http://photography-fotografia.com/blog Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:22:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en With the great weather we have been having, we've been spending most of our time working on the boat.  Last week we hauled her - the first time in almost 4 years - and she was given a fresh coat of anti-fouling bottom paint.    In the slings being hoisted out of the ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/07/23/sundancer-ii-gets-a-new-bottom/ It's been almost two weeks since we arrived back home, totally exhausted after four very hard months finishing the project.  I have over 600 images of the hotel and Grand opening events, farewell parties etc. from the last month at the hotel to sort and edit, which is an overwhelming ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/06/30/doing-what-we-love-best/ This week saw the Grand Opening of the Terelj Hotel - Mongolia's first true International Five Star Hotel near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and the successful installation of the main entrance gates manufactured by THE GREAT LITTLE GATE CO. of Langley, B.C.  The gates were manufactured in Canada, shipped by ocean container to Tianjin China, and then ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/06/08/the-great-little-gate-company-at-mongolias-first-five-star-hotel/ Almost another month has passed and its been non-stop work, but we have seen huge progress and are getting close to the Grand Opening of the hotel next month.  This was was taken yesterday just after we were all issued our lovely red shirts with the hotel logo.  Pictured left ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/05/16/almost-done/ Today was one of the few days I was not out at Terelj, and while walking back from a shopping trip I took this picture.  These are just 2 of the many new buildings which are changing the skyline of Ulaanbaatar.   http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/04/23/ulaanbaatar-cityscape/ Since we got back almost 3 weeks ago its been work, work, work and hardly any play.  One of our few outings was to the State Circus, our North Korean Engineers invited us to watch a fantastic performance by the visiting acrobatic troupe.  I have uploaded some of the video to ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/03/19/north-korean-acrobatic-troupe/ We have been enjoying lovely sunny warm (for february) weather for the last nine days, this is the fabulous view we enjoy driving from home to Blaine where our boat is moored. Alas, just as spring is showing its face we have to say goodbye once again.  Our suitcases are packed and we ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/02/27/beautiful-british-columbia-hard-to-leave/ This afternoon we watched a controlled burn of a house in our neighbourhood.  Rather than demolish the house, the owners gave it to the local fire department to use for training exercises with the final burn taking place today.  The first image was taken at 1.25pm, a few minutes after the ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/02/24/house-on-fire/   This morning I did a double take as I pulled in to the parking lot of our local supermarket, and saw this splendid car - a 1931 model A Ford - that I had seen and photographed in Mongolia last year during the Peking to Paris Rally.  The car finished 39th overall, from a ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/02/24/from-peking-to-paris-and-back-to-langley/ Another month has gone by since I updated the blog, this time my excuse was a last minute trip to the Yucatan in Mexico, where we spent almost 3 weeks.  Grant, Brenda and David arrived a few days after us so it was a family holiday.  Our base was a ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/02/04/mexican-memories/ We got back last night from a great trip to the Oregon Dunes.  Rather than post pictures from the trip, here is the link to son Sean's blog, where he has already posted some of his great images. http://sdbphoto.com/blog/ http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2008/01/02/oregon-dunes-camping-trip/ I can't believe its almost a month since I visited my blog and Christmas 2007 is now history.  We got to see lots of family and friends over Christmas and are enjoying having Sean home from Hong Kong.  Tonight we are heading off with Grant and Sean in the motorhome to ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/12/28/happy-new-year/ We woke up this morning to a light covering of snow and now, 7 hours later, we have over 2 inches and it hasn't stopped yet.  Ray decided to shovel it off the driveway and had a very willing helper. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/12/01/its-winter/ We've been very busy since we got back, spending time with our family and taking advantage of some of the great pre-Christmas deals.  Yesterday was Ray's birthday which we celebrated at home with a lovely traditional English style roast dinner.  Here he is with our new TV, which was delivered just ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/11/27/happy-birthday-ray/ Yeserday we arrived back in Beijing from 10 wonderful days in Thailand and we fly back to Canada later today.  I'll post some pictures from our trip as soon as I get a few free minutes. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/11/15/travel-advisory/ I just got these pictures from home, they are so cute.  Here he is, getting dressed up as a big fierce tiger, whiskers and all. Grant decorated the golf cart and they drove around the neighborhood trick or treating.  Looks like they were all having lots of fun.   http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/11/01/davids-first-halloween/ Yesterday our North Korean engineers invited us to join them supporting their national soccer team playing Mongolia in their first round qualifier match. The Koreans had lots of support from migrant workers here in Mongolia and we sat with them in the bleachers.  