Picture of the Week #35 "Shy in Bhutan"

Picture of the Week #35 "Shy in Bhutan" Thimpu Bhutan 2000 Signed and Stamped

When our friends Alberto Lensi and Heidi Eckes took us to Bhutan, we had one of the most fabulous trips of our lives. Most of the people in Bhutan would pose for their picture to be taken, while this group were more camera shy. Perhaps there was more going on in their lives than the National dictum of "Happiness". The then 48 year old King had claimed that what he wanted for his nation was "happiness". And from the expression on most of the faces, he succeeded. This tiny Kingdom in the Himalayas is heaven. A must see for any traveler. The draw back is that they only allow 5,000 people a year in to visit. When we were there there were no traffic lights. No plastic. And virtually no crime. But I had remarkably fast internet connections as the phone lines were only put in ten years before. I'd go back in a second.

Picture of the Week #34 "Parade Rest"

Picture of the Week #34 "Parade Rest" Bangkok, Thailand 1989 Signed and Stamped

On my trip around the world I fell in love with Thailand. I photographed all the usual tourist sights of the temples and the floating markets, the people and of course the Monks. This is one of my favorites. The seated Buddhas are like soldiers watching their commanding officer walk by as they sit there at "Parade Rest".

Adios Amigo

Photographer Julius Schulman died today at 98. A great life, a great legacy. I took this at Xmas.

Picture of the Week #33 "Curled Up in Cadeques"

Picture of the Week #33 "Curled Up in Cadeques" Cadeques, Spain 1987 Signed and Stamped

I stayed in this picturesque port town in Northern Spain waiting to meet Salvador Dali at his home in nearby Port Lligat.

He was fairly ill at the time. We had met years earlier in New York when we attended the film "Toys in the Attic" with

Mia Farrow who was also his friend. We had on another occasion had lunch together in some top scale

restaurant on the east side of Manhattan. I distinctly remember him ordering a half of a grapefruit and

pouring sugar all over the top until the cherry adorning it could no longer be seen. Madame Gala his immortalized wife

grabbed his hand and guided it back down to the table. I also remember when we were at the film he kept banging his

walking stick on the floor. It was so arbitrary as the banging did not coincide with anything that was going on on the screen.

Sadly, I didn't see the great Surrealist Master again as he died two years later. I don't know if Port Lligat is where those great

Spanish soft shoes called Espadrilles come from, but notice all of the show boxes and the pair hanging above the boy sitting

in the door. It sure looks that way.

Picture of the Week #32 "Night Stroll by the Kremlin"

Picture of the Week #32 "Night Stroll by the Kremlin" Moscow, Russia 1986 Signed and Stamped. I was invited to attend the first Soviet-American Film Interchange in 40 years. The group from America were led by Richard Gere and Darryl Hannah. Matt Dillon, Carrie Fisher, and a host of others from behind the camera were there to show our films and to discuss our work with Soviet film makers. We traveled on to St. Petersberg (Leningrad) as well. Check out Picture of the Week #17 "Alone in Leningrad" earlier in this blog.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to one and all. These pictures were taken in Sun Valley Idaho in 1977. They are signed and Stamped. The images are Very Americana. And notice Smokey the Bear driving.