The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

We had booked a golf tee time for Sunday afternoon, but the weather was threatening  . . . . so we decided to drive the 30 miles to Nakhon Chai Si for lunch and a little shopping for the local small town delicacies my wife and I both like.

The old section of Nakhon Chai Si is a typical Thai market town.  Its close proximity to Bangkok brings out the Sunday drivers in search of the rare taste treat - a favorite Thai pastime.

We had lunch at a floating restaurent specializing in sea food . . . and aesthetically pleasing presentation.

We had beautiful fish simmering in a spicy sour sauce.  Yum-yum.

After we engorged ourselves on the fantastic lunch, we headed to the old market.  Lots of sea food there, and many other amazing little bundles of good-tasting Thai food-to-die-for.

We brought back our favorite salted sea bass for dinner this week.

There was much fruit to be had.

This "organic packaging" is stuffed with gooey coconut delight.The local way of cooking spiced rice is steaming inside bamboo tubes.

Thai chilis, known as prick in Thai, are hot.  Period.

These are delicious steamed with olive oil and lots of salt.

The market was framed by old shop houses smudged with the patina of age.

The light was incredible as it fell on the old shop doors.

I estimate that this part of Old Nakhon Chai Si is more than 100 years old.

The old wooden Thai towns are relics of a bygone era.

It is nice to see young people taking over these old shops and adding a modern touch, yet retaining the old charm.  Coffee time?

Some of the shops, like this old pharmacy, have been kept in their 1950s state.

The old town of Nakhn Chai Si is under royal patronage. The ailing King of Thailand is much revered.

We had some car trouble (shift linkage) while parked at a Wat that led to an adventure in getting home.  Part of the adventure landed us at this small suburban shop; so forlorn in its commercial nakedness.

The shopkