POV: FP Magazine: Talibanistan

Foreign Policy Magazine has featured an interesting photo/graphical essay on the war in Afghanistan. It's titled Inside Talibanistan, and effectively makes the point that our "enemies" are not a monolithic entity, but a combination of disjointed groups with different agendas and ideologies.

According to our media and politicians, who have the talent of diminishing everything down to simplistic terms in the hope of further dumbing down its viewers, listeners, constituents and readers, we are fighting against the "Taliban"...the problem is that the Taliban (as defined by our talking heads, politicians and their cronies) doesn't exist as such. 

In FP's feature, I've counted 10 groups ranging from Al-Qaeda to some group called Haqqani Network, and added up the estimated members of these groups. Most of them are obviously estimates, but a total of 100,000 seems to be a reasonable one. Possibly included in these numbers are insurgents fighting against an occupying foreign force propping up a deeply unpopular corrupt government....and others who want nothing but power.

To put this in perspective, here's Cost of War which runs a counter for how much the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing us. It's an estimated $1.1 trillion to date.

We would have been so much better off by creating jobs, building modern infrastructure, state of the art trains and airports, new schools, invest in medical research, in alternative energy sources...and taking on China's growing economic power. My politics are diametrically opposed to the Republican Party and its legitimate and illegitimate spawns, but this ad by one of its affiliated group did strike a chord with me....yes, it's obviously over the top but there's still a kernel of truth in it. We are losing ground very quickly to China.  (The video is via FP).

Next Week On The Travel Photographer

For the week starting Monday November 1,  the following posts are in the pipeline:

1. A photographer's lovely portraits of Sadhus attending the Kumbh Mela earlier this year.
2. A interesting web documentary (multimedia) on the drought conditions facing East Africa.
3. The work of a photographer documenting musicians of the Mississippi Delta...with my kind of music...really hard core Blues. It was promised for the past week.
4. Another interesting web documentary (multimedia) on Women.

McQueen Skull for Halloween

Halloween is here, one of the more exciting holidays for children. But for adults, it depends. I didn't enjoy it before, but my kids have inspired me to like it more and more. I actually love it now, and enjoy it as much as my kids do. I feel 35 years younger when I'm dressing up and going for trick or treat with them. Having fun with my kids, seeing them enjoy the holiday, and seeing their happy faces makes me smile.
This year, I pull my outfit with a McQueen skull theme and I wanted this outfit looking cool, stylish, and right for the Halloween spirit but not too scary for my kids. It's awesome to see my kids love it whenever I dress up for Halloween. They even suggest their ideas.

How about you? What do you wear for Halloween? Here is my oufit:

McQueen skull flats.

Love the tiny silver skulls in the back.
McQueen skull print tank recently bought at boutique 4510, and I styled it with a Rick Owens jacket.
Vintage skull necklace and the cross necklace from The Woods.
Disce Mori earrings were purchased at Grange Hall last year.

McQueen skull ring paired with Pamela Love ring.

McQueen gold skull leather-belt-bracelet recently bought at the boutique 4510. Other bracelets ??
My beloved McQueen clutch.
This clutch is also my little girl's favorite clutch. It was actually her choice and she inspired me to purchased it :)
My clutch is my trick or treat bag for candy. It's cool but way tooooo small..hehe...
I can't wait to go trick or treating with them and I'll share our pictures tomorrow night on twitter :) Stay tuned for it!!

For more Halloween spirit, check out a scary story about Bone Chapel in Portugal which I posted for Halloween last year.
Thank you everyone for visiting and comments. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween to you all!!! Hugs...Hanh :)

Kid's Costume for Halloween Parade @ School

My little one wanted to be a peacock for her school Halloween Parade yesterday.

My big girl was a pirate girl.

Kiteboarding and Sandsurf

You read the title of my post and did not believe me? You are not right. Those are real activities that are offered to the visitors of the Dominican Republic.

Some of you, my dear friends, maybe thought that I forgot about blogging in the last period. But it's not so. I simply try to set on it's feet my web-based travel agency and have not only do too many new for me things, but I have to study too. Actually I study in 2 American universities and have just some achievements. I am a barcelor of Carnival Cruise Lines and Specialist of the Dominican Republic.

I would like to write here some words of the publicity and invite you to join my Newsletter (in the bottom) and to "LIKE" my Fan Page on Facebook, but I  want to tell you some interesting things about the Dominican Republic -especially because I've never write about this country in this blog. So, this is the first post about it.


