Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Oh bad, bad, bad Mariana! I did not take as many photos as I wanted to...I want to list my excuses here but there really are none. My problem in Europe is that it was my first time there and though the natural tourist wants to snap every possible photo they can take, as a photographer naturally I am first an observer. How can I take it all in if I am behind my camera? There is so much to see and do, there was no possible way I could capture it all on lens.
Amsterdam was beautiful but super cold! I don't think this California girl was quite prepared for a winter wonderland like this especially being in warm tropical Nicaragua only three days prior.
I saw many interesting things, such as the infamous Red Light District which I found to be fun and curious being that you can't see anything 'round these parts. There is also a lot of art in Amsterdam. I visited many museums, including the Van Gogh Museum, The Anne Frank House, and Rijksmuseum...I also went to Den Haag to a museum there (oops don't remember the name**just informed it is Gemeentemuseum) with my dear friend John who was also my lovely host.
I have to admit that I am really looking forward to going again but hopefully when it's just a tad bit warmer!
So without further ado, Amsterdam...proost!

Ometepe, Nicaragua Part 1

Do you want to see the Garden of Eden? Well, I officially have located it on the island of Ometepe located in the large fresh water lake of Lake Nicaragua. I don't think I have ever seen so much vegetation and natural beauty in my life. Technically, Ometepe is composed of two volcanoes, Concepción and Madera, which feels like two islands but really it's just one. I discovered petroglyphs and went to Ojo de Agua (which I will show in Part 2). Anyway, I will let the photos show you the beauty...

The view from the shore of Rivas

The dock on the island

The ferry we rode on

The busses to take you around the island (we had a truck we brought on the ferry).

My Tio David hold a parrot at the restaurant we ate at.

My Tio Daniel and my Dad holding parrots.

One of the many small churches located on the island.

Concepción

The room we stayed in that night.

Yasmin

On the shore...this lake has small waves.

Concepción again.

Maderas hiding behind a cloud

Running!

Yasmin and my niece Anita running!

Concepción once more

Sunset

My uncles and fathers watching some boys play soccer on the beach.

Yes, I am the nerd that did that...

See what I mean? Wouldn't you agree that  Ometepe is the Garden of Eden?

Masachapa, Nicaragua

There is nothing like spending a few days by the beach. My family and I rented a beach house with five bedrooms for three days in Masachapa. It is an adorable little beach town that survives solely on the local fisherman. It was probably the most relaxing three days that I had had in a very long time. I spent hours just on the beach or in the ocean bodysurfing. I met a lot of interesting people while there and I will give little captions about them below their photo.

This is where I sat to view the Pacific Ocean when I didn't want to be in the sun anymore.

My father

These are guys that I met as I was walking along the beach. The guy with the pink shirt, Marco, is a local and he was interested in who I was and what I was doing there. Turns out, he spoke a little English and was having fun speaking to me in English instead of Spanish.

This is the busy beach during the early mornings to sell the fish caught very early morning.

This man was the guard of the watchtower I took this photo from. We had an excellent conversation about the environment and socialism (Nicaragua is a socialist country).

The amazing view from the watchtower.

Fried fish bought from the beach that morning.

A marimba band we hired to play music for us for an hour!

I love his passion!

The men in blue...look at these very serious poses.

Click Snap

So I am sure you are all wondering what are my new artistic endeavors. I haven’t had much time to work on my personal projects but here are a few examples.

I liked this railroad yard. There were a lot of patterns and lines to play with. I really enjoyed the perspective on these...

I am still working on my social commentary series. I am photographing graffiti and words around town. Soon I will have words from abroad and I am really looking forward to that. It will have my favorite components of the visual and written language.

My newest project and an evolution of the “My Landscape” series are my abstract body images. Playing on the previous project, I am calling this the “Landscapes”. I want to break down visual illusions of bodies. Not just on a visual level but the interpretation of beauty itself.