Before the game their cheer leader (lady in ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/10/23/fifa-2010-world-cup-qualifiying-north-korea-vs-mongolia/ Last Saturday we had our first snowfall, but Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and we headed out into the countryside again.  We stopped for a picnic lunch near this huge Ovoo. This is Wikipedia's explanation of an ovoo............... An ovoo (Mongolian: овоо, heap) is a type of shamanistic rock cairn found ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/10/12/first-signs-of-winter/ Yesterday we went off to the countryside again with Chinbat and Naran, this time to watch the filming of a new movie about Gengis Khan.  It was a beautiful (although long) drive and the weather was perfect, a sunny 18C day which is very unusual for the end of September.  the 13th century settlement, about to ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/10/01/on-location-new-gengis-khan-movie/ We just got back from a trip with our boss Chinbat to his farm at Tsagaanuur which is in the very north of Mongolia, running along the Mongolian/Russian (Siberia) border.  The scenery was spectacular with the fall colours making the landscape look like an oil painting.    We drove right up to the Russian ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/09/27/to-siberia-well-almost-and-back/ We went for a walk into the local village of Terelj at lunchtime, it was a busy day at the Grocery Store, with customers "parking" their horses outside.   http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/09/19/definitely-not-a-one-horse-town/ Most of the outside lighting has been installed and we tested it a couple of nights ago.  I think its pretty spectacular. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/09/14/terelj-by-night/ We spent the last few days at Terelj and I took a batch of progress photos, then dug through my archives and found some taken back in 2004 when the project was just getting started.  Looking through the new front pedestrian gate It's been a lot of hard work to get to this stage ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/09/01/its-been-a-lot-of-blood-sweat-and-tears-to-get-this-far/ Wow, I just looked at my blog and see its almost 3 weeks since I got back, and nothing new posted.  I had hardly unpacked when we were off on another trip - back to Beijing last weekend for a quick 3 day business/shopping trip for Ray.  One afternoon I went ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/08/26/beijing-again/ i arrived back late last night after a long but uneventful trip.  As soon as I get over my jet lag I'll get on to putting some new stuff on the blog. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/08/06/back-in-mongolia-2/ I haven't been posting much to the blog as we have been enjoying our 'summer' holiday here on the Wet Coast of Canada.  Weather records have been broken with the longest stretch of rainy days in any July on record which made it a soggy time, but the end is in sight ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/07/24/summer-holidays/ Today Sean had his best ever day on Alamy, with 3 sales totalling over $1000. Well done Sean. I also sold another of my Mongolian horse pictures, this one for a Japanese tourism brochure. You can see Sean's (and my few) stock photos at Alamy.com http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/07/07/more-alamy-stock-photo-sales-for-sean-and-i/ Yesterday was Canada Day so what did we do, we went across the border to the USA to visit the boat.  Here's David checking things out, he loves to drive and was delighted with having a wheel this big. We have had lovely sunny warm weather for the last few days and yesterday ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/07/02/canada-day-eh/ No pictures this time, I arrived back in Canada a few days ago and have been too busy spending time with my cute little grandson David and his Mom and Dad, calling friends and family and generally settling back in.  I'll be back with some new pictures in a few days. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/27/back-in-canada/ Hurrah - I've made a sale, this image has just sold for the princely sum of $75.00  Country: Worldwide Usage: Editorial Media: Book- Academic/Educational Industry: Retail books/magazines/newspapers Sub-Industry: Education and Test Guides Print run: up to 5,000 Placement: Inside Image Size: 1/4 page Start: 01 March 2008 End: 01 March It gives me a great feeling of satisfaction to actually sell an image, now ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/21/218/ The photo below of the hotel under construction was not last month as stated in the article, but two years ago when we started work on the project.   http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/20/article-in-mongol-messenger-june-20-2007/   Voted Number One of all the luxury hotel brands in the world!   Sam Sallam, (V.P. Operations and General Manager) and Ray Taylor (Project Manager) for Terelj Hotel and Spa, Mongolia's first and only seven star hospitality experience, are holding the membership plaque for SLH (Small luxury hotels of the world). They ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/17/213/ One of the Pioneer Class cars, a 1903 Mercedes starting the next leg of the rally in Ulaanbaatar. This image begged to be given some special effects, so I sepia toned it in Photoshop. Click here to link to more pictures, some taken on the Rest Day, which was really a ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/03/peking-to-paris-rally-continues/ Yesterday the competitors in the 100 year re-enactment of the Peking to Paris Rally arrived in UB, after encountering many hardships crossing the Gobi Desert.  Ray saw these 2 cars refuelling and stopped to have a look.  The red car is a 1924 Itala 51B, the burgundy one is a 1928 Chevrolet AB Roadster.  