«Дубль 1» на Яндекс.Фотках

I fall in love with this place only reading aboout it, imagine what you can feel if you visit this island. White sand beaches... Yes, you look on the photo... But there are not only white beaches there. Coud you imagine yellow and... PINK sand beaches???

What about the infinite quantities of animals -fishes and birds included. Did you know that they have 300 species of birds (possible to observe)? Did you know that they have a meeting place of the humpback whales that stay some months there? And fishes? Wow, look at this photo

 

Посмотреть на Яндекс.Фотках

History of the Columbus epoch, the very first street in the New World (and different other "very first" too). And Rum. You can taste it not only on every step you do there. You can even visit a factory that produces this drink.

Interesting is that those islands have 2 faces. One part of the islands is windy and rocky (from the side of Atlantic ocean) other side is calm and has those famous beaches. And if you think about the good weather all year round, you can imagine the fortunate population.


«Люблю двоих» на Яндекс.Фотках

Thanks to these differencies of the nature, they offer an incredibly variety of activities. I would waste your time and fall really in the publicity if I begin to post the full list of them here, but the most "strange" I just mentioned in the title. Some more? Off-roading, canyoning, spelunking. Want you guess what these words mean?

Well, maybe you've understood why I can't think other than Dominican Republic now. I thought, there is nothing that can attract me in such places, you know. I normally prefer Nordic parts of the world. But...
___________________

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El Rey: East Los Angeles' Mariachis

This is a delightful short documentary featuring Mariachis musicians in East Los Angeles produced by Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari. The piece features Mariachi musicians who gather on corners of the streets of East Los Angeles looking for work, whether in birthday parties, in cafes, restaurants, quinceañeras, weddings and the like.

To my delight, the main singer belts outs out the famous Mexican song "Volver Volver", initially without the accompaniment of musical instruments. I used to hear it played often in the zocalo of Oaxaca...just delightful.

According to Wikipedia, the term "Mariachi" is said to be an adaptation of the French word for marriage or wedding "mariage" as this type of musical formation plays at these events.

via The Click

France Television: Portraits Of A New World

Here's a superb multimedia presentation guaranteed to knock your socks off.

It's part of a collection of 24 multimedia documentaries produced by France Télévisions. Portraits Of A New World is a narrative of the world of the 21st century, and the upheavals which transform and influence our destinies.

Unfortunately, it's only in French with no subtitles, which sadly reduces its internationalization and its appreciation by non-French speaking audience.

Having said that, take a look nevertheless at Journal of A Concubine which, in my view, is the segment that most beautifully merges the techniques of photojournalism and videojournalism.

In the era of pre-Communist China, wives and concubines lived under the same roof; in full sight and knowledge of everyone. The practice was legal and widely accepted. In 1949, it was made illegal by Mao as being a relic of feudalism, but has reappeared with a modern twist in the 1990s with the economic resurgence of China. Concubines are now viewed as a sign of wealth especially in business circles.

This being a French production, the nuanced difference between concubines and mistresses is explained. The latter do not expect gifts nor monetary rewards. Concubines do.

Seen on the incomparable Duckrabbit

My Bali Book

I've decided to self-publish a book of my photographs of Bali. I've hesitated for a long time, since I have no patience to fiddle endlessly with layouts, fonts and the myriad of other variables necessary to produce a book, but I recently discovered that Blurb has introduced a new interface called Bookify. This is essentially a tool for people like me who don't have the mindset to spend hours on a project of that nature.

Lo and behold, I received my mock-up book a few days ago. The book is large landscape (13x11 inches) format, with an image wrap hardcover and the photographs are black & white. The mock-up revealed some slight variations in tone, a few photographs were reproduced "soft" and others were "muddy" requiring some more adjustment in Levels.

But I am pleased by what I saw, and I'll work on refining the current photographs, add some meaningful text, and add a few dozen more photographs. These will probably be from my 2005, 2007 and 2010 trips to Bali.

Stay tuned.

Masr: Javier Morgade

Masr is the Arabic word for Egypt...and it's also colloquially used for Cairo. So in Arabic, Egyptians are called Masr'yeen...which is confusing for non-Arabic speakers, but that's how it is. Egypt was borrowed from the Latin Aegyptus and from the ancient Greek Aígyptos.

