Bastille Day 2014 Paris, France

July 14, 2014 by Harold Hall

Our trip to Paris was planned to coincide with the fireworks around the Eiffel Tower for Bastille Day, or as the French are sometimes quick to correct us, La Fête Nationale. I arrived at the 59th floor of Tour Montparnasse nine hours early hoping to find a prime view of the Eiffel Tower. There were very few spots left at that time, but was allowed to squeeze into one of the last remaining spots, thanks to Paris photographers Elhadj Ndoye and Laurent Sigwald. It is the start of a goal of mine to get fireworks at several famous locations, such as the Statue of Liberty, Sydney Bridge and maybe Big Ben.

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Farolitos or Luminarias in Taos

January 2, 2014 by Harold Hall

Farolitos and Luminarias on Ledoux Street Taos, NM

New Mexico has a tradition of lighting Farolitos and Luminarias during the holidays. Above are brown paper bags with a bit of sand and small candle placed inside for illumination. Small bonfires are also lit. The other pastime in New Mexico, other than discussing which is better, red or green chile, is to argue if the bags are called luminarios and the small bonfires are called firelitos, or is it the other way around? I prefer to call the scene above bag-a-litos so there is no mistake about it….

I spent the month of December 2013 in Taos searching for a specific Christmas scene. An adobe wall and gate with a Christmas wreath, snow and some bag-a-litos. Not only did I not find such a gate, but there was hardly any snow in December. So the search goes on. Ledoux Street was made famous in part by the Navajo artist, R.C. Gorman.

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