Featured Travel Stories

CLOSING THE SPICE MARKET - INDIA

My most recent trip took me to India to photograph Holi. The theme of the trip was centered around "colorful India, and it really didn't disapoint. When in Delhi, I had a lot of time however to rome around the streets with local photographers to discover parts that tourists never really see. On one of those days, we ended up at the spice market just as it was closing.

We were not allowed in with cameras, but like many old cities, all roads lead to Rome. In this case, all alleys, even dark ones, lead to the spice market. We took as many pictures as we could between coughs before we were reported and asked very politely to leave. While these pictures don't depict "colorful India", they do depict real life for thousands of Indians.

PELEA DE GALLOS - PERU

While in Peru, I was invited to two animal-based events. The first was a non-traditional bullfight in a remote city called Cotabambas. It was non-traditional since no animals were killed and the highlight of the event was when a condor was strapped to the back of a bull who then proceeded to bullfight with a matador.

The second event was a pelea de gallos, or "cockfighting". Unlike the bullfighting event, which was stepped in culture and tradition, the pelea to gallos was what it purported to be: animals killing each other.

I left my sensitivities and opinions at the door however and documented what I saw, and talked to the hundreds of fans in the stands as well as some of the organizers. No one could really convince me otherwise however, it was indeed animal cruelty.