Javier Morgade was filming in Egypt for an airline company, and was left with surplus footage for this short movie. It's a documentary made with a Canon 5d Mark II and a Glidetrack HD. It was edited in Final Cut Pro and graded with After Effects. The song is by a contemporary Egyptian singer and is titled ah men al forak, which loosely translated means "lamenting separation".

In my view (and I should know), Javier managed to capture in this short movie the essence of the Egyptian character, the kindness, humor, hospitality and generosity...even their occasional legendary intrusiveness. It saddens me to see the poverty in the alleys of old Cairo, but as always, it's mitigated by the Egyptian talent for being able to share setbacks, poverty, sorrows, and life troubles. No Egyptian is an island...and while they find enormous solace in their extended families and friends, neighbors and even casual acquaintances...they deserve better.

Charlotte Rush Bailey: Kutch Classic

Charlotte Rush Bailey joined my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo-Expedition ™ earlier this year, and has just published her photo book titled Kutch Classic: Portraits from Northern Gujarat of her photographs made on that trip, which is a wonderful visual compendium of this magnificent region of India.

The book is full of photographs of Kutch tribals; most are portraits, some processed in the photographer-author's signature style. Charlotte chose purple as the predominant color for her book, basing it on the lovely woman's veil on its cover. I also happen to think that Charlotte will follow up with another book, possibly titled Portraits from Southern Gujarat, on her return from another photo expedition next January. We'll see....

Published and available through Blurb, the link above provides a preview of some of the book's pages.

For more of Charlotte's work, visit her website.

I really wish that many more of photographers who join my photo~expeditions publish their work in book form. That would be so gratifying! I may be mistaken but I only know of one other photographer-participant who does that. It's not an easy task to prep and publish a book, but the eventual satisfaction is just sublime.

LCD Viewfinder (Meike)

One of the accessories I decided to get for both my Canon 5D Mark II and the new Canon 7D is a LCD viewer. which would be handy whenever I wanted to shoot video on either of these cameras.

Having looked at the B&H et al, I had the choice between the LCDVF at $170 or the much more expensive Zacuto Jr at $252, but thought these prices were too high for an add-on I would not use frequently. Some quick research led me to a post on the delightful Cheesycam website and another one here which suggested a much cheaper LCDVF clone ($59 including shipping et al) from eBay.

I deliberated for about 2 minutes, and ordered the clone from the vendor. Within less than half a day, I got an email with an acknowledgment, and a USPS tracking number. It was shipped from the vendor in Guangzhou (China) on October 20, and delivered to my door on October 26. Not bad, eh?

The amusing thing is it took 3 days to get from Guangzhou to Queens (more than 8,000 miles), and another 3 days from Queens to Lower Manhattan (less than 4 miles) where I live. Yes, I looked the distances up.

The boxed Meike LCD viewfinder and its accessories were well wrapped in a thick envelope, and the mailing address was perfectly labeled. The vendor is clearly professional and was understandably well recommended on eBay. I affixed the metal frames to both my cameras, and will test it soon. My immediate impression was that the camera was much steadier when videotaping with the viewfinder on. It steadies it against one's face.

I examined the LCD viewfinder for signs of poor workmanship but found none, and it comes with a useful pouch and a cleaning cloth as well. Oh, and there's a red plastic thingie around the top part of the viewfinder that matches the red line on Canon's L lenses...color-coordination!

One thing I know for certain: I'll never be a product or still life photographer....ever.

New York/Poland -- Early Jewish Heritage Travel (1930s) exhibit in New York

 

 Intro video for the exhibit, posted on YouTube

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

What looks like a wonderful and fascinating exhibit on Jewish heritage travel in the early 20th century has opened at the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. The title of the exhibit says it all:  16mm Postcards: Home Movies of American Jewish Visitors to 1930s Poland.

The exhibit

brings to life the landscape and people in Poland through the amateur movies of immigrant American Jews who traveled “back home” to visit their families, friends, and former communities in the 1920s and 1930s.  Intended to be viewed by family and fellow landsmen (friends from the Old Country), these films offer a rare, intimate and—quite literally—moving picture of Jewish families, towns and society in pre-World War II Poland. This exhibition was developed in collaboration with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and in cooperation with the Center for Jewish History.

The films can be seen at the Center for Jewish History web site.

