Saturday, August 18: I was nominated a while ago by Madhu from The Urge to Wander for the Capture the Color photo competition run by TravelSupermarket.com.The rules entail that I publish a post with five original shots from my travels, each one representing the colours blue, green, yellow, white and red. I then need to tag five other bloggers and link back to TravelSupermarket on Facebook or Twitter (with the tags @travelsupermkt and #capturethecolour).
Here is my world in five colors.
BLUE: THE FAN, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, USA.
Richmond’s Fan District is a lovely residential neighborhood that consists of late-nineteenth and early twentieth century homes. It has beautiful tree-lined avenues, historical monuments and row houses built in Victorian, Edwardian and Revival architectural styles. Many houses are also built in the American Craftsman style. Many of the houses are painted in cheery colors with surprisingly delightful doors. (Richmond’s Fan District)
GREEN: OEDO BOTANIA, GEOJE-SI, SOUTH KOREA.
Oedo Botania is an island that’s been cultivated since 1963 by Korean couple Lee Changho and Choi Hosook; it’s the first island in Korea ever to be owned and developed by an individual. Every inch of this island is abloom with gardens and punctuated by statues. I walk along the pathways with hundreds of other Koreans who have taken boats from other locations in Geoje. I check out the cactus garden, the Venus garden, the flower garden, the bamboo road, the Hope of the World garden, the Dreaming Heights, the Stairway to Heaven, and the Eden Garden. It’s like a fairy-tale land bursting with beauty. The island itself is gorgeous with gardens, but the view of the surrounding ocean doesn’t hurt it one bit. Most definitely, Korea does nature right! (geoje: rough seas & caressing grasses (& random thoughts on memory, sensuality & friendship))
YELLOW: THE ROYAL PALACE, PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA.The Royal Palace is a complex of buildings that serves as the royal residence of the King of Cambodia. The Kings of Cambodia have occupied it since it was built in 1866, except during the tumultuous period of the Khmer Rouge. The Royal Palace is lovely, all yellow buildings with curlicue roofs, in classic Khmer architecture. (phnom penh: wats, royal palaces, & killing fields)
WHITE: OMANI MEN WITH RIFLES, NIZWA, OMAN.
As I walk down toward Nizwa souq, I see a large group of older men affectionately handling, inspecting and playing around with rifles. Some are sitting on a bench around a tree and I ask if I can take a picture of them. They are friendly enough to let me do so. But when I try to ask them questions about their rifles and what they are doing here, it becomes obvious that, first, no one speaks English, and second, I am an interloper among these men. Still. They are an easy-going brotherhood, having a good time and laughing, a kind of Sunday social hour. (exploring the backroad to nizwa souq)
RED: TEMPLE OF LITERATURE, HANOI, VIETNAM.
The Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, was later established as a university for the education of mandarins. It has 5 courtyards, with a serene reflecting pool in the front courtyard, roofed gateways, and low-eaved buildings. (hanoi: city of motorbikes, enthusiastic buddhists & ho chi minh)
And here are my 5 nominees. I know time is running out, as the contest ends August 29, but I hope they’ll still participate.
tahira’s: shenanigans from the edge of the world
Miranda from My Own Horizons
Finola of travelola.org
Lynne of On the Go with Lynne
Playamart - Zeebra Designs said:
Grrrrrrrrrrrrreat choices! Wow! Z
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you Z!
Tahira said:
These are GREAT! Lovely. Thank you for he nomination, I don;t think I can live up to this standard BUT I am going to try anyways & have fun doing so!!
catbirdinoman said:
Good! Have fun, that’s really all that matters! And I’m sure you will be up to the challenge! 🙂
Fergiemoto said:
Excellent photos!
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you Fergiemoto!
efratadenny said:
Nice series of photos..
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you efratadenny!
The Wanderlust Gene said:
Glad you got your entry in on time – they’re all great, but I do like the old men and their rifles!
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you Wanderlust. I was so lucky to have stumbled upon this group of men and to have them let me take their pictures. I love this kind of serendipity!
The Wanderlust Gene said:
Me too – it makes the shots priceless, doesn’t it?
catbirdinoman said:
Yes, it certainly does. I wish I had more willing subjects for my photos!
The Wanderlust Gene said:
But would they then be as exciting to remember, as the precious ones you have?
catbirdinoman said:
You’re right. It’s the rarity of those moments that makes them so special!
The Wanderlust Gene said:
I think so Cat 🙂
Marianne said:
I´m very fortunate to admit that I visited your yellow and red photography sites myself, earlier this year.
You have captured them beautifully, Cathy.
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you Marianne! Didn’t you love Cambodia and Vietnam? I would love to go back and spend more time in both places!
Marianne said:
Yes, we had a great time!
blueberriejournal said:
Such impressive pictures – and I love colours. Thanks you for nominating me.
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you blueberriejournal. Can’t wait to see your entries!
travelerlynne said:
Great choices, Cathy. Thanks for thinking of me, once again, but I may not be able to do this one. Some extra care giving commitments coming up. I look forward to seeing those who make the deadline.
catbirdinoman said:
It’s okay, Lynne; it isn’t much time till the deadline. I was just able to get to it myself, a week later than I got the nomination!
Madhu said:
Wow! You did a great job Cathy! Love the green and the white best of all. I think those old Omani men are the stars of the show 🙂
catbirdinoman said:
I agree Madhu. I have a number of Omani men pictures that would have worked for white, and might have been equally interesting. I’m not so happy with my choices, but realized as I looked through my archives that I don’t have that many photos that nicely showcase those particular colors!
Marco said:
You are so lucky to get to travel so much! Beautiful pics as always, I’m especially fond of the pic of OEDO BOTANIA, That place looks amazing.
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you Marco. OEDO BOTANIA was so amazing and beautiful. I need to most more pictures on that place. I think I will revisit my Korea blog and start posting large pictures of some of the beautiful places there!! I am very lucky to be able to travel, as it’s my passion, but the downside of course is that money is always an issue!!
Marco said:
Do you travel and earn at the same time or do you wrok then travel then go back to work some more then set off again?
catbirdinoman said:
No, I only SPEND while traveling, sadly! I haven’t yet figured out how to make my passion for travel a money-earner! I’m a teacher at a university in Oman, so I am really tied to the school calendar. As soon as I get a holiday, I take off, spending everything I have earned!
Marco said:
Ah okay that explains it! How did you end up in Omar?
catbirdinoman said:
After my year teaching ESL in Korea, I wanted to go to the Middle East because of a fascination with Arab culture. So I applied everywhere and got a job in Oman.
Marco said:
Fascinating. Would you ever teach again back home again?
catbirdinoman said:
Yes, I’m thinking about returning home next September. We’ll see what happens!
Marco said:
Ja big decisions usually end up being derailed, lol
farmingfolk said:
Beautiful photies – thanks for sharing them!
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you farmingfolk!
adinparadise said:
Wonderful colours and photos. Oeda Botania is just awesome.
catbirdinoman said:
Thank you adinparadise! I loved that island and sadly, this one picture doesn’t do it justice…. 🙂
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eof737 said:
Excellent! I still have to put mine together. You gave me an idea for yellow now. 😉
catbirdinoman said:
Good, eof737. You better hurry; the deadline is on Wednesday! Can’t wait to see them!
eof737 said:
Yes…and I have to remember the time difference too. TY! 🙂