule the European Parliament building on Sunday, setting up TV studios, computer camps and editing booths throughout the building. Sunday was the final day of elections, and hoards of journalists were on hand to interview politicians throughout the day.

A journalist from a Flemish TV station interviews Wilfried Martens, the President of the center-right European People's Party, the most popular party in European Parliament. The EPP will maintain its hold on Parliament as it received 265 of the 736 seats in the proportionally-elected body. Martens also served as the Belgian Prime Minister from 1981-1992.

As for the EU, the Parliament is one of three branches of the government and the only one that is popularly elected. The other branches are the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. The Commission is basically the bureaucracy, but there are also 27 main Commissioners chosen by the heads of state of EU member nations. There is one Commissioner per nation, but they are required to represent the interests of Europe as a whole, not of their respective countries.

The Council of Ministers is comprised of 27 officials, one from each member nation, and is a legislative chamber. The Council shares power with the Parliament in enacting laws. For difficult decisions, the Council defers to heads of state, who meet four times each year during the EU summit. The ministers represent the interests of their independent nations.

The Parliament is the popularly elected branch which shares decision-making power with the Council. Members hold office for five-year terms. The Parliament holds committee meetings and performs most of its daily functions in Brussels, but also meets once a month in Strasbourg to make decisions as a unitary body.

The EU in general is a supra-national government, meaning it has real legal authority over its individual member nations. Though many decisions are left to national and regional governments, the EU decides many economic and political policies that affect each nation. If any member nation fails to comply with an EU law, the Commission may bring the nation before the European Court of Justice where it may receive financial penalties. The EU, in many ways, is similar to a "United States of Europe." Each nation is like a state, and the EU is like the US federal government. There is even a common currency and free travel between nations.

Museum of Musical Instruments

2009-06-06T15:46:00.004-05:00

On Friday afternoon, I went to the Museum of Musical Instruments in Brussels. The museum had hundreds of instruments including strings, percussion, brass and even synthesizers. The collection included a wide range of instruments made over the course of hundreds of years. The age range gave a good indication of the evolution of particular instruments over time.

Here Amy checks out a collection of flutes in the museum. Many instruments were unknown to me, such as the double flutes here.

Here a museum patron listens to an example of piano music near the collection of pianos. With entry into the museum patrons receive headphones that are location-sensitive. When standing near an accordion, accordion music plays. It was pretty clever.

The museum was fun, but even if it hadn't been, I didn't pay to get in. Journalists in Brussels get free access to museums, so I presented my European Commission press pass to the ticket desk and received free entry. So awesome.
I saw this sign in the museum's bathroom. I think it's a reminder to pick up your hat from the ground. Just in case.

Chinese Embassy Protest

2009-06-04T09:29:00.004-05:00

Today at my internship, I went with the TV crew to cover a protest at the Chinese Embassy in Brussels. Amnesty International was protesting in front of the embassy on the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on student protesters on Tiananmen Square. Amnesty International was calling for increased human rights in China.

Amnesty International protesters perform a dance in front of the Chinese embassy in Brussels, Belgium. The protesters' bags represent the bags held by the famous Tank Man on Tiananmen Square 20 years ago.

We couldn't have been on the scene for more than 10 minutes, and I spent much of that time conducting an on-camera interview with the Belgian head of Amnesty International. The AP people I work with handed me the microphone and said "Go do the interview!" I wasn't expecting that, but the interview was fairly straightforward, and it went pretty well. After we finished filming the interview, I had just over one minute to shoot a few pictures, and here's my favorite one. Just after I shot this, we had to rush back to our office to edit and transmit the video. While on the scene, I also met Yves Logghe, one of AP's photographers here. In addition to working with APTN (AP Television News), I'm going to get to work with the photographers in a couple weeks, and I've very excited about that.

In addition to covering the Tiananmen Square anniversary today, we also got reactions to Obama's speech to the Muslim world from Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief. I wasn't there to film the interview, but I put together a shot list that we always need to send to APTN headquarters. So today I was involved in covering (however remotely) the world's top two news stories. Fun stuff.