Adam Kirsch writes in Tablet Magazine that the exhibit

demonstrates how different things were in the early 20th century, when the ancestors of most American Jews came here from Eastern Europe. This extraordinary show consists of home movies—all silent, mostly fragmentary—taken by American Jews who visited their relatives in Poland in the 1930s. (Many of the films can be seen at the exhibition’s website.) What makes these films so powerful is their extreme rarity: It was only a small handful of Jews who had the wherewithal, and the desire, to go back to the villages they had left behind decades earlier. And the encounters they document show how drastically the fates of American and Polish Jewry had diverged by the 1930s. In many films, we see the American cousin, prosperous and dressed in a Western suit, standing next to his poor, bearded, caftanned relatives; and it is impossible not to wonder what must have been going on in their minds and hearts.

Did the American cousin, clutching his camera like a badge of modernity, give thanks that he had been rescued from ancestral poverty and anti-Semitism—or did he feel nostalgia for the Jewish world from which he was cut off? Did the Polish cousin envy his American relative, or resent his intrusion, or long for his help? The pathos is infinitely greater, of course, because the viewer knows that all these Polish Jews—old and young, men and women and children—are just a few years away from the Holocaust. Virtually none of the people we see in these home movies was alive 10 years later. Because of the Holocaust, the natural growing-apart of the Old Country and the New World became an irreparable break, and a source of permanent guilt. Jews who came to America lived and flourished, while those who remained behind suffered and died: How can such a gulf ever be crossed?

The questions that “16 mm Postcards” raises, silently and by implication, are addressed head-on in a new book that might serve as a companion to the exhibition: The Glatstein Chronicles (Yale University Press). This is the title given by the volume’s editor, Ruth Wisse, to two novellas published by the great Yiddish writer Jacob Glatstein in the late 1930s, based on his own pilgrimage to the Alte Heym. Glatstein was born in Lublin in 1896 and came to New York in 1914. After working for a time in sweatshops, he established himself as a Yiddish journalist, while writing poetry that brought the influence of Joyce, Eliot, and Pound to bear on Yiddish literature. “The term experimentation,” Wisse writes in her introduction, “hardly suffices to describe the many subjects that Glatstein addresses, the poses he adopts, and the poetic variations he attempts.”

Poland -- detailed web pages on synagogue restoration

 

 Synagogue facade illuminated. Photo: Wikicommons

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The large Moorish-style synagogue in the southwest-central Polish town of Ostrow Wielkopolski, originally built in the late 1850s, has been under restoration this year -- and the town's web site has an ample set of pages documenting the process, including photographs, description in English as well as Polish, and also a video.

The 7 million zloty ($2.1 million) project is being financed primarily by the European Union, which is providing 70 percent of the funding, as well as by the city according to the web site. The city obtained ownership of the building in 2006, when the city paid 225,000 zloty (c. $75,000) to the Jewish community of Wroclaw in exchange for the community withdrawing its claim on the building. For its part, the city agreed to create lapidary memorials at the sites of the town's two destroyed Jewish cemeteries.

The exterior restoration has been completed (or nearly so) and work on the building's interior goes on.

Omakase at Nobu Dallas

Let's see what the press and celebrities have said about NOBU:

"The world's hippest restaurant chain" - Vogue

"The world's sexiest restaurant" - The Observer

"Best restaurant Period" - Time out New York

"The man who reinvented Japanese food" - Jean Georges Vangerichten

"You can tell how much fun a city is going to be if Nobu has restaurant in it"-Madonna

"....heaven on earth and sex on a plate" - Kate Winlest

NOBU currently has 25 restaurants in 21 different cities around the world. Nobu restaurants are named after the world reknown executive chef/owner Nobu Matsuhisa who has a longtime friendship and business relationship with famous actor Robert De Niro.

Nobu Dallas has became one of the hottest restaurants in the city since it opened. It is located in the Crescent Court hotel. Nobu offers a relaxed atmosphere, and permits casual clothing but your jeans better be designer if you're going for a casual look :) The menu features Nobu's signature new style Japanese cuisine as Yellowtail sashimi Jalapeno, Seared Toro with Karashi Sumiso, Toro Tartare with Caviar, Black Cod with Miso.

