My Seven Super Shots

I love a good internet meme, like the ABC’s of Travel, or the Capture the Color contest. It’s fun to see what other bloggers come up with, to get tagged, and to add your own contribution into the mix. If you’re an avid blog readers chances are you’ve also seen My Seven Super Shots, the meme that lets bloggers reflect on some of their top photography. And if you’re me, chances are you’ve been tagged a bazillion times and waiting until a year later to actually get around to doing your post. Without further ado!

1. A photo that takes my breath away.

There’s something so exotic, so sensual about Southeast Asia — it has a hold over me that keeps me coming back. When I see this photo of Wat Pho in Bangkok I think of that intoxicating desire I have to be in this unfamiliar and fascinating part of the world, a desire that often does take my breath away!

2. A photo that makes me laugh.

Regular readers of my blog may be getting sick of this photo and stifling concern that my equine obsession is out of control, but I’m sorry — something about these Icelandic horses cracks me up beyond belief. Don’t they look like such punks?

3. A photo that makes me dream.

It’s no secret that I love being underwater. Diving is my work, my hobby, my meditation. If I’m out of the water for too long I start to feel a little bit out of sorts — and I can’t stop dreaming about taking my next plunge.

4. A photo that makes me think.

This photo is from the Phnom Tameo Animal Rescue in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The facility takes in animals that have been rescued from poachers, abusers, smugglers, etc. and cannot be rehabilitated. We were allowed much closer access to the animals than we ever would have had in a Western country, and through the bars of a wire cage I held hands with this tiny monkey. I was animal obsessed to begin with, but seeing the similarities in us — our fingers, our nails, our warm skin — made me think of our fellow Earth dwellers differently.

5. A photo that makes my mouth water.

I’m not much of a foodie, so options were limited for this category. But I do have a capacity for sweets that would put a small child into a coma, so I do have a fair sampling of dessert photos. There is nothing I love more than ice cream on a hot summer day, and this gem from Smorgasburg in Brooklyn was pretty much pure heaven.

6. A photo that tells a story.

Okay, I cheated — I picked two. I love these photos as a set, because for me they tell the two stories of Southeast Asia. On the left is a photo of a monk at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. To me, this photo encompasses the serenity and the spirituality of this part of the world. On the right is a photo of a back alley in Saigon, Vietnam, showing the chaos and the grit that is daily life in Southeast Asia.

7. The photo that I am most proud of ( my National Geographic photo.

At a busy market in Luang Prabang, Laos, I trailed my viewfinder on this vendor’s parasol display and smiled. This might just be one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. I’ll just throw modesty out the window and say that I can totally see it as the cover of a Lonely Planet Laos.

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Thanks to all the bloggers that tagged me in this! As this meme was so 2011, I’m not even going to bother tagging anyone now. But bloggers, don’t let a little thing like punctuality stop you… if you’re still interested, tag yourself!

Which photo is your favorite?