My name is Loan
During my last trip to Sapa, Vietnam, I took a short 3 day trip to China to see Yuanyang in Yunnan province. This portrait of Loan, my trip organizer, was taken very early one morning as we were waiting for the sun to rise over the wonderful, and very famouse, rice paddies of Yuanyang. Will have to come back here, as the rice paddies were not flooded at this time.
Loan in Vietnamese is a female phoenix.
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Uploaded on Nov 14, 2009
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The spice of life
Thai Chili pepper
Proverb -- Bird's eye chili can be found in South-East Asian markets alongside larger chilies, often times surprising people who are unaware that such a small pepper can be much hotter than the larger ones. This is the source of a proverb heard in many South-East Asian countries that roughly translates to "small like the bird's eye chili," which can best be described by the English equivalent, "Big things come in small packages."
Read more here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_pepper
findout how hot is hot:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale
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Uploaded on Nov 12, 2009
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Black Hmong beauty in B&W
This is Mee, from Hmong Lao Chao village, in Muong Hoa Valley 7 km from Sapa. I’ve known her and her family for five years now. We met a few days ago while she was cutting the rice with her mother. It’s been raining for the past 3 days, so she uses the time to come to Sapa and sell souvenirs to tourists. While all Hmong wear the same clothing, sandals and fashion the same hair style, they still find ways to express there individuality. The fill-in (just because I love square format) was as I walking So back to the village at the end of day through a road covered with Bamboos.
Hmong Life
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Uploaded on Nov 11, 2009
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Moqui Balls (Moki Marbles)
Locations Found: Southern Utah & Mars
(I got mine near Zion National Park many years ago)
The outer shell is made of hematite coated iron, lime and sand.
Inside they consist of sandstone and sometimes a nut.
They are found in the open.
They are slightly magnetic.
American Indians used them for hunting, to absorb bad spirits and to relieve pain.
They are associated with the third eye chakra.
They are believed to be 130-155 million years old.
No one is quite sure how they were formed but NASA scientists believe water was likely involved.
We are no longer able to source these as the site where the better Moki Marbles are found is on Federal land and it is illegal to collect fossils without a permit from Federal lands. If you have one of these in your collection already you are very fortunate.
Another source says: Little is actually known about the origins of Moqui Marbles. In the United States, most of them come from the Navajo Sandstone Formation in the state of Utah. These mostly smooth, eliptical or round balls of compacted sandstone are encased in a "shell" of hematite (an ore of iron). They are also referred to as "Moqui Balls", "Thunderballs" or "Shaman Stones" and come in a variety of sizes ranging from that of common marbles to that of a baseball. The photograph above provides an excellent example of the structure of Moqui Marbles although the color is not always as contrasting as shown here.
In the US, they are commonly called Moqui Marbles after the Moqui Indians who inhabited the lands where they are found. Found during the excavation of ancient ruins around the world, some archeologists believe they have been used for centuries by Shamans and other mystics. There are various theories about how they were formed. Some geologists believe them to be ironstone concretions formed 130 to 155 million years ago.
According to one source, in the Hopi language, the word "moqui" means "dearly departed one." Legend says that the departed ancestors of the Hopi Indians of the Southwestern United States played games with these "marbles" in the evening when spirits are allowed to visit the earth. When the sun rises they must return to the heavens so they leave the marbles behind to let relatives know they are happy and well.
More info here:
www.rocksandminerals.com/specimens/moqui.htm
www.canyoneeringusa.com/utahphotowild/small/pages/small4.htm
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Uploaded on Nov 7, 2009
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Daylight Moon view
It was actually just before sunrise… so maybe its night :)
Shot yesterday morning with a Canon EF 70-200mm f 4L IS USM and a Canon EF 1.4x II Extender mounted on my favorite Manfrotto tripod. Some sharpening and colour tint. It was chilly on the lake at -4 centigrade and no gloves.
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Uploaded on Nov 6, 2009
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