Nobu Dallas is one of our A list favorite restaurants. When it comes to dining at Nobu Dallas, we always have Omakase style at the sushi bar. We highly recommend to sitting with head sushi chef Mitsuhiro Eguchi who was a chef for Nobu NYC. He understands his food and cooks with his heart. I also want to credit executive chef Matt Raso who is behind the kitchen for hot dishes.

Although for us, it's omakase style. We always request to start with Sea Urchin Shooter. It could be very addictive when you get it.

Lobster with hearts of palm.

Matsutake Kettle Soup. Matsutake mushrooms are one of the many kinds of edible mushrooms that grow in Japan, and are said to be the king because of their wonderful aroma and elegant flavor. The pairing of this mushroom with a clear soup is a classic combination, but Nobu style consists of adding a twist to this familiar dish in the form of the chicken, shrimp and squid. Matsutake Kettle soup is a seasonal dish for fall/winter which is the perfect time for hot soup. It's served in a classic teapot. You're expected to drink it like tea and have addition of chicken, shrimp, and squid at the end.Beautiful presentation of sashimi plate.

Exotic Salmon Eggs sashimi. Seared Toro Karashi Sumiso; KSM.

Grilled Wahu Beef on Japanese Roof Tile. You will grill it at your table. Compliment your meal with sake in a wooden box. We like it this way. the wooden box enhances the taste of your sake because you can taste the wood. It's just like you have a certain glass for a certain wine.
The view of the bar from the sushi bar.
Thank you everyone for visiting and comments! Wishing you all a wonderful day!! Hugs...Hanh :)

Christian Bobst: Tibetans In India

Photo © Christian Bobst - All Rights Reserved

Christian Bobst is a Swiss photographer based in Zürich who originally studied graphic design, and became interested in documentary photography.  While working for advertising agencies, he won several national and international advertising awards.  At this time, he works as a freelance art and creative director as well as a documentary photographer.

Dharamsala, or more accurately Mcleod Ganj, is the home of the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government. The Tibetan settlement of Dharamsala began in 1959, when the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet, and was allowed to settle in Upper Dharamsala or McLeod Ganj. It's sometimes known as 'Little Lhasa' after the Tibetan capital city.

Christian's photo gallery of the transplanted Tibetans who live in Dharamsala explores the Tibetans' way of life in this small town in north India in their homes, stores, at the doctor and their places of worship. Even if you've never been to Dharamsala, these photographs will give you an excellent insight on the small Tibet enclave in north India.

The above photograph is a classic street photography gem. The Indian woman in the traditional shalwar kameez eying the passing Tibetan in her own dress.

My Work: Dharamasla Matriarch

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved

Here's an environmental portrait of a Tibetan matriarch in one of the alleys of Dharmasala in northern India. It's been over 5 years ago since I've been to Dharamsala, and my photographic style has evolved noticeably.

I would have photographed this woman differently now. She would have been most certainly less rigid, and I would have spent much more time making her more comfortable before any photographs were made. I occasionally revisit my photographs of a few years back to trace back my photographic evolution; a gradual evolution moving from simple portraits to more complex scenes...moving from travel "pretty pictures" to the less pretty ones, towards more of a documentary style.

I am always attracted to interesting physiognomies...what photographer isn't?...but I now see them more in the context of their environment, of their surroundings and of the story they emanate just by their being there .

Beatrix Jourdan: Clash of the Titans

Photo © Beatrix Jourdan-All Rights Reserved

Here's somewhat of a change of gear from the norm for The Travel Photographer blog, and is about Laamb, which is Senegalese wrestling and a type of folk wrestling practiced in Senegal. It allows blows with the hands, the only of the West African wrestling traditions to do so.

Beatrix Jourdan (Bea Mészöly) is a Hungarian-born photographer currently based in Dakar, Senegal. She's a freelance graphic designer and photographer, and produced catalogs for the Museum of Modern Art in Gent, photomosaics in Budapest and Hajduszoboszlo, numerous posters, book and magazine covers, and brochures. She also She was one of the winners of the André Kertész international photo contest.

