Finally. It has taken a few months to finally buckle down and work on these images, but I think the result is worth it. I invite you to look at some panoramic images of Prince Edward Island and the world. They include some lighthouse panoramas and other scenes from that beautiful island on the east coast of Canada. Enjoy

Every year at Mardi Gras, the small town of Binche in Belgium comes alive with festivities. The highlight of the yearly carnaval is the procession down the main street when the Gilles and their companions throw oranges at the crowd. I was lucky enough to be in Belgium to photograph this event. Check out the great images of the Carnaval de Binche.

Slideshow of some of the people in Indonesia.

Many things have happened since I left Bali and somehow I find myself in the French Riviera. I met up with David Prajoux, a good friend of mine in Paris. After sampling the 10 euro coffees looking onto the Eiffel Tower, and figuring that we could probably find cheaper coffee somewhere else, we headed south. I am currently in Cannes, home of the world renowned film festival. It is of course a little bit quieter here right now, thankfully.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of visiting Monaco and Monte Carlo. The richese there was simply too much to handle after leaving Bali. Two completely different worlds, the wealth present in the western world is quite ridiculous.

Heading west and north……

Well, this is it. One last lemon ginger soda and I am headed to Paris. What a time, 6 weeks has flown by and I can’t begin to recount all the experience. Some highlights. The terrifying ride on a motorbike through the jungle of Bali. Cooking and sampling the fire of the spice island cuisine, Lombok. Working on pictures in Kuta, Lombok at the wonderful Ashanti cafe overlooking an incredible vista. And most importantly, I can not forget the life changing experience of the UN conference. You can expect to see me turn my lens on the climate change issue throughout this year. Exciting things are happening back home and around the world and I look forward to being a part of it all.

There are over 7000 images to go through from Indonesia, surely a serious and wonderfully anticipated adventure into the hard drive(s).

I leave you with another portrait…

Simply move to Kuta, Lombok and we can offer you the fresh ocean breeze for your shirts and sheets.

Alas, they did their job valiantly for 5 years. May they rest in peace.

Serves 6

Ingredients
– Chili
– Coriander
– Ginger
– Shallots
– Lemon Grass
– Kunyit (ginger like orange root)
– Thyme
– Lemon Leaves
– Peppers
– Kemiri (like chestut)
– Phalla (cloves)
– One Fresh Duck

Directions:

Go to market and pick out a fresh duck, the larger the better. You shouldn’t have to pay more then 60,000 rupiah for your duck, (the equivalent of about $6.50 CAN). You should purchase the rest of the ingredients at the market and combined should cost around 15,000 rupiah. Transport your duck in a burlap bag on board the public transport system to you house.

When you get home, prepare the fire with palm leaves and heat up some water to facilitate the removal of the ducks feathers. Meanwhile, chop up all the spices and using a mortar and pestle, create a paste for the duck.

Kill your duck, the preferred method is to have one man hold the body, another hold the head and then slit the ducks throat. Please give thanks to the wonderful duck for providing you with a meal.

Take your duck and soak the body in hot water and remove all the feathers. Chop it up into several pieces and cover with the spice paste. Place duck in a large wok over a medium fire and fry. Meanwhile, climb a coconut tree and cut down two coconuts. Add the juice from the two coconuts to the duck and allow to stew for several hours.

During this time, listen to some tunes (Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Dylan etc.) and drink Palm Wine. Palm wine is a liquid extracted from a palm tree that has already fermented in the tree. When your duck is ready, eat with lots of rice using you hands.
Enjoy!

Rising high above the warm waters of North-Eastern Bali stands the mighty volcano Gunung Agung. At 3300m it is high enough to trap clouds and create weather patterns, the ‘mother mountain’ is a sacred mountain to the Balinese and one heck of a climb to the top.

We began at midnight. It was an interesting experience to hike with no idea where we were going or where we have come from. The only thing we knew, we were going up, high up.

Quickly the clouds moved in, and bodies were shrouded in white mist. Half way up, the toll started to weigh heavily on some of our group and when it became apparent that we wouldn’t see a sunrise, three of them huddled together on the mountainside to wait out our return. Over the next three hours they would shiver together as they tried to catch some sleep and survive in the wet windy conditions.

The steady trudge turned into a fourth class scramble and soon we were scampering over wet volcanic rock. It was classic misty conditions, an adventure it was turning into.. The three that continued, Charlotte from Belgium, Rob Niven from Canada and myself were having a dandy time. Charlotte was like a cat on her way up the mountain and Rob and I scampered up like the mountain goats we are trained to be.

Some people thrive on these conditions, perhaps it is because it makes a good story afterwards but it makes me feel alive. We arrived on the top and were greeted with cold, wet, mountain weather and 20 feet of visibility. Some would consider the five hour hike a waste of time without the sunrise but I will always disagree. Despite the fact that we couldn’t see anything from the top, the crater, the sunrise or even Bali, it was still wonderful. As usual, the descent was even more difficult but thankfully we managed to get down the slippery slopes in the tropical rain without mishaps. Would I do it again? Tomorrow.

I would like to apologize for the lack of photos on my blog to date. The upload speeds on small islands in the pacific are not capable of handling such things. Their will be more to come in the future.
Robert