Check out my surrealistic Hipstamatic photo collection

These are my latest collection of favorite photos taken in October, 2011 on my iPhone with my Hipstamatic Camera app using the Salvador Dali lens and film with varying types of flash. Enjoy the surrealistic charms of my photography.

Legs, Books, Bricks

Tower of Babel

Subway 

23rd Street

Lily's projection

Faded Vishhu 

Spencer Tunick's "Naked Sea" art installation revealed

"Naked sea" revealed. 1,200 people bared all to support the environment in this breath-taking, historical event. 

“Naked Sea”, artist Spencer Tunick’s awe-inspiring first image from his extraordinary artwork created on the shores of the Dead Sea has been revealed. Tunick located his art project in Israel with the purpose of supporting the global campaign to promote voting for the Dead Sea as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. The campaign was originated by the New7Wonders Foundation, headed by Bernard Weber, to find the world's new 'seven wonders' and is in its final stage ending 11.11.11.

Dead Sea Naked

“Naked Sea” is a grassroots project initiated in Israel to emphasise and draw attention to the growing environmental issues of the Dead Sea. More than 1,200 people from Israel and abroad arrived on the Western shores of the lowest lake on Earth just before dawn on Saturday, 17th September to take part in Tunick’s art project.

Click here for original story link.

Someone got the new iPhone 4S today : )

Captain Cook is sweeter than sugar.

       While in Kauai I was treated to a special tour of the first sugar plantation homes in Hawaii, Grove Farm. This hundred acre plantation site preserves the earliest surviving set of domestic, agricultural, and sugar plantation buildings, furnishings, collections, surrounding orchards and pasturelands in Hawaii. The historic homestead was the center of operations for the developing sugar plantation and involved the relationship of family life, plantation activity, household work, gardening and farming which developed the modern Hawaii that we know today and one of the reasons we have that all important sweetener of life, sugar. As the American Civil War was raging between the North and the South, a young American, George N. Wilcox took a lease on a struggling farm located on the outskirts of Lihue, on the island of Kauai, in what was then the kingdom of Hawaii. The farm had been chopped out of a large grove of kukui trees and was therefore called Grove Farm. His vision combined with his education resulted in his ability to change this arid farm into a thriving sugar plantation. As the Civil War destroyed the agriculture in the South, it helped sugar become a successful venture in Hawaii. Sugar’s success was also favored by the Hawaiian monarchy as it was an additional source of income for it’s kingdom. 

         As the Wilcox family grew rich from sugar they bought property, built homes, a hospital, schools, and other infrastructure around the island. With the help of buyers from all over the world the Wilcox family built a private collection of treasures that is one of the most impressive I have ever seen in my life. Among these treasures are 18th century ledgers and journals that belonged to the world famous English explorer, Captain James Cook. James Cook, was the first European to explore the Antarctic, Alaska, and New Zealand, he also discovered Australia, Easter Islands, and even Hawaii itself (then called the Sandwich Islands) where he was killed in a scuffle with natives over a stolen boat. My lovely new friend and Grove Farm museum director, Bob Schleck, took me and a handful of friends on this private tour of the plantation, the house and it's illustrious library where we were lucky to gaze upon one of Captain Cook's own journals of expeditions and discoveries, which is only one of five journals still existing in the world today. If you go to Kauai, make sure to visit this museum, it is sweet, sweet, sweet.

Grove Farm Museum

Captain Cook's Journal being carefully opened by Bob Schleck

Cook's catalogue of collected native made (Hawaiian) cloths published 1787 is in amazing condition.

A sketch of Capt Cook.

Full color images of the seafaring natives in the journals

Images of George Washington the first president of the USA is in this journal.

A male native encountered by Capt Cook and his crew.

A very excited Hawaiian native 

A beautiful female native

A native wearing a mask of bones

A video of a catalogue of Hawaiian fabric samples collected by Capt. Cook

Music Video: The Young Professionals, D.I.S.C.O.

Welcome Home, Gilad Schalit

 The Israel Defense Forces spokesman announced Shalit's return at 11 a.m. Tuesday Israel time. Shalit arrived in Egypt approximately three hours earlier. Gilad Shalit was reunited with his family shortly after crossing into Israel from Egypt after his release earlier in the day by his captors in Gaza, ending five years and four months in captivity. Images of Shalit walking were broadcast by Egyptian TV, and in an interview Shalit said he was treated well by his captors but that he missed family, friends and freedom. The IDF reported that Shalit is in good health. After meeting with IDF officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shalit was met by family members, and images of him embracing his father, Noam, were broadcast throughout Israel. Shalit's release came as Israel began transferring 477 Palestinian prisoners to the Red Cross as part of a swap deal between Israel and Hamas that will see the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Eyewitnesses confirmed that some of the prisoners had begun entering Gaza. Shalit's family was waiting for him at the Tel Nof Air Force base, where he was to be taken after crossing into Israel. Shalit had been held in Gaza since being captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid in June 2006.

Hipstamatic Hawaiian Gallery

“The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean”                             - Mark Twain, on Hawaii

Lihue

Bali Hai 

Kipu Road

Larson's Beach East

 

Larson's Beach West

Napali Coast

Bali Hai

Holy Hawaiian House of Worship

Sleeping Giant

Hanalei Sunset Palms

Puff the Magic Dragon in Hanalei

Wailua Falls

Hanalei, the crown jewel of Hawaii

Hanalei Valley on the north shore of Kauai is one of the most attractive and tranquil places in all the Hawaiian islands and one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. Backed by incredibly beautiful mountains with waterfalls tumbling down its sheer sides, Hanalei is a sprawling community of wooden houses with pretty gardens and quaint one lane bridges running over streams that overflow after rain. The famous Hanalei Bay with its perfect beach is a surfing and swimming paradise due to its consistently big waves and warm waters. Many movie stars and the wealthy spend their holidays here as Hanalei is a favourite destination for the experienced traveller. Walking tracks and hiking trails into valleys and kayaking up streams and around Hanalei Bay are favourite day activities. There are two particularly scenic lookouts. The Hanalei Valley scenic overlook which peers down into the valley floor with its neat squares of taro plantations hemmed in by irrigation streams. Taro is a staple food product and is considered the potato of the tropics, it has been a part of the diet of the ancient as well as modern Hawaiians alike. The Hanalei valley is a designated Wildlife Sanctuary rich in native water birds including the Hawaiian coot, duck and stilt, and is a peaceful place to explore. The other, a mile to the north of Hanalei Town, is the overlook at Lamaha'i Beach towards the stunning tropical backdrop of jagged lush green mountains of the Na Pali cliffs and coast, which itself is only accessible by boating or hiking. Put Hanalei on the top of your Hawaiian to-do list as it is the emerald green jewel on the crown of the Hawaiian Islands.

  

The mountains of Hanalei

Beautiful Hanalei Bay and the mountainside jutting into the beach that looks like 

a sleeping dragon as we all know to be the famed Puff the Magic Dragon

I love it here

Hanalei valley with taro plantations

Taro fields and wildlife refuge for endangered birds

A close up view of the taro fields

Bali Hai, the beach made famous in the movie, South Pacific

A lovely home in Hanalei 

Overlook of the Hanalei valley

Bali Hai beach

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific

One of the most popular places to visit in Kauai is the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Waimea Canyon. From the southern resort area of the island it takes about 45 minutes to reach. Waimea is the largest canyon in the Pacific and truly a dramatic sight to behold. The canyon is about 10 miles long and a mile wide, and more than 3,500-feet deep. It was carved thousands of years ago by rivers and floods that flowed from Mount Waialeale's summit. The lines in the canyon walls depict different volcanic eruptions and lava flows that have occurred over the centuries. Even though smaller than the Grand Canyon of Arizona, Waimea Canyon rivals the beauty. There are numerous lookouts and hikes offering terrific views of every aspect of this natural wonder. It is highly recommended to do this if you ever find yourself in this corner of paradise.

Kauai's Koloa Cemetery

I arrived to the island of Kauai, Hawaii this week and it is just as amazing and beautiful as you would think. My dear friend Robert Noble, who I am visiting here, is a new resident himself and he took me to see one of the sights of his neighborhood. One of the first places I visited was the Koloa Cemetery. It is a mixture of Buddhist, Catholic and Christian graves dating from the early 19th century. As you walk around and read the grave markers you can make out many of the family names from all over the world.  Names of Portuguese, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Americans settlers who moved within the last 200 years. They moved here, worked, lived, and died and have made their final resting place here on this tropical island cemetery. This cemetery is a true testament to Hawaii's incredibly diverse culture as it was and still is today.