Beatrix informs us that Laamb is also a spiritual activity, and wrestlers must engage in various rituals before the contests. No wrestler, regardless of strength, physical or technical abilities, would ever dare to enter the ring, much less fight, without his "marabout" or JuJu Man.

via African Lens (larger photographs available on its website)

Rodrigo Cruz: Women Warriors

Photo © Rodrigo Cruz-All Rights Reserved

The reason I go out onto the streets with my camera is simple: I want to tell people's stories in an intimate way through powerful imagery. -Roberto Cruz

Rodrigo Cruz is a freelance photographer with a particular interest in abuses of human rights, especially against women and children in his native Mexico. His work was published by National Geographic and The Washington Post, and by NGOs such as Amnesty International. He was shortlisted for the 2010 Anthropographia Award for Photography and Human Rights; received an honorary mention in the photo contest ‘Global World: through the lens of human rights’; and was selected last year to participate in PhotoEspaña’s Descubrimientos in Guatemala City.

I met Roberto at the inaugural Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City in 2008, and he was one of the indispensable members that made it such a success. Many of the photojournalists, whether instructors or students, relied on his knowledge, contacts and assistance for their projects and classes.

Have a look at Rodrigo's Women Warriors and Dance of Mice; these are two unusual traditions practiced in Guerrero in southern Mexico. One of his audio-slideshow projects especially relevant at this time when illegal immigration is being targeted in our southern states is The Promised Land.

For further details on Rodrigo, his projects and talent, drop by Canon Pro Network.

Next Week on The Travel Photographer

For the week starting Monday October 25, I planned posts on:

1. A photo essay on the Tibetans living in India, that was supposed to be on last week.
2. A remarkable web documentary (multimedia) on China that will leave you speechless.
3. A short movie on Egypt made on a Canon 5D MarkII...very well done.
4. The work of a photographer documenting musicians of the Mississippi Delta...with my kind of music...really hard core Blues.
5. The work of a photojournalist documenting African wrestlers.

A Look At The Zoom H1

I've blogged a couple of times about the H1, the new handheld audio recorder from Samson Audio, and what seemed to be a handy portable stereo recorder at an unheard-of $99 price.

I haven't bought the H1 (as I already have a Marantz PMD 620 which I'm happy with), but a number of my readers have expressed their interest in seeing a review...so the above movie by Shawn Harrel will do just that.

As I expected, the H1 seems to feel a little flimsy, it has a few quirks, but does the job quite well. The price can't be beaten, so I predict I'll see it used by emerging photojournalists on a budget testing multimedia waters.

Speaking of multimedia: I have my new Canon 7D next to me as I'm writing this, but I have yet to really test it. I've ignored the manual as always, fiddled with it and so far it's quite intuitive, especially to a long time Canon user like I am. I'll be putting up some photographs as soon as I can...but one thing for sure: the 8fps is great!

In the meantime, I've added this cheap rig to my 5D Mark II. It's my Marantz audio-recorder attached to a standard mounting plate from Home Depot, which in turn is attached to the camera's tripod socket. From my Mamiya medium-format years, I had an old Hama grip that I also attached to the tripod socket, and it gives me much better control over the camera when I'm filming video.

All I need now is the LCDV.

Hanna Bernhard Jewelry

It's a small world. Last month, I was on eBay and ordered vintage necklaces from Natalie from Paris. It was wonderful to do business with her; fast shipping, friendly ebayer. We started to have a few emails together and I've felt a connection with her. She seems like a lovely lady. Well, about 2 weeks go when I was in Paris with Judy, she wanted to visit her friend, Natalie. I was invited to come along. Natalie???... For some reason, I had a feeling that maybe it was the Natalie with whom I've been buying things and emailing. Guess what? my feeling was right. What a surprise to meet her and even more of a surprise that she is the one (and her husband) that produces all the beautiful jewelry by Hanna Bernhard. It was so wonderful to meet her and she is even more lovely and sweet in person. I also had a chance to meet her husband, Fernand , a charming gentlemen. It was an amazing experience to see their studio. Thank you Natalie and Fernand for letting me take pics of your magnificent jewelry.

I love something that's cultural like this Venetian mask.

African mask, it still needs to insert few more stones.
Unfinished Japanese lady.
Cute pierrot.
Martina bought this beautiful cross.
Animal is always fun.
This amazing bull, one of his eye needs to be done.
Look at this monkey, he looks so real.
Love love this sweet, beautiful hummingbird.
After we leaving, she gave us all a ring as a gift. Thank you Natalie, again!

I ordered a couple of pieces. She said that I should have them before Christmas. Can't wait! :). Please, check out her ebay store. It's awesome!

Thank you everyone for visiting and comments! Wish you all a wonderful weekend! Hugs...Hanh :)