Pictures from Marjah, Afghanistan

The Denver Post reminds us that there’s a war going on in Afghanistan.

The Largest Snowstorm in December in D.C.

We had a nice snowstorm yesterday. Here are some pictures I took last night:

From Dec 2009 DC Snowstorm

Not Ansel Adams favorite pictures

Ansel Adams took a lot more photos than we showed the world. A guy named Gerard Van der Leun happened to stumble across some of them in the Los Angeles Public Library. Here’s one that I liked:

Fantastic pictures from Glacier National Park

On a whim, my sister and I once decided to go on a road trip from Utah to Glacier National Park and to Banff. It was a spur of the moment decision and I have never regretted it. Both Glacier and Baniff are gorgeous and these two pictures beyond from Glacier show you why.  The Big Picture has some great snaps from Glacier. These pictures were part of project by the editor of Glacier National Park Magazine. His blog with 100 of the best pictures he shot in Glacier this year is here.

Ian Fisher: American Soldier

I love this series of photos following an army recruit for 27 months–from recruitment through his return from combat.

Kelo v. New London: The Aftermath

In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled on the controversial property rights case–Kelo v. New London. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that cities could exercise eminent domain for purely economic development purposes, even if they took the land from one private property owner and transferred it to another. According to the Court, this was an acceptable “public use” under the Fifth Amendment.

But governments do not necessarily make good decisions about economic development and the Kelo situation is a good example. It’s four years after the Supreme Court’s decision and the land the land that the City of New London took from Susette Kelo and her neighbors for “economic development” is still vacant. None of the 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues have materialized. 

Earlier in the month, my wife and I were near New London, so we stopped by to see what the land looks like today. Below are picture I took of the site:

View to the south from where Susette Kelo’s house once stood:

View to the west from where Susette Kelo’s house once stood:

Trees on the Susette Kelo’s block:

View to the north on East street:

One block North from Susette Kelo’s, more condemned land: 

View to the north, same location:

Bing maps has a nice aerial perspective of this location, especially when you use the Bird’s Eye feature.

This is a sad case of hubris. People homes were taken and replaced with empty lots?

Where in the world is my wife?

Today she is in London:

Pics from Sri Lanka

A couple of my friends are in Sri Lanka for the next couple year. Here are some pictures from Sri Lanka:

Wind Rivers “Drawing”

Here’s a “drawing” I made using a program called FotoSketcher from a photo I shot here:

Nice pics from the Eastern Sierra

LA Times Photog looks some nice snaps of his latest camping trip to the Eastern Sierra.