Today ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/06/01/peking-to-paris-rally-arrives-in-ulaanbaatar/ After a long dreary brown winter, the countryside is finally turning green, wild flowers are shooting up and many of the mares have given birth to their foals.  This shot was taken near Turtle Rock in Terelj National Park, on our way to the hotel. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/05/31/mongolian-countryside/ We returned last night from a 4 day break to Beijing where we met up with son Sean and old friends from our Delhi days - Lorne and Nora Cain.  On Saturday night we attended the 20th Canadian Charity Ball, a grand affair featuring Canadian food, beer and wine and which ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/05/24/weekend-break-in-beijing/ Work has been keeping us so busy the last few weeks that I haven't had time to update the blog.   Last Sunday evening the hotel owners and top level operational staff were treated to a "Degustation" Dinner put on by the hotel chefs who recently arrived here.  They produced a delicious five course meal, accompanied ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/05/08/gourmet-dinner/ The Trans Mongolian/Siberian Railway line runs right through Ulaanbaatar and we look out on it from our office windows.  Every day we see 3 or 4 trains like this one, loaded with lumber coming from Russia and heading to China to feed the rapidly growing economy. The trains are so long that it ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/04/17/fueling-chinas-growth/ We arrived back in Mongolia late last night after a week long business trip to Beijing, 37 hours late - for a 2 hour flight.  This is not the first time we have been delayed by Air China, but it by far the worst.  We were waiting at the departure gate ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/04/01/dont-fly-air-china/ This weekend the 5th Annual Camel Polo Tournemant took place in UB, with twenty 6 man teams from Inner and Outer Mongolia competing for a prize of Tg 4 Million (about $3500) plus a motorcycle for each member of the winning team.  The event had the feel of a winter fair and ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/03/18/camel-polo/ Yesterday I braved the cold long enough to take a few photos before my fingers froze. This is the State Protocol Palace built to commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the founding of Chinggis Khan's empire and now nearing completion.  In the centre there is a HUGE statue of the great warrior, there are ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/03/12/around-ulaanbaatar/ It was driving me crazy but as always Google provided the answer.......   Gandhi Street opened in Ulaanbaatar Written by Ulaanbaatar correspondent    Thursday, 09 March 2006 The street running behind the Central Stadium in Ulaanbaatar has been named after the famous Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Present at the street's opening ceremony held Tuesday were ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/03/07/i-love-google/ Did I say winter was almost over - that was wishful thinking.  Over the last few days we have had more snow and the mercury plummetted to -33 Celsius last night with the forecast for continued cold all week.  Today was a beautiful sunny day so we bundled up and ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/03/04/gandhi-in-mongolia/ I arrived back in Mongolia last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to see the mercury nudging its way to 0 Celsius - a temperature we haven't seen here since early November.  This fantastic ice carving of Chinggis Khan and his warriors was done before Christmas but is now starting to melt.  ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/02/26/winter-is-almost-over/ Today while I was searching through some boxes of old documents and stuff I came across some photos from our past.  This was one of the most memorable sails during all our time in Mexico.  We were sailing into Bahia Conception in Sea of Cortez, Baja with our good friends Jim and Gail on PRIORITY ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/02/16/memories-of-our-cruising-days-in-mexico/ A couple of weeks ago the weatherman predicted a sunny weekend so we packed up the trailer and headed south to Deception Pass where we spent a great weekend camping.  The bridge at Deception Pass. During November and December the area was hit by some ferocious winter storms, with many trees fallen. David enjoying the ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/02/10/camping-at-deception-pass-washington/ Even in the depth of winter these camels are "saddled up" and waiting by the roadside in Terelj National park most days, the owners hoping some crazy tourists will come along and pay a few hundred Tugrugs for a ride or photo op. Back on this side of the Pacific the ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/01/21/more-snowy-pictures-from-monolia-and-langley/ Yesterday we got a taste of winter with a big storm dumping almost 6 inches of snow on us.  This picture was taken around 4pm from my kitchen window and by the time it stopped snowing we had another 3 inches.  This morning we started clearing walkways and digging out, but ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/01/11/winter-storm-hits-british-columbia/ Ray is now back in Mongolia, here's a cute shot of David helping him sort through some drawings to take back. http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/01/10/ray-heads-back-to-mongolia/ The two weeks since Christmas have flown by - here are a few of our pictures from Christmas morning.  Although David is too young to understand what its all about, he soon got the idea and had great fun opening his gifts.   He climbed right onto the huge pile of gifts - these were all for him Some assembly ... http://photography-fotografia.com/blog/2007/01/10/christmas-pictures-a-little-late/