out the window

Up in planes we're often encouraged to keep the window shades shut so that people can watch movies without glare on their screens. There's some cool stuff out the window though.

the lagoon

Decades ago hydrogen bombs detonated high above this atoll. It is now home to about 5,000 people. Surprisingly, a recent large scale clean up crew that checked radiation levels reported finding no abnormal levels of radioactivity anywhere on the island. Aside from a leftover monolith of a runway, a few rusting remnants of US and English buildings, and some slabs of concrete, there are few remaining indications this place was once home to a large military presence. It was hard to imagine the man-made violent fury unleashed many times over the atoll in years past.

There is a two lane road that twists and turns its way around a large part of the atoll, with shrubs growing up high enough to block visibility around many of the curves. Americans drive on the right side of the road. The English drive on the left. I heard stories that this difference led to head on collisions.

I wish it was more visible in this photo...the clouds above an atoll lagoon, especially this one it seemed, glow a bit of a greenish blue, reflecting the lagoon color from below. It's very noticeable when you scan the entire sky and compare the difference between the clouds over the deep blue of the open ocean and those over the atoll. On a cloudy or partly cloudy day this can be seen from far off in the open ocean, long before any fringe of land is visible.

This is the lagoon that took the life out of my Canon AE-1 35mm camera as well, the one I used to shoot this photo.

out of the bay

early 2005

Under the weight of my full pack and tripod, under the scorching midday sun, I'm thoroughly exhausted. And out of water. It's still a long way up back to the main road. I'm alone. I wish I'm somewhere I know, somewhere comfortable.

Off the dirt track to the right I see a trickle of a small waterfall. I walk over to it, throw my pack down, and put my back against the rocks. I let it pour over me and I feel instantly refreshed. The water is very cool. I sit there for a minute and relax. I get out of the small pool and reach down to grab my pack.

I look up and there is a big shirtless man with one eye, and a machete in hand, staring down at me. He's wearing only a lava lava. I'm startled. I didn't hear him approaching.

We say "malo". I then notice he has a coconut in the other hand. He hacks off the top of it and with a big smile hands it to me to drink. My fear instantly fades. I've never been more appreciative of a drink in my life. I thank him profusely and then am on my way again, and he disappears into the bush.

the great caldera

Standing on the edge of the caldera. Epic.

Shot this with the first camera I ever owned, my Canon AE-1. Saltwater claimed it not too long after this was taken.