The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

I spent last week-end in Hua Hin, Thailand.  While walking about the grounds of the Dusit Resort & Hotel with my 70mm Sigma macro lens, I spotted a Jackfruit tree fruiting. Wonderful.

The Jackfruit, I believe, arrived on this planet in the lunch boxes of Visiting Alien Creatures (VAC). They are extremely difficult to handle, and even more difficult to extract the bubble-gum-flavored bright yellow succulent interior fruit meat. Obviously, they spat (if spitting happened to be an anatomical option for the VACs) the Jackfruit seeds out, eventually spreading about the hills and lagoons of the Earthen tropics.  The Durian shares this same extraterrestrial, transpermatic origin.

Jackfruit begin as a thumb-sized main trunk protrusion.

This very young fruit shows surface organization.  I have no idea what these would look like on the inside at this point in their development.

As they grow, they begin to form their characteristic spinney surface.

The spines eventually become quite large and frightening, a common feature of fruit with extra-terrestrial origins. There is NO WAY you can convince me that this organism came up through some kind of Darwinian selection process on THIS PLANET . . . . NO WAY!

A fully mature Jackfruit is the size of a Grizzly Bear's head and can weigh up to 30 kilos (70 pounds).  It grows right out of the tree trunk on its own stem, not hanging from a branch, another common feature of non-Earth fruit origination. The leaves do not look like they would be featured in a dendrological field manual either.

Nobody, and I do mean NO BODY, does heraldic banners like they do in Thailand. They Love their King in Thailand (rightfully) and they love to show that love in their heraldic banners. First in a series.

On the main  road leading into Hua Hin, Thailand, the Thai King's beach residence.

Outside of Hua Hin again: The Thai King in various favorite portraits.  Beautiful.

Sweet Hua Hin:

The ubiquity of it all!

The sea (The Gulf of Siam/Thailand) changes all the time. From misty . . . 

 . . . to picture postcard  . . . . .

 . . . to clear and azure . . . . .

. . . . and then stormy . . . .

. . . to the drama of an approaching storm . . . .

. . . to serene evening moods with cool breezes . . .

. . . followed by next morning's sun rise.

 . . . .  to memories of past storms.  Here we have the impermanence of wealth.

The mornings are my favorite times . . . . when the fishermen are out . . . .

 . . . and the boats head back in after a night's squidding . . . .

 . . . and when the tide is out, it is a nice time for a walk down the beach.

It is a good time of the year (The Damn Hot and Damn Wet Season) to photograph flowers. These are frangipani.

Yes, it is true even in nature: play with your stamen and you can twist it.

Incredible lotus flowers, a symbol of Buddhism, and my favorite flower.

Perfectly amazing color.

A tiny, complex world of colorful beauty.

Colorful. Purposeful. Beauty.

 Propagatory. The Lotus' universe.

Rust and vines.