In June of 1999 I travelled to Kyrgyzstan as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
In June of 1999 I travelled to Kyrgyzstan as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I lived in the South, in a small wine producing village near the Uzbek border. During my two year tour I took hundreds of photographs. Slowly, more attention is being paid to Central Asia and the various cultures there. This gallery is an attempt to show you the physical and ethnic geography of this amazing country. Enjoy the two large galleries, The Land and The People, for hundreds of photographs. For facts about Kyrgyzstan, take a look at the many links to official and personal links. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions under each page or each specific picture.
In August of 2001 I moved to Slovakia to teach English at a University. Throughout the course of a year I was able to travel to almost every part of the country. I lived in Nitra, in the South Eastern wine producing region near the Hungarian border. The natural beauty is astonishing, with dramatic mountains and castle ruins on lonely hill tops. Located in the very center of Europe, you can find influences from the Hungarians, Austrians and Socialists and more. The photographs of traditional houses were taken at three different skansen's, outdoor museums where houses from the 17th - 19th centuries have been saved from destruction, moved to a new site and preserved for tourists. There are about 40 such museums. Modern Slovaks can be seen on skateboards in Nitra's center. There is a separate section of Slovak Roma. I visited a Roma settlement in the village of Svinia with Canadian anthropologists who are studying and providing aid there.
A year ago I found an old Russian macro lens in a shop in Kyrgyzstan. Since then I have begun on a photographic odyssey into a world right in front of our eyesif you take the time to look. The complex beauty of natural objects is easily revealed with the macro lens. I also began to photograph lips as part of a private project: The beauty of Science. I plan to photograph lips from different countries. The mouth is used for so many different purposes; eating, breathing, speech, expression of emotion, and nature's solution is this amazing structure. Take a look!
