Cultural | Russ Bishop Photography

August 11, 2025August 11, 2025

Pele’s Realm

For more than a quarter century the lava on Hawaii’s Big Island has continued to flow. From the Pu’u O’o vent on the flanks of Kilauea down into the Pacific and lately a fountain filling the sky above Halema’uma’u crater. A mesmerizing river of molten earth that is equally beautiful and terrifying as it slowly devours everything in it’s path, while adding acres to Hawaii’s newest Island.

Since ancient times Pele, the Goddess of Fire, has been a central figure of Hawaiian lore. “She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land” is often recounted in ancient Hawaiian chants, and today is the most visible of the Hawaiian deities.

Pele is known to be a passionate goddess, yet volatile and capricious as evidenced by her destruction of the modern Waha’ula visitor center while completely avoiding an ancient heiau (Hawaiian temple) in her path.

I’ve been back many times over the past thirty years to pay homage to Pele, and I’m always in awe of her powerful hand in shaping these Islands. Will Rogers once said, “buy real estate, they don’t make it any more”. But clearly he had never been to this part of the world!

March 4, 2025March 4, 2025

American Galapagos – Channel Islands National Park

The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located off the coast of Southern California in the Santa Barbara Channel. Five of the islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara) were designated Channel Islands National Park on March 5, 1980 as our 40th national park, and are co-managed by the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy.

Often referred to as America’s Galapagos, the Channel Islands are home to over 2,000 plant and animal species and 145 of those are found nowhere else on earth! The island fox (shown here) is one example – a dwarf fox native to six of the eight Islands. Due to their geographic isolation these curious creatures have no immunity to disease brought in from the mainland, and as a result their population dwindled to near extinction in the 1990s. Fortunately they were federally protected as an endangered species in 2004, and efforts to rebuild fox populations and restore their ecosystems have been quite successful.

The archeological and cultural resources on the Channel Islands span a period of more than 12,000 years of human habitation. The Chumash Indians lived off the sea for thousands of years followed by Spanish and American cattle ranches that thrived in the nineteenth century. Over the years, archaeologists have unearthed an amazing timeline dating back to the Pleistocene, including the world’s most complete pygmy mammoth specimen discovered on Santa Rosa Island in 1994.

The Islands are also part of one of the richest marine biospheres of the world. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary protects the surrounding waters six nautical miles off Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Barbara islands, where a whole new world invites exploration above and below the surface.

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024

Venetian Watermark

Venice is a city afloat and as the title of Joseph Brodsky’s classic essay “Watermark” suggests, it is this watery foundation that is the heart of the city and leaves its mark on your soul.

Around every corner your eyes are met with a rich palette of colors, and wandering through the maze of narrow stone passageways and arched bridges the sound of water lapping against stone is a constant reminder that the sea which brought life to this Renaissance town is slowly reclaiming it.

Founded in the 5th century as a defense from invaders, Venice was dredged out of a marshy lagoon and compasses 188 islands in the north Adriatic Sea. Its unique location which at first offered protection soon provided an even more valuable asset. With access to the open sea and the world beyond by the 13th century Venice had become a major maritime power.

During the Renaissance its wealth and power reigned supreme and it flourished as a center of art and culture that remains today. From Piazza San Marco to the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal, Venice is a vibrant blend of classic architecture, old-world artistry and culinary delights that appeals to the senses like no other city in the world.

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.” ~Truman Capote