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The New York Times recently did a story on the Fiords of Norway. I was anxious to read it because we just came back from visiting the Fiords (or Fjords) in August.
While the Times did a beautiful job in its description and photos, I wanted to add a few of my own thoughts, as well as Eliot Hess’s photography. It’s worth looking at because every time you look at the long, narrow inlets with the steep cliffs on either side, you see more beauty. It was all created by glacial erosions.
I’m a city kid never thinking that I could love nature so much. When we travel, I much prefer exploring villages, rural areas and topography that I have never laid eyes on before.
I found the Fiords in Norway to be so calming and peaceful that I wished we stayed there much longer. We actually got to stay at a quaint hotel in Lofthus, Norway, called the Ullensvang, that was nestled right next to a Fiord. There were times that you didn’t see another living soul for hours. That’s not how I want to live my life, but for a change, it was sheer joy.
Click here for New York Times story.
Photos by Eliot Hess starting with the second picture.
The Ullensvang, image from Google
This little boy is 70 years old today. Eliot is not on Facebook, so I am taking this opportunity to display all of the good wishes he received on my and Whitney’s Facebook account.
Happy birthday Eliot. We love you
Miami is the lightning capital. We had a spectacular show tonight. Intense. Photo by Eliot Hess.
I found this on Facebook. It belongs to a friend of a friend. You must see the reaction of this five year old boy when he finds out his mother is pregnant. I am trying to imagine what he will be like as an adult. Amazing!
The leading lady of CES, Karen Chupka, posted this picture of a Budda made out of sardine cans. This is on display at the Hong Kong International Airport.
I have been searching for an ex-client of mine, Stan Weston, for years now. He just disappeared . He lived in Cap Ferrat for decades. The last two times I was here, we visited with him. He invented G.I. Joe, even though the toy company he gave the idea to, Hasbro, never gave him credit for it.
They gave him a check for $100,000 50 years ago and they went on to make billions. Read all about it here. Stan grew up in NY but fell in love with the French Riviera. I never thought he would leave the area. He must be close to 80. I have been searching the Internet and social media. Zip. Where are you Stan?
Photos by Eliot Hess
Here are the suggestions that I received to name Eliot’s photo. Thank you everyone. It was lovely of you to help. The Miami Herald ran the photo in today’s print edition. Your creative titles will help me pitch others.
David Steven Simon—“Claudia Cloudinelli”
Adrian Rice—–“Lipstick Sunset”
Allan Caplan—“Simply,”Oh Shit”
Giselle Wolf—“Oops, My Kneiglech Are Flying”
Jeff Young—”Clouds Over Miami At Night By Hess”
Eric Schneider—“Puff Daddy”
Jonas Neilson—-“Miami Clouds Have Digestive Issues”
Milo Hess—“Head In The Cloud”
Audrey Sommer—“Miami Cloudburst”
Barbara Mark Ross—”New Yorkers Taking Over Miami”
Annette Nicoloff—“My Vortex”
Steven Ekstract—”Return Of The Dragon”
Photo credit: Eliot Hess. Our condo view is becoming a watchtower for the Miami Herald. Eliot captured a fire consuming a local church..
I’m not sure how this story is going to end but the journey is so digital, I just had to tell it. I decided that today was going to be a productive one, so I started working at 7am. It’s now 11:55pm and I’m still at it. Of course, I took a few breaks. One for a swim, another to wish Phyllis Blagman, a childhood friend, a happy birthday. We talked for a hour.
Photo credit: Eliot Hess. Look close. A rare moment for me.
Even though I worked intensely on several projects today, I promised myself I would email Eliot’s photo of the cloud that I wrote about yesterday and email it to several editors at the Miami Herald to see if they would publish it. I asked David Nieves at HWH PR to research some Miami Herald contacts. He gave me six names and I emailed the cloud photo to each of them.
I’m not a liberty to mention his name, but one of the top photo editors immediately responded, “That’s quite a spectacular cloud formation. I’ve seen such over the ocean, but not with a land horizon. When was the photo taken, and at what time? “
I promptly answered his questions and his response was, “We plan to use it inside the local section. Is it ok with you if I also offer the photo to our sister Spanish-language paper, El Nuevo Herald? We will credit Eliot Hess, as your requested.”
His next email said, “Hi, again. We could try to run this photo inside our Local section tmrw. It would’ve had a shot at the cover of that section, in color, had it not been from yesterday.I cannot pay you for this photo, but will credit: Eliot Hess.”
The lesson learned was that I waited too many hours before emailing the photo. It was considered immediate news. There is a slight chance it will make in tomorrow’s edition. I will report back.
The story doesn’t end there. Twenty-four hours after the cloud shot, Eliot looks out our windows again and spots a fire in the same location. This time we don’t waste a minute. We immediately email the photo (above) of the fire to the same editor.
Five minutes later he writes back, “Busy times from your balcony. The fire is consuming a church near Midtown, I’m told. We have a freelance photographer on scene… all I’ve got right now.”
Last email from Miami Herald editor, “Anyway, I would like to add Eliot’s photo to a gallery we are preparing on the fire for online. But, as before, this would have to be for credit only… OK with you’all? ”
I was busy talking to Phyllis so it was over an hour before I answered him.
Summary: I got caught snoozing, I should have known better. The digital world never sleeps. You have to be precise and current. Otherwise, you snooze you loose. I hope I didn’t lose.
Several hours later. It’s now 2:11am, May 31. I just found the fire story in the Herald. Very different from what the editor first thought. A person actually died. Eliot’s photo was used in the gallery next to the story. One of nine photos. Click here You’ll see it. He has a photo credit. Good night. May everyone be safe and sound.
Scenes from a Birthday Celebration
Dinner at Mr. Chow, Miami Beach, FL
Group shot on boat
Whitney, all smiles
Howard and Eliot looking for dolphins
Steve, Fredrick, and Andrew
Steve and Williams
Me, Williams, and Ruth
Williams posing as JT
Fredrick and Andrew at the steering wheel
Our condo, far right
DigiDame
Fredrick posing on top of party boat
DigiDame 