increasing wanderlust

I'd rather not be linking to Ben's adventures twice in a row, but he just posted some incredible photos from Holi and other adventures, hopefully to be elaborated in his blog, in Gujarat.  Check them out here.  And, a few of my favorites as teasers: 

photos to match the sky today

"Katowice" by Rafal Milach

"Bytom Bobrek" by Rafal Milach

They make me yearn for summer and parties and pickup games in the alleys of Chicago.  If I don't see it happening, I think I'll have to make it happen, because what else could be so perfect in so many of these spaces?  

One of my favorite captures, from the city walls in Dubrovnik, Croatia: 

Check out Rafal Milach's portfolios here - I'm also a fan of his curious Carp Fishing photos.  

"Fisherman watching the fishing from the shore" by Rafal Milach

Just wish I could see larger images of each of these...grrrrr

why not indulge a bit...

in some Wade Davis explorations.  The main point of his TED talk is to argue against unilinear evolution, a now-long-buried anthropological theory that cultures "progress" from "primitive" to sophisticated as they become more like "us" - a thesis that could be a little disappointing in the wrong hands.  But, like Dave Suggs in his baccalaureate address at Kenyon graduation in 2007, Davis' TED talk is really about weaving stories into a rich tapestry of human traditions.  

So, why not indulge in dreaming of my dream job: National Geographic "Explorer in Residence."  Residence where?  the whole world, a world of beliefs and communities, and "ancient rhythms of landscape [...] played out in ritual," and of, as Wade Davis so passionately says, "raw human genius."  

What came to my mind when he said that phrase?  (Prepare yourself for a mental leap typical of myself...)

The street markets of Palermo and Turkey, held up by countless ropes and tarps lashed tightly to drainpipes and window grates and doorknobs on winding streets and dilapidated walls of bustling, dusty towns.  

(Cristina took this one)p.s. 

Let's move a little further east, and lament the fact that not everyone appreciates the basic genius of tradition and community ritual.  

Umida Akhmedova is an Uzbek photographer on trial in her country for taking photographs that "portray a negative image of the country."  The photos are raw, and intimate, and colorful - check out some of them in this BBC slideshow.  The charges carry a punishment somewhere in the ballpark of 6 months in prison or nearly 3 yeas of forced labor.  Officials say the photos "distort reality" and "portray the Uzbek people as backward.  She has been charged with defamation and insulting Uzbek traditions" (BBC).  It shocks me that so many people would rather look at smiling faces and see ignorance and degeneration instead of exuberance and that raw human genius (thanks, Wade) that keeps peoples worldwide alive and exciting.  

More of her photos here, but without captions or credits or anything.  

Holiday shopping!

On my roommate's resourceful urging, I have started an Etsy store in an attempt to sell some of my photos.  

Just in time for the holidays!  

Check it out, and pass it on.  I'm oh so flexible - email me for details about print prices, different sizes, mats and frames, as well as trades for you other creative types out there, because I like cool stuff, too!  

Thanksgiving

This is why you want to spend Thanksgiving with the Lamblas.  Roxanne said there were Trumpet Swans and Bald Eagles resting in the river along their migration route.  We went to investigate.  (I'd just gotten royally beaten down by the freezing cold temperatures and winds of a 30-mile bike ride through the killer :) hills of Wisconsin.)  

Trumpet Swans from Annie Lambla on Vimeo.

I look sorta like the goat with the sick eye:

Although Mom also gives the poor guy a run for his money...