Day at the Beach

2009-06-01T16:17:00.003-05:00

Summer at the beach! Today was a public holiday here, so we went to Ostend, a beach town on the Belgian coast.

The North Sea was pretty cold, but we had a great time lying around on the sand, eating cheese sandwiches and digging holes. Because of the holiday, there were tons of people around enjoying the nice weather.

Ostend had plenty of wind, and there was no shortage of kite flyers on the beach.

Hundreds of flags flew on the masts of boats docked in one of Ostend's harbors. There was a maritime festival there this weekend, so there were lots of nautical-themed exhibits and events. We even got to tour a Belgian Navy ship. I'm sure their navy is in top shape, but the ship didn't seem to be too much more than a small yacht.

Pirates! Or not. There were actually a lot of these old ships sailing around because of the maritime festival. Looking out into the water and seeing huge old sailboats made it feel like another world.

There is quite a bit of commercial fishing that goes on around Ostend, but apparently some personal fishing, too. The guy who owned this pole had about a dozen others set up with lines cast. I didn't see him catch anything on any of the poles. Speaking of fish, we tried to get some seafood from a vendor, but were tricked into buying fake fish. Not happy. This is the last I will speak of the occurrence. On the bright side, we later bought some real, cooked seafood that was spicy and delicious. It appeared to have been some sort of mollusk, but we don't speak Dutch, so we couldn't really tell. (Ostend is in northern Belgium, which I've mentioned is Dutch-speaking Flanders).

It couldn't have been a maritime festival without a pirate band. I guess.

And then these guys were wearing uniforms unlike the real Belgian Navy, so I don't know who they were. Again, Dutch is an issue. Either way, they had guns, stood in formation and did little else.

We also took a hike over to what looked to be a Napoleonic fort, but turned out to be a water tower. Not everything can be exciting I guess.

Brussels Jazz Marathon

2009-05-31T17:17:00.003-05:00

This weekend there were tons of jazz concerts all around town during the Brussels Jazz Marathon. We only made it to a few in the Grand Place on Sunday, but they were tons of fun. The concerts were free, and the bands were pretty good. The festival was partially sponsored by "Cheeses of Wallonia" (Wallonia being the French-speaking region of Belgium). The cheese was also great. Brie on a baguette, slightly toasted. So good. So good. Here are pictures of jazz (not cheese).

Here Laurent Dehors from Trio Grande plays saxophone and clarinet at the same time. Normally I think things like this are just gimmicky, but he sounded great. He only played both instruments for part of one piece, but that piece was the highlight of the show. It was a really explosive, bop sort of jazz. Tons of energy. Amazing.
Take the Duck was another band we saw. Daniel Noesig on trumpet and Toine Thys on bass clarinet. Also pretty good, but not as fun as Trio Grande.
As I mentioned, the concerts we saw were in the Grand Place. Most of the buildings were built in the late 17th century, so it's a pretty impressive place to watch a concert.
The most impressive building in the Grand Place is the Brussels Town Hall. The oldest parts of the building date back to the 1400s.

Bruges

2009-05-30T15:59:00.004-05:00

Today we spent the day in Bruges, a tourist city in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium.

The official flag of Bruges flew in the Grote Markt, a big market square in the middle of town. The Grote Markt is home to the Belfry, a big clock tower with a number of bells. While it's not pictured here, we did go up in the tower, and I took a panoramic shot of Bruges from the top. (Here's someone else's picture of the Belfry if you're curious.)

Click on the image to see it full size. I stitched a few images together to create this panorama.
This is about 270 feet above ground, and there were 366 steps leading up to the top.

Later on we saw some street performers walking on a tightrope and doing minor acrobatic maneuvers. They we entertaining enough, but were probably more style than substance. And even then, the style wasn't great. And there should have been juggling. Definitely juggling.

Ahh the canals of Bruges. I think these boat rides would look more fun if they didn't cram 25 people into them.

Crowded or not, this kid was interested in the boats and had to be grabbed to keep him from leaning too far over the bridge.

Churches!

