Andrea Johnson Photography

 

THE HUMBLE STORY OF OREGON WINE

TRAVEL OREGON VIDEO

A dream assignment to capture the spirit of the Oregon wine industry for Travel Oregon – if only it hadn’t been with assigned in the wettest spring in recent memory, when everything was dormant in the vineyards. Luckily the sun came out at the 11th hour, we were able to capture some vineyard footage in a whirlwind 24 hours, and add in existing stock footage we’d captured at the same locations previous years. Always a pleasure to collaborate with writer Kerry Newberry, and thanks to the people and dogs of Cheahalem winery, Cristom winery, Eyrie Vineyards, and Beaux Fréres.

Here’s a link to the full story on Travel Oregon Website

http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/oregon-stories/the-humble-story-of-oregon-wine/

Varanasi, India – a photographer’s personal reflections

Every dawn and dusk thousands of pilgrims travel to the Ganges and perform the Ganga Aarti ceremony; making a wish, lighting a candle, and setting it afloat on the river. One of my wishes – to align my life and photography in a more balanced way. How? A surprising example may be this story of the photo I didn’t take.

Hindu girl selling small candles inside a cup of leaves and flowers.

Hindu girl selling small candles inside a cup of leaves and flowers.

The Sadhu was striking in appearance – white long hair, golden robe, radient weathered face and sinuous body. Something about the way he walked, held his head, and his calm eyes was different than the other Sadhus I’d encountered, too many eager to ask for a donation to pose for a photo. And it was obvious that I was in search of photographs, walking the ghats with two cameras around my shoulders, my eyes scanning the scene for images. As our paths converged in a relatively quiet area, where perfect morning light softly lit the colorful, graphic stairs of the ghat, we glanced at each other as we passed. I think we both took each other by surprise – that I didn’t raise my camera to take his photo, and that he didn’t stretch his hand out for a donation. I turned around to glance at the Sadhu one more time, and he turned simultaneously. He paused, the slightest gesture of his head communicated that he was inquisitive, possibly even open to being photographed and certainly curious that I hadn’t asked or tried to candidly captured the moment.

But I was tired of the superficial transaction I knew taking a quick photo would be, briefly regretting that I couldn’t linger here for days. For awhile I’ve been focusing more on capturing the perfect photo than the experience. Now I was searching for something more. In this circumstance, by not taking a photo I was able to connect – if only for a moment – authentically with him as a person. In the holiest of all places for Hindus, I had to believe there were still some things sacred. I smiled at him, did a slight bow and brought my hands to prayer as a sign of Namaste in greeting , and he graced me with his smile. He was indeed a “real” Sadhu, and this may be the most memorable experiences I had in India.

The bustle in one of the world’s oldest cities, Varanassi, is never ending and can be simultaneously wonderful and overwhelming to the senses. This photo of the cow serenely standing in the middle of the road with traffic buzzing by on both sides exemplifies the spirit of India to me, the ability to maintain calm in chaos, and the importance of finding your own center balance to adapt to the environment yet stay steady. In 1897 Mark Twain said "Benares (aka Varanasi) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

The bustle in one of the world’s oldest cities, Varanassi, is never ending and can be simultaneously wonderful and overwhelming to the senses. This photo of the cow serenely standing in the middle of the road with traffic buzzing by on both sides exemplifies the spirit of India to me, the ability to maintain calm in chaos, and the importance of finding your own center balance to adapt to the environment yet stay steady.
In 1897 Mark Twain said “Benares (aka Varanasi) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”

Cow roaming ancient back streets of Varanasi, India

Cow roaming ancient back streets of Varanasi, India

The Untouchables. Politically active Untouchables prefer the term Dalit, which means "oppressed." They are the Hindu caste in charge of cremating bodies. We walked through their neighborhood on the way to the cremation ghats on the Ganges, I wasn't sure what to expect but certainly not outward signs of normalcy. Or warmth in their smiles as they greeted us, children playing, goats wandering, same scenes we'd encountered in so many rural villages. But where are the men you may ask? The scene blocks away from this neighborhood was entirely different. And the caste issue runs far deeper than I can do justice in a caption

The Untouchables. Politically active Untouchables prefer the term Dalit, which means “oppressed.” They are the Hindu caste in charge of cremating bodies. We walked through their neighborhood on the way to the cremation ghats on the Ganges, I wasn’t sure what to expect but certainly not outward signs of normalcy. Or warmth in their smiles as they greeted us, children playing, goats wandering, same scenes we’d encountered in so many rural villages. But where are the men you may ask? The scene blocks away from this neighborhood was entirely different. And the caste issue runs far deeper than I can do justice in a caption

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Rajasthan, India

Camel silhouettes, Thar Desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Although we set up this scene for our photo tour, it was still a challenge to find a clear spot without background distractions, and enough distance to use my 300mm lens on my Nikon d500 (dx sensor making non dx lens focal length 400mm). I love the gesture of the camel leg kicking up the sand and the individual postures of each person & camel. I chose to bracket this scene, allowing for a little bit of detail to show in the camel's decorative blankets. India's skies are extremely polluted in comparison to what I'm accustomed to, in this circumstance it worked well to shoot straight into the sun for the orange glow (no filter needed).

