The business of the Pampas

                          

The only beasts able to survive on this sparse land are sheep, and consequently, it is the business of the pampas. Kathy and I stayed on an estancia and saw things up close. Here a man shears the wool from the animal's face. Clippings are swept into a pile to the back, and later baled and sold. The gauchos are independent contractors, and come with their own horse and dogs. We watched them work, in concert, man, horse, dog, herding the sheep from one pasture to another. The dogs are amazingly intelligent, in constant motion, and very devoted to their masters. Staying on this ranch was another great OAT experience, and well worth the bus ride.

The Pampas

After a long bus ride, we crossed the border  (a tense affair, these neighbors don't like each other) into Chile. Then hours more, endless fences, and once, a gaucho herding his newly sheared sheep to another pasture. Here the land is flat, and stretches off into the horizon, punctuated by birds and framed by barbed wire at the bottom of the landscape, and endless white clouds above. Calafate bushes flash by, occasionally I sees dots of sheep way out on the rolling plains, and once in a while, another car passes, meaning, another human being. This land is big and empty, and feeling like our Great Plains without any people.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Named after the explorer who discovered it, this living wall of ice defies photographic description. Creaking, groaning, booming, it speaks to those who care to listen, and with patience, calves gigantic offspring into the lake. Our guide Pedro played Pavorati as we rounded the corner from above this massive formation. Our eyes tried to make sense of it, tried to understand the scale of this enormous white line that was facing off with the lake. Amazing!

Tango in Buenos Aires

It IS big here. They do it in the bars, in the streets, at art fairs, and for the tourists. Ah, yes, for the tourists. We were warned that these Tango Shows were a rip off. OAT came through, however, because the dinner and show that we attended were both excellent! It was dark and I was shooting at 1600 at  f/5.6 and 8 at 1/4 and 1/2 second for some blurring. I knew I wanted to put this together with the music I purchased from the performers.

Tango Lessons in Buenos Aires

Amazingly, we were early. Here is what I saw when we walked in. Two kids practicing on a dimly lighted floor, bartender engrossed in his magazine. So authentic! Eventually many from our group showed up, and we had our lesson from two friendly, footloose instructors.

Companeros

It is the people that make the trip. Here are some of our Overseas Adventure Travel companions taken in the little bar where we had our tango lesson, great folk all, even the Republicans!

The Arts District of Buenos Aires

The bright colors leave no doubt where you are. Lots of characters, good street art (Kathy held me back from buying, "We have no more space on the walls.") and the sun was casting strong shadows everywhere. Kathy did the walls, and I, the shadows. Like always, I wish we had more time. One hour was not enough...

The trip to Patagonia

I'm reliving the trip. Someone once said that when you travel to a place you do it three times; first, prior to the trip you research it, second, you go there, and third, you remember through words and pictures. It has been a month and I am reliving it. I've made an extensive DVD for our dinner party, so I can torture our guests. I posted the photos on the web (see my links), and now I'm blogging it. "Man With The Umbrella" is a print I entered in the Portsmouth Arts Guild show, and one that will go up in our personal gallery. We were on the roof of the Overseas Adventure Travel HQ in Buenos Aires, chatting and looking at the scenery. My muse spotted him  and I had just a second to compose this.  Actually, it composed itself. BA is an interesting city, and we had a great time street shooting our hearts out. 

Sometimes you've just got to leap right in

Because if you don't, you'll miss the big splashes in life. This from Dorset Quarry, Dorset, Vermont. 

At the Deblois Gallery, Newport, Rhode Island

All of the images are just now coming down at the Deblois Gallery, "Thinking Inside and Outside of the Box," in Newport, RI.  A jolly good show! I had one of my dolls in this exhibition. Here's one from the series, not in the show, but actually one I liked the best.

Another granddaughter, and another redhead

She may not be the biggest kid on the team, but she's their tiger. What a ball hound, quick, unstoppable, goal oriented!  This holds her in good stead in school, keeping her eye on what's really important... see photo.

The wife

of my life!
She's loaded, with talent that is, and wearsthe artist's mantle so modestly.  At the moment it's sculpture, and lately, colored pencils. Previously, pots, pastels, and of course, photography. Here's a couple recent pieces, but go to her site to get a good look. (see my linkage, armorsculpture.com)

Our littlest munchkin

Here she is folks, the newest, sweetest little girl. She might be the last but who knows, more is better. 

Another birthday shoot, three weeks ago

My number three granddaughter, or is number two. There are so many now, I forget who came when... She's me with an e, though. We are connected in some magical way, and have been from way back when. I can remember feeling a mysterious tie between us when we made eye contact, even when she was an infant. One of seven beautiful kids.  We are blessed.

My red haired cutie!

She's number five, and she is FIVE very, very soon. True, she's still fits into clothing from her third birthday  shoot, so she probably won't be the tallest kid in her class. But what a personality.

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

As I finish up my DVD of Patagonia, I am again awestruck by the raw, windswept beauty of Torres. The light is magnificent, flashing in and out, as it moves across the mountains and valleys. The clouds bump up against the peaks, then roll over and envelope. Hard rains come and go. The trees lean away from the force of the wind, sculpted by some invisible hand. We had so little time. How I wish I could have spent several weeks roaming this park. Torres del Paine is a special place.

Patagonia web link

While on board the Mare Australis, going around the Horn in rough seas, I put on a quickie slide show for the rest of our Overseas Adventure Travellers. Take a look at this partial set of images at www.armorphoto.com/Patagonia/index.html. I'll be posting a more complete series later.

Reliving the trip...

The DVD is coming together. It's like reliving the trip. I am so taken with this place, Patagonia. The horizontals of the pampas, the calafate bushes, the birds, the fences, and of course, the sky. Spectacular formations race across this windswept land, ever changing shapes that take one's breath away. Then the mountains of Torres del Paine appear on the horizon, and grow to enormous mastiffs that reach into the sky. This is a spectacular place.