Stein am Rhein, Switzerland

Just going through some of my images today and came across these photos from my time in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland.  I'm always impressed with the attention to detail in Europe when it comes to design, style, color and form.  They make almost everything with equal attention to both function and form.  Check out these shutters and the garage door.  Not just a simple paint job for this house.  The stripes add a really interesting design pattern to the facade.  And if you look really close you see a heart shape cut out of the shutter.  And you can see the hardware on the wall by the shutter designed to hold them in place.  Yes, these are actually functioning shutters.  Most of what we have in the states are screwed to the side of the house and don't serve a function.  I think I'll go eat some Gruyere cheese now.

Greece

Santorini, Greece

Thira, Santorini, Greece

  With all of the reports about Greece's financial problems in the news, I thought I would post a photo from my trip to Greece.  The island of Santorini in Greece is fantastic in October.  The temperatures were in the mid 70's and the tourist season is winding down.  Five days of my ten day trip to Greece was spent on this island and it was time well spent.  There is a reason this is the most popular of the Greek Islands.  The villages are dramatically perched on the top of the cliff and they overlook the volcano and the sea.  I stayed in the village called Thira, but it's a relatively short hike to get to the other villages.  And there is an amazing sunset view in the village of Oia.  It was funny trying to navigate around the outskirts of the island because they didn't seem to care too much about street signs.  So, trying to follow a map was comical.  But, it wasn't really frustrating because there weren't a lot of road options anyway.  I spent time on the black beach (called this because the sand is black volcanic sand), rode a donkey down the side of the cliff, and ate plenty of greek salads and drank my share of Mykonos beer.  A side note on the salad: a true Greek salad consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, red onion, kalamata olives, olive oil and a slice of feta cheese.  No lettuce on this salad.  If you ever have a chance to visit Greece be sure to spend at least a few days in Santorini.  Opa!!

My Studio Renovation, Indianapolis, Indiana

Okay, so this isn't exactly about travel, but my studio purchase and renovation consumed the better part of a year of my life. I found a great, old 1920 building that I thought would be the perfect live/work space. It was a Blacksmith studio in the 1930's and most recently a catering facility. It is the perfect studio for me. If you enjoy seeing renovation projects, you should love this slideshow. It was exciting to see the transformation and to watch my vision become a reality.

Mürren, Switzerland

People often ask me what is my favorite country in Europe? I would have to say Switzerland. It's the most beautiful, quaint, clean, and friendly country I've visited. I enjoy the food and love the architecture for it's sense of style and warmth. It's an easy country to relax and take in the surroundings. To me it is heaven on earth. This is the hotel I stayed in recently. And the other photo is taken from our balcony on the 3rd floor. It was a huge wrap around balcony that works very nicely when you want to sit back and drink a beer and be awed. You can find some of my European photography for sale on both Etsy and Discovered Artists

Mürren, Switzerland

Being from the midwest, I grew up on meat and potatoes. So, it's probably no surprise that one of my favorite dishes in Switzerland is Rösti. It is hash browns with Alpine cheese, ham and a sliced pear. It's total comfort food and it is so good. This was one of the best meals on the entire trip. I had eaten at this same hotel restaurant years ago and I decided I needed to bring my friends to experience it. The hotel name is Hotel Alpenruh and it has one of the best views of the Lauterbrunnen valley from the restaurants outdoor deck.

Indianapolis, Indiana

I had the good fortune of landing a job last year that had me exploring my own city of Indianapolis. The project was one that required me to photograph lots of different landmarks downtown. What was most fun was the fact that I got to really explore my city more than I normally do. There's a common reality among lots of people who take for granted what they have in their own city or town; they don't explore or visit the things that exist in their own backyard. I scoured downtown like a curious visitor from out of town and actually discovered things about downtown that I didn't know. This photo was a part of that project. I ultimately ended up printing very large B&W prints for display as wall art. Thanks to my Canon EOS 1DS Mark II and my Epson Stylus Pro 9800 printer we produced beautiful prints that will last as artwork for a long time to come.

London, England

This photo was done in "The Tube", otherwise know as the Underground. I saw this billboard and just had to laugh at the British humor. The ad was for shaving cream for a woman's underarms. Directly behind the guy is the woman's armpit. The humor all over Europe is a lot less conservative than what we have in the States. That's probably a surprise to no one. I wanted to get a photo of someone staring at the photo so I sat on the bench and waited for about ten minutes and along came this guy. He had no idea I took this photo.

Stockholm, Sweden

As an Indianapolis photographer my exposure to historic and artistic architectural buildings in my hometown is a bit limited. So, I really appreciate the amazing examples of architectural design and form that you get to experience in Europe. This photo is taken on Gamla Stan, one of Stockholm's Islands. This is Stockholm's oldest town square called Stortorget. A funny thing about this photo: about two weeks after I returned home from this trip I was watching TV and I saw an HP ad that showcased one of their photo printers. It was an extremely cool ad that was filmed from the exact same perspective where I took this photo. That was a very funny experience for me and a chill ran down my spine. Check out this link to see it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOnif6BC0kc

Rothenburg (ob der Tauber), Germany

Rothenburg is a classic medieval walled town located in Bavaria along the Romantic Road. The city is full of small town charm and quaint shops and hotels. I love the striped awnings you see on lots of the storefronts. The town inspired me to paint my studio to mimic the buildings, specifically this bakery I saw there. I also decided to continue with the European theme by painting my address on the garage door to look like the speed limit signs in Europe.

Appenzell, Switzerland

So Appenzell is known for it's cheese. They have this very popular cheese called Appenzeller that pretty much smells like smelly feet. We walked by a cheese shop and could smell the cheese from outside. When you walked in the shop you were bombarded by the aroma. We had to buy some to truly experience Appenzell. I must say it was good cheese with a very strong flavor. But don't expect to make friends on the train if you bring on a bag of it.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

This home has the most amazing view of the alps. Of course, coming from Indiana, any view of the Alps is amazing. I was hiking in Gimmelwald and came across it and ended up photographing the owners on the front porch.

Spaten tent at Oktoberfest

"Seven more beers please"

Hofbräuhaus, Munich, Germany

Any visit to Munich wouldn't be complete without a trip to Hofbräuhaus. You know, they really seem to like beer around here.........

In the Spaten tent at Oktoberfest. Munich, Germany

Everyone is your friend at Oktoberfest. These guys and girls invited us up on the table and they had the rockstar seats right in front of the band. These guys were German............I think. And you better bring your A-game in regards to drinking because the only size beer you can get is 1 liter.