Camel silhouettes, Thar Desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Although we set up this scene for our photo tour, it was still a
challenge to find a clear spot without background distractions, and enough distance to use my 300mm lens on my Nikon d500 (dx sensor making non dx lens focal length 400mm). I love the gesture of the camel leg kicking up the sand and the individual postures of each person & camel. I chose to bracket this scene, allowing for a little bit of detail to show in the camel’s decorative blankets. India’s skies are extremely polluted in comparison to what I’m accustomed to, in this circumstance it worked well to shoot straight into the sun for the orange glow (no filter needed).

One of the world’s largest camel fairs in the world is held in the town of Pushkar, India. Each November at the time of the full moon, historically over 11,000 camels, horses, and cattle are traded over this two week festival. The men were sifting the sand out of the grain to feed their their camels to be traded. We camped on site and witnessed this epic spectacle from dawn to dusk

One of the world’s largest camel fairs in the world is held in the town of Pushkar, India. Each November at the time of the full moon, historically over 11,000 camels, horses, and cattle are traded over this two week festival. The men were sifting the sand out of the grain to feed their their camels to be traded. We camped on site and witnessed this epic spectacle from dawn to dusk

I’ll never know exactly what this Camel trader at Pushkar festival was thinking, but I have a good idea. I took this photo the day after the USA presidential election results were announced (we were lucky -or not depending on your perspective - to get news via a borrowed cell phone hotspot in the middle of the remote Rajasthan desert). It was a surreal place to hear news that will effect the world, yet for these camel herders the big news was the sudden halt on the most common currency notes - 500 and 1,000 rupees in effort to stop counterfeiting of the current banknotes allegedly used for funding terroism and black money in the market. Though most agree the intent of this ban is good, it has had serious repercussions - especially for many of India's 260 million farmers have no bank accounts. Although I typically don’t pay money for photos, this time I sympathized with the traders dilemma and am sure the tips he made from foreigners that day outweighed cash earned by camel trading. And the lessons I learned from those in India to be flexible and adaptable in the face of great adversity is priceless.

I’ll never know exactly what this Camel trader at Pushkar festival was thinking, but I have a good idea. I took this photo the day after the USA presidential election results were announced (we were lucky -or not depending on your perspective – to get news via a borrowed cell phone hotspot in the middle of the remote Rajasthan desert). It was a surreal place to hear news that will effect the world, yet for these camel herders the big news was the sudden halt on the most common currency notes – 500 and 1,000 rupees in effort to stop counterfeiting of the current banknotes allegedly used for funding terroism and black money in the market. Though most agree the intent of this ban is good, it has had serious repercussions – especially for many of India’s 260 million farmers have no bank accounts. Although I typically don’t pay money for photos, this time I sympathized with the traders dilemma and am sure the tips he made from foreigners that day outweighed cash earned by camel trading. And the lessons I learned from those in India to be flexible and adaptable in the face of great adversity is priceless.

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Nicaraguan surf & yoga retreat

View from my beachside cabana this week at Magnificent Rock, Nicaragua. Sun, surf, yoga, salsa, repeat. It’s been a week to challenge myself in new adventures – learning to surf over a reef has been one of the most challenging sports I’ve experienced. Successfully pushing past the fear to the exhilaration of riding my first wave to the shore, the magic of watching the sunset over the sea as the full moon rose, & the adrenalin of successfully catching a larger wave were rewards well worth the effort.

View from my bed at the beach cliff hut at Magnificant Rock, Nicaragua

View from my bed at the beach cliff hut at Magnificant Rock

Pelicans hunt for fish as the sun sets over the pacific ocean at our private beach in Costa Dulce, Nicaragua

Pelicans hunt for fish as the sun sets over the pacific ocean at our private beach in Costa Dulce

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Cuba – Photography tour through Havana, Trinidad, and Viñales

Cuba, the energy of this place captivated me. The openness of the people, the rhythm of the music and dance, the layers of art, history, and culture. I’ll return, and write more impressions in the future – in the meantime here’s a few photo highlights of my visit in Jan 2016 in Havana, Trinidad, and Viñales leading a photo tour for http://lumariaworkshops.com

A beautifully restored red cadillac with driver wearing Cuban hat, Havana.

A beautifully restored red cadillac with driver wearing Cuban hat, Havana.

It's not just tourists in the classic cars. According to Chris Baker's "Cuba Classics' book, "About 60,000 cars - one in every eight cars in contemporary Cuba (compared to one in every 400 cars in the USA) - is a pre 1960's American model."

It’s not just tourists in the classic cars. According to Chris Baker’s “Cuba Classics’ book, “About 60,000 cars – one in every eight cars in contemporary Cuba (compared to one in every 400 cars in the USA) – is a pre 1960’s American model.”

Washing the car in a backstreet of old Havana

Washing the car in a backstreet of old Havana

Boxers train at Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym (Rafael Trejo Gimnasio al Aire Libre), an open air ring with stadium seating in old Havana, lead by Cuban Olympic coach Nardo Mestre Florez. Boxing is perhaps the second most popular sport in Cuba, behind baseball.

Boxers train at Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym (Rafael Trejo Gimnasio al Aire Libre), an open air ring with stadium seating in old Havana, lead by Cuban Olympic coach Nardo Mestre Florez. Boxing is perhaps the second most popular sport in Cuba, behind baseball.

Cuba_Havana_20160111_030

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