My interview on Farming Stars

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Aaron Douglas of Farming Stars about my passion for European Travel.

You can click on this link to hear it http://farmingstars.com/john-bragg-is-passionate-about-european-travel-20130405

John Bragg is Passionate about European Travel

John Bragg makes a living as a commercial photographer in Indianapolis, but his not-so-secret passion is traveling throughout Europe. Whether its meeting the people, consuming the food, or enjoying the fine art photography, John’s thirst for the European experience draws him back year after year. He is not terrified of Eastern Europe.

Iceland part II

A few more insights and pictures into the Icelandic culture:

-The Icelanders are very particular about their horses.  There is only one breed on the island and Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.  With manes this long it gives them human-like characteristics.

-There are churches scattered all over Iceland and they are usually all about the same size.  You can see below that they are small and oftentimes have the same red and white color scheme. 

-There is one major road that circles the entire country and it's Route 1 which is also called the Ring Road.  It's 830 miles and many tourists rent a car and drive around the entire country.  If you are going to do this, it's suggested to spend about two weeks to really be able to take in the sights.

-The iceberg lagoon known as Jökulsárlón is an amazing sight to see.  When you arrive you see this entire lagoon filled with floating icebergs.  They are a result of the ice falling off of the glacier on the north end of the lagoon.  It's really amazing to watch these icebergs float by and at first they seem very serene just floating there and all of the sudden you will see one flip upside down and the underside of the iceberg is really bright blue because of the ice being so cold.  As it's exposed to the elements it starts to shift color and becomes more clear or white and then they float off to sea.  I took a boat ride in the lagoon and they pulled a piece of ice out of the water and it was crystal clear.  The tour guide broke it into pieces and we ate it.

Icelandic horses

Brunnholl church

The ring road

Icebergs at Jökulsárlón

Sólfar (Sun Voyager) sculpture in the harbor in Reykjavik

 Most of my blog posts are personal photos that give you some insight to my travels.  I make my living by being an advertising, magazine, architectural, and corporate photographer in Indianapolis, IN.

Iceland

This is the first in a series from my recent trip to Iceland.  A lot of people looked at me with a curious expression when I said my next trip was to Iceland.  It's not on most Americans radar for a travel destination, but I can tell you it's well worth the trip.  This first email is designed to clarify some things about Iceland.  First off, it's not icy everywhere in Iceland.  See, the story goes that the Norwegian vikings decided to call it Iceland when they were settling the country because they wanted it to themselves.  They figured if they named it something like Iceland no one would want to go there.  On the contrary, it's green in lots of areas and it's filled with natural beauty like waterfalls, geysirs, volcanos, hot springs, mountains, moss and lichen-covered lava fields, and, yes, glaciers.  But glaciers only comprise a part of Iceland.  The funny thing is that the vikings also gave Greenland it's name to get people interested in going there and if you know anything about Greenland its' about 80% ice covered.  So the saying "Iceland is green and Greenland is ice" is really true.  Clever vikings.  And the weather in Iceland isn't as cold as you might expect.  In fact, the average high in January in Reykjavik (the capital) is warmer than in New York City.  But, it doesn't exactly get hot here either.  The average high in July/August is around 55° but temps can get into the upper 70's.  The country stays temperate because of the gulf stream even though it's just outside the Arctic Circle.  And in the spring and fall the high and low temperature hardly changes at all. While I was there the forecast showed a high of 57 and a low of 54 for the whole week.  And Iceland is the easiest foreign country I've ever traveled in because everyone speaks English, they drive on the same side of the road as the US and they accept credit cards virtually everywhere.  Stay tuned for the next installment of this series.

Hallgrimskirkja cathedral in Reykjavik and the inspiration for the design is the naturally forming basalt columns you see on the right.

þingvellir national park is where the first Icelandic parliament convened in 930 AD

People photographing in lava fields

Kirkjufell mountain

If you have an interest in buying photos from my travels in Europe you can find them here http://www.europefineartphotos.com

Italy images now hanging at the Conrad Indianapolis

I've got a new show that just went up at the Conrad Indianapolis.  It's an all-Italy show with 12 canvas prints and they're all for sale.  I can print just about any size imaginable if you don't see the size you want.  The images are located in the hallway off of Tastings.  To see more of my travel work visit www.europefineartphotos.com

Grand' Place- Brussels, Belgium

Belgium had eluded me from all of my previous Europe trips, but not this time.  Having seen photos of Brussels' Grand' Place in books, I was anxious to witness it in person.  It did not disappoint.  From the moment you enter the square you realize the grandeur of this place (hmmm....why do you think they call it Grand' Place?).  The Flemish Baroque architecture is so ornate and full of charm and character that you quickly understand why it's one of Europe's finest historic squares.  Most of the facades you see were guildhouses built by different trade guilds.  Some of them have icons above the doors that represent the original building that occupied the site.  The one you see in this photo has a wheel barrow above the door and it represents the tallow (candle) merchants. 

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is a fantastic city.  Whether you want to visit a restaurant like Brezel-Gwölb that claims to have invented the pretzel, eat world-famous Sachertorte cake at the Sacher Café, visit the 700 year old St. Stephen's Cathedral, learn the history of the Lipizzaner Horses or tour the Schönbrunn Palace, there is plenty to see and do.  It's a bustling, clean city that is very inviting and easy to get around by tram, buses, subway or your feet.  If you have an interest in buying photos from my travels in Europe you can find them here http://www.europefineartphotos.com

Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic

I've been hearing for years how interesting the city of Prague is and how I need to visit.  Well, just a few weeks ago I had my first opportunity to visit Prague and I understand what everyone was talking about.  One of the big draws for me when traveling to Europe is to see and photograph all of the striking architecture.  It's architecture that has been standing for hundreds of years and has a sense of style, character, ornateness and history that you can only find in the older cities in Europe.  I went to the top of the Old Town Hall Tower to get this perspective on the square.  I rode the glass elevator to the top of the tower and once I was outside and looking down on the city I couldn't help but think that the inspiration for the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when Willy and Charlie go flying around the city in the Wonkavator came from experiencing this very thing.  The scene in the movie was actually filmed in Nördlingen, Germany but you would think you were in the movie when looking out from the top of the tower.

I make my living by doing advertising, commercial, magazine and fine art photography work while living in Indianapolis.

Spaten Tent at Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

This was day one at Oktoberfest and it was fun to see how decorative they made each "tent".  We spent the majority of our time at this tent (Spaten).  There were no available seats inside (at 11 a.m.) so we found some seats outside.  The weather was perfect and so was the beer.  The rotisserie that you see on the outside above the entrance was even animatronic.  The Germans don't mess around when it comes to throwing a party.  I don't speak any other languages, but I always learn to say "Cheers" in whatever country I am in.  Prost!!!

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.