panorama – Page 3 – A Tangled Mind In Motion

Keeping It (Sur)Real In Saba

March 21, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, cottage, cottages, iPhoto, Lightroom, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Tropical, views, Windwardside1 Comment

Telephone Lines, Windwardside, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

The rise of Instagram on the Web has been interesting to me. The program allows ordinary folks to take their digital smartphone pictures and rough them up to look like old Instamatic or Polaroids, so its retro throwback all the way. In that vein of thinking, I kept looking at this picture of a Windwardside road with the telephone lines strung haphazardly to every house, which poses an artistic challenge. My final Jeopardy answer was to rough the picture up, heap some good old film grain on it, and now I’m pleased with the sort of surreal picture that results. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you’ll see it’s definitely a real picture, but when you pull back on it…this unusual image of the village emerges. In the end, its undeniably Saba, which is what I wanted. It could be nothing else in the world with this combo of colors, cottages, and tropical contours.

The Road May Be Life, But That Doesn’t Mean You Can Skateboard On It

March 20, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, Hills, jungle, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, St. John's, The Road, viewsLeave a comment

The Road Out Of St John's Bends Around Past Old GEBE — The Road Out Of St John’s Bends Around Past Old GEBE

My time is ticking, running out here on Saba, and just when I think I’ve run out of images to show, I confront The Road I take to Windwardside from St John’s every day, often 3-4 times a day, and see an artistic perspective I didn’t catch before. That’s today’s pic, the descent out of St John’s after I climb out of the Flat, and bend around past the old GEBE station, where the plaintive bleats and brays of goats on the ridges and cliffs continues, the wind sometimes moans in the cleft between the mountains, and the fog tops Mt Scenery. I dig this place, I really do. Guess I’ll be back in a few years…

Did You Ever See A Bird That Had The Blues, Drank Whiskey, And Smoked Cigarettes?

March 19, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged animals, Birds, Caribbean, garden, jungle, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, views, yellowbreast4 Comments

Yellowbreast In Latticework, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Well, these ADD l’il guys may be everywhere on Saba, but this was the first chance I had to actually have one sitting still long enough to snap a focused picture. Now that I did, I think they’re kinda purty thangs…all them colors and such. Wonder if they taste good with in a wild mushroom/red wine demi-glacé? Did I write that out loud? Jus’ kiddin’….testing to see if anyone actually reads this blurb 🙂 Cute Tweetie can go be his hyper self with his squeaky family all in the yellow flower trees.

Light rain in the forecast on and off the next couple days, so everyone who’s not here in Saba cross your respective fingers for us. The cisterns–nay, the island–need it…big time.

I Only Wanted Sharks With Frickin’ Laser Beams In The Purple Rain

March 18, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, nature, ocean, Ocean views, oil tankers, outdoors, panorama, photography, Rainstorm, Saba, Sony NEX-6, views, water, wet pavement2 Comments

Offshore Rainstorm, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

In recent days, I spoke about watching rainstorms drop massive water a few miles offshore while Saba struggles with draught conditions. Here’s the most compelling photo yet (click to make larger, if you’d like) to show you what Sabans see. We ended up getting about 15 minutes of light light sprinkle from this beastie, barely enough to cover an extra hand wash, but something is better’n nothing, unless that something is an angry honey badger.

I Can See Clearly Now That The Rain Has Fallen

March 16, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, nature, ocean, Ocean views, oil tankers, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, views, water, wet pavement1 Comment

Exceptionally clear and blue day today with a horizon that went to forever. Click the picture to enlarge it and see the oil tankers lined up waiting on oil products from Statia’s refinery on the hill that faces Saba. I thought about posting the picture of the white bull being led by hand and rope out of St. John’s Flat for slaughter, but this seemed a bit more tranquil, which is my mood.

Just got home from late night karaoke at Scout’s Place and we walked outside and celebrated the rainy wet pavement. Hard to tell if it rained very long, but it was enough to leave the streets and buildings wet…that’s a few millimeters of precious cistern water for the parched Sabans.

Your Beeswax Is Stuck In My Peanut Butter Again

March 15, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged black and white, Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, Giles Quarter, Hiking, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, sky, Sony NEX-6, St. John's, viewsLeave a comment

Stone Wall Remains, Giles Quarter, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

The Beekeepers of Saba

Spending a lot of time down on the Giles quarter coastline lately, coming up ridges and checking out the unique flora and fauna down there, as well as unusual and unique ruins. I showed this picture to the locals, asking what this big stone wall was for. It extends in a big circle, so I figured it for a pasture or remains of the sugar cane plantations in the late 1800’s (BTW, Saba no longer grows sugar cane…the dry climate can’t support it natively, either).
But oddly enough, folks told me it was for some kind of beekeeper’s colony, which puzzled me, as I’m not sure what good the stone wall encircling a bee haven would do. I’ll inquire around a little further to see what the scoop is.

When You’re Tired, Nap In A Saba Sunbeam

March 14, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, nature, Nevis, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, St. Kitts, Statia, sunrise, views1 Comment

Sunbeams On Statia, St. Kitts, and Nevis, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

In part 9 of “What? Another sunrise picture, Chaz?”, I walked outside this morning, all ready to ramble down to the harbor for my morning dives, then saw these beams shooting out onto the nearby islands of Statia, St. Kitts, and Nevis. Opportunity knocked, I answered.

Blue Is The Color Of My True Friend’s Hair And Fishing Boat

March 13, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged black and white, Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, diving, fishing, Fort Bay, Giles Quarter, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba3 Comments

Clouds, clouds, everywhere, and poor ol’ Saba is still dry as a bone. At least it’s finally a little breezy up high in the villages. It’s quiet out in blog land lately….anybody out there?

Mother Nature Has A Lousy Sense Of Humor

March 12, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, flowers, Giles Quarter, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, plants, Saba, Sony NEX-6, sunrise, Tropical, viewsLeave a comment

It’s tantalizing and teasing to be in the middle of a draught and extreme water conservation on the island and see storms come within three miles of Saba, and drop all their water offshore. As this picture shows, it may be beautiful to look at, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. But then again, I did snap the photo, so there’s that consolation.

Sixty Percent Of The Time, This House Works Every Time

March 11, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged black and white, Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, cottage, cottages, jungle, nature, ocean, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, St. John's, sunrise, Thais Hill, Trees, writingLeave a comment

St. John's House At The Base Of Thais Hill, Saba, Dutch Caribbean — St. John’s House At The Base Of Thais Hill, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

The last few days have been me getting up earlier and earlier to try and beat the dreaded heat with no wind and do a bunch of ridge hikes up from the Giles Quarter coastline midway between the St. John’s Flat and the Wash Gut up to Windwardside. Saba’s terrain is so rugged and steep, it amplifies the actual distance you’re hiking, which is usually between 3-5 kilometers, but can feel like a lot more. Regardless, even at 7:00am, the heat is beating down mercilessly as I haul my big ol’ self up this rock.

In any case, repeated trips down to Fort Bay to start these coastline-ridge excursions had me passing this little house nestled in the cleft between St John’s Flat and Thais Hill. It’s an old style house, with rare brown wooden shingles rather than the traditional red corrugated tin,though you can’t tell from my processing it in black and white. My guess is that it’s well protected from the ravages of hurricanes and tropical storms as well, but I don’t know yet who, if anyone, lives in this nostalgic little house, but it sure looks cool from above, n’est cd pas?