A Lovely Friday in Brussels

2009-05-29T11:06:00.003-05:00

A few people have told me that the weather here in Brussels is rainy and generally pretty dreary. There have been a couple days like that, but we've also had quite a few beautiful days. Today was perfectly clear with a high around 70˚F (21˚C). After class today, which consisted of a meeting with Willy Helin, the EU Ambassador to Belgium, a few of us decided to walk home instead of taking the Métro. On the way, we found the Ixelles Ponds, some nice little patches of water in the middle of Brussels. There were plenty of people there enjoying the nice day.

We also saw some weird birds at the ponds. Or maybe they weren't weird. I just don't know much about birds.
At some point we also stopped into a toy store. It was great to see some familiar board games in French. Apparently Clue is known as "Cluedo" everywhere except North America. Maybe that fact will come up in a French language trivia game.

Grand Place

2009-05-23T13:00:00.003-05:00

Today in the Grand Place, the central market square of Brussels, there was music, political speeches, and even some dancing. Becky and Amy decided to get in on the dancing, but required male partners. Due to picture-taking and general unwillingness among Mizzou guys, two men were drawn from the crowd to be the girls' partners. Here Becky and her dance partner laugh as they try to master the steps.

Amy, Becky and other dancers move around the Grand Place.
Amy and her partner dance in the square. Dance must be a universal language, because the instructions were in French, but Becky and Amy got the moves down.
Before the dancing, we all sat down for beers, and a couple people got Cuban cigars. Here Tom lights up his purchase outside of a bar called Falstaff. Purchasing a Cuban gave me of those odd realizations that I'm really in a different country. Legally buying something that would be illegal in the US was pretty weird. The purchase even seemed topical considering the US's recent desire to have more open relations with Cuba.
From left to right, Tom, Erika, Becky, Amy and Morgan pose in front of a giant parking cone outside Gare Centrale, a train station in Brussels. I love gigantic representations of everyday items.

Day trip to Mechelen

2009-05-21T02:13:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday, we all took a train to Mechelen, a town in Flanders, which is the northern part of Belgium. The city was beautiful, but usually gets overlooked by tourists because of its proximity to more famous cities like Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp. The city is about a 20 minute train ride north of Brussels. Mechelen gained a great deal of wealth in the past through cloth trade, and as a result, there are plenty of stunning buildings, such as those surrounding the town square above. Additionally, bicycles are plentiful and cyclists seemed to outnumber drivers.

Mechelen also features several canals and bridges, giving it a style I'm not very familiar with. We had to walk a pretty long distance before being able to cross this canal.
More evidence of the city's opulence. This is St. Rumbold's Cathedral near the town square. (St. Rumbold, by the way, is the patron saint of outrageous names.) I don't know how tall the tower is, but they wanted €5 to climb it. We declined.

Inside the cathedral. The Catholic church used to be LOADED.

Erika was interested in the statue of a little boy holding the helmet from a suit of armor. What business does a little boy have holding such a thing? Unfortunately, the Latin text nearby did little to help explain the mystery.

Croque-monsieur! This is what we all got for lunch. I've been wanting to eat one of these ever since I saw a picture of the sandwich in my high school French book. Somehow the book made it look more tantalizing. Basically it is a glorified grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Honestly I was a little let down, but I think that six years of anticipating a sandwich would lead to disappointment for anyone.

I should also mention that we visited The Jewish Museum of Deportation and the Resistance in Mechelen. 25,000 Jews were deported from the train depot there while Belgium was under German control in World War II. The museum's goal was to give names and faces to victims of the Holocaust. It was pretty moving to hear individual stories about people affected, making the victims seem more real and less of a statistic.

Brussels Exploration

2009-05-19T01:45:00.010-05:00

Since I was awake so early this morning, I took some time to explore my surroundings before going to class. Here are some things I saw.

This is a Métro car coming out of a station near my place. The Métro is really convenient and reasonable cheap at €1.70 a ticket. I think the picture has a postcard sort of quality, so I toned it as such. Saturated colors!

This is a street that runs perpendicular to where I'm staying. The architecture seems pretty typical of Brussels from what I've seen. My professor here said that most buildings like this are about 100 years old.

This is a hallway leading to lecture halls in Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the university next to my residence. There were no students around, so the building was pretty creepy and had this odd orange glow about it. The university's Flemish name, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, means "Free University of Brussels." To make things more confusing, there is a completely separate university called Université Libre de Bruxelles, which is French for "Free University of Brussels." But the two universities are not related.

This highlights the oddity of having two official languages in Brussels - French and Flemish. By far more people speak French, but officials signs are in both languages, as are announcements on the Métro. It makes the city a little extra confusing when you're trying to discern a sign and first have to figure out which language it's in. The funny thing is, a huge number of advertisements are in English because it seems to be a more common language among everyone.

While on the subject of universities, I should also say that I do not attend either of the two schools mentioned above. In addition to the internship, I'm taking a class about European culture and reporting. This week we're in class everyday, except for Thursday's national holiday. Next week we start our internships which run Monday through Thurday, leaving Fridays for class. The class itself is taught at the International Press Center in Brussels. The building is right next to all of the European Union buildings.

This is a fountain in the lobby of the building I'm taking classes in. The class ceiling opens up to the rest of the city. Pretty swanky.

Oh and here is a slug I found outside of the Métro station near my place. I just thought it was cool.

Tomorrow I'm going to a Holocaust-related museum just outside of Brussels. I anticipate it will be both really interesting and horribly depressing.

Good morning from Brussels!

2009-05-18T18:04:00.006-05:00

Good morning from Brussels! Or at least from the courtyard outside of my room. The above picture is a panorama made from several images stitched together. The sun is just coming out here as everyone back home is getting ready for bed. I only arrived yesterday afternoon, so my internal clock is a little off, and I've been up since around 5 a.m.

In any case, I'll be here in Belgium for the next two months working as an intern for AP Television. After that I'm going to travel around Europe for at least another month. I'll try to update this blog frequently with photos and information about what I'm doing.

In the mean time, I still don't really know how to go about daily life here. Last night I met up with the group from Mizzou, and we tried walking around the area near our housing, located here, to find food. We couldn't find anything and ended up cooking some pasta in a student's room.

We're all pretty clueless about everything so far, and of the six Mizzou students here, I have the most French experience with two years in high school!

Here Erika and Morgan try to locate something on a map, but struggle with the French. I think there's going to be a lot of this.

But the mysteriousness of the city so far is part of its intrigue. Everything is slightly different, so its fascinating to see the world through new eyes.

Hopefully I can show that through pictures here.

Final Performance

2009-04-27T00:07:00.005-05:00

John Kosash performs euphonium during his senior recital at MU's music school.

Making a Movie

2009-04-22T09:44:00.001-05:00

Making a Movie from Jim Buell on Vimeo.

The cast and crew of the movie Venganza Azteca film a wrestling scene in the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri. The video was created with 777 still images over the course of three hours and 15 minutes.

Film Production

2009-04-13T19:32:00.014-05:00

Shooting is finally underway for the film Venganza Azteca. Here's a selection of images from two nights of shooting.

More days with the garbage guys

2009-04-02T20:37:00.003-05:00

Millennium Park

2009-03-28T21:13:00.005-05:00

Standard shot. I know. But I wanted to set up for the next one.

Sara Stogner and Ben Dillon photograph a doll in the metallic reflection of the bean sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park. Sara said she tries to photograph the doll in different locations.

Part of the stage in Millennium Park.

At the Gym

2009-03-28T15:35:00.004-05:00

Ian Lindsey works out at the ARC after work.

Hanging On

2009-03-17T21:51:00.009-05:00

Ian Lindsey hangs on to the side of the truck as his partner, Joey Winn, drives. Lindsey hung on to the truck while driving between houses, jumping off to grab garbage as the truck came to a stop.

Lindsey prepares to collect garbage in south Columbia. Lindsey and Winn found the stuffed animal on the front of the truck on a route. The pair named the animal "Gizmo."

Lindsey and Winn discuss plans before leaving for a route.

Winn grabs garbage bags from the side of the road as he runs to the back of the truck.