Bride to be

Nude mannequins in store windows may be an overdone subject (like sunsets, razzbuffnik). Nevertheless, the play of light and reflections in this upscale bridal shop in Florida were compelling. The contrast between the in-store lighting and the outdoor light on the dismembered mannequin gave her an other wordly look, echoing the contrast between the romance inside and the reality outside glimpsed in storewindow’s mirror.

Emplacement

The two old Danish forts on St. Croix — one in Christiansted and the other in Frederiksted — were defended by cannons aimed seaward. The irony is that the real threat to the planter’s culture of that era came from the land in the form of the changing economics of the sugar trade, the end of slavery, and rebellions by workers against the oppressive…

Friends

I promised Pat Coakley my next post would be something a little nicer, after the spooky “Green Ghoul” posted for Halloween. These two women were clearly friends, and I hope their friendship and humanity come through.

For the Ghouls and Goblins

A creature was lying on the beach, dead and half covered with sand and dried seagrass. I tried to breathe some life into him and he opened his eyes and looked at me sadly. Or was that just a dream? A bit further on was the shell of a sailboat — someone’s home — that had blown ashore. Holed by the coral stone at…

Made on Sight!

We all see funny signs from time to time. Sometimes they are obvious errors, but this one made me wonder if they really mean what they say — that they won’t start cooking that omelet until they see the whites of your eyes! I guess that would be better than yesterday’s or last week’s omelet. On a different subject, but still having fun, the…

The Modern Butcher

I was slinking around the local warehouse food store with the camera the other day, and got this moody picture of the butcher, alone in his glass-enclosed cage. The image is a more recent extension of some of the work I did last month in preparation for an exhibit in Frederiksted. The camera sees the colors of light so much more acutely than the…

The ubiquitous mobile device

Mobile devices (what we used to call cell phones) seem to be everywhere and sometimes may isolate us as much as bring us together. The image above from San Juan, Puerto Rico, will be part of an exhibition at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts titled “Daily Strife” (opening on October 16). The exhibit commemorates Virgin Islands – Puerto Rico Friendship Day, and…

Per Ankh Performance

A local group called the Per Ankh Institute puts on cultural heritage drumming and dancing performances. This woman is one of the performers. Her regal posture and smile, and her instrument covered with hundreds of cowrie shells all spoke of pride in her heritage. The occasion was the arrival of a cruise ship, and the image below shows some of the watchers. The tall…

Carbon Seam and Palm Lights

The dead trunk of a palm plant washed up on the shore. At one end was the tangle of roots joined to the base of the trunk. At the other, the spiraled remains of where the living palm fronds had been attached subtly tailed off into fibrous strands. These two semi-abstracts are interpretations of each end of this single object that had washed ashore.

Not from here?

I thought this was a good image to follow the “feral feline” in the previous post. The woman was giving me a similar look, like if I stepped another foot closer, she’d bolt. Good they are taking comfort in the familiarity of a waffle cone and sweet ice cream. I don’t recognize this couple. Likely tourists. There are always clues, some of which are…

Feral Feline

St. Croix is overrun with feral cats, despite the best efforts of several local non-profits to neuter as many as possible. Part of this cat’s territory is a little-used courtyard in downtown Christiansted. This is not the look of a kitty that wants to be petted. In fact, he clearly wanted me OUT of his territory! If he were ten pounds heavier, I’d have…

Bottled Sunlight Mixed with a Gentle Rain

Every July the local botanical garden sponsors the “Mango Melee” — a county fair-like event featuring dozens of varieties of local mangoes and other locally grown tropical fruit. This little pile of grapefruit was accented with one pink and one yellow fruit cut open to display the richly colored and textured interiors. If you could bottle sunlight mixed with a gentle rain, it might…