Travel | Fotoeins Fotografie

Embalse Puclaro, Puclaro, Rio Elqui, Elqui river, Region de Coquimbo, La Serena, Chile, fotoeins.com

My Chile: Elqui River, Puclaro Dam

Above/featured: Upstream and east to Andes – 9 August 2008.

27 September has been earmarked by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as “World Tourism Day”. The following is a tweet by the United Nations for World Tourism Day in 2013.

What is @UNWTO doing to promote sustainable tourism to water destinations? Find out on the #WTD2013 website: http://t.co/O8ofvFc9IL
— United Nations (@UN) September 27, 2013

The Elqui River in north-central Chile begins in the mountains of the lower Andes, and flows west to the Pacific along the southern edge of the Atacama desert through the towns of Vicuña and La Serena. The average annual total rainfall in La Serena is 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 inches), less than one-tenth of the total for Vancouver, Canada.

The Elqui was dammed by 1999 to control water usage by farms in the lower valley and by pisco vinyards in the upper valley; however, construction of the dam displaced people in small low-lying towns on both sides of the river. Behind the dam in the Embalse or reservoir Puclaro (photo above), the water level has declined with lower annual snowfall in the mountains above and higher usage by farms and the increasing population below. The price for water continues to rise due to competition from mines, farms, and the growing population. Numerous research visits and five years living in La Serena emphasized the contrast of the importance of water to people’s lives in the region with the dominant presence of the neighbouring Atacama.

Rio Elqui, downstream and west from the Embalse Puclaro – 9 Aug 2008.

Retaining wall – 13 Sep 2009.

Flags for the upcoming Fiestas Patrias national holiday – 13 Sep 2009.

View east into the Andes – 13 Sep 2009.

I made all photos above with a Canon EOS450D/Rebel XSi on 9 Aug 2008 and 13 Sept 2009. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-3PS.

"Rats", installation 58, Hassell Group, VIVID Sydney 2013, Walsh Bay, Sydney, Australia

Glowing beady-eyed RATS in Sydney

If you’re wondering if there’s been an outbreak of radioactive rodents in the southern metropolis, you need not worry.

But at the start of the 20th century, the unthinkable happened.

Flea-ridden rats from trading ships swarmed into Sydney in 1900 and brought bubonic plague into Australia. Port authorities built a secondary seawall around the shoreline to help prevent more rats from entering the city, marking a key development in the future evolution of the city’s port facility. As a major port of entry into the country, Sydney was hit hardest, and Australians suffered 12 major outbreaks between 1900 and 1925.

But it’s the 21st-century, the cause and cure for the Black Death are well-known, and outbreaks of the plague are contained to a handful of cases annually.

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Main Train Station, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic - 3 Aug 2013

Daytrip with Czech Rail from Praha to Kutná Hora (2013)

Visitors to the Czech Republic will often travel from the capital city of Prague on a daytrip to Kutnä Hora. About 73 kilometres to the southeast from Prague, Kutnä Hora is best known for the two churches which have given the city UNESCO World Heritage Site status, as well as the famous kostnice or “Bone Church” (Ossuary).

In this post, I’ll illustrate some details of our return-trip by train from Prague to Kutnä Hora.

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The Slav Epic, Alfons Mucha, Narodni galerie, National Gallery, Veletrzni Palac, Prague, Praha, Czech Republic, fotoeins.com

My Prague: “The Slav Epic”, Mucha’s Masterpiece

One of the greatest and most important works of Czech art from the early 20th-century was on display in the Trade Fair Palace (Veletržní Palac) in Prague until 2021.

All 20 paintings of “The Slav Epic” (Slovanská epopej) by Alfons Mucha can be viewed in the Czech capital city for the first time in over 80 years. For admirers of Mucha, Art Nouveau and history, the work is easier to reach than ever before and should not be missed.

Mucha’s The Slav Epic is a series of paintings on large canvas, which he completed in 1926. The paintings tell the story and mythology of the Slav peoples, with Mucha imagining the entire work as a commemorative piece to the Czech nation. Each painting spans several metres in both height and width, and stands tall even in a spacious exhibition hall. In every painting, grand scenes and landscapes are shown in a mixture of restrained colours, important figures, and careful details.

From 2021 to 2026, “The Slav Epic” makes its home in Moravia’s Moravsky Krumlov. Beyond 2026, the paintings are supposed to return to Prague for a longer 25-year stay.

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Staroměstské náměstí, Old Town Square, Praha, Prague, Czech Republic, fotoeins.com

My Prague: 5 Spots for Night Photos

(last edited: 19 Jul 2019.)

Prague is very attractive by day, but the Czech capital city is also beautiful at night.

By day, visitors are out and about, moving from one attraction to another. At night, sounds from pub crawls and pre-wedding parties seem to fill the air.

A closer look reveals a romantic side to the city with silent streets and half-empty plazas. A yellow glow settles like a warm and welcoming halo, softening the sharp lines of centuries-old architecture, and smoothing over cobbled stones embedded in old neighbourhood streets.

It’s easy to forget a significant part of central Prague is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the following five locations to view the city at night provide great reminders. Don’t ignore the illuminated city after dark, which is still very safe, and don’t forget to bring your camera when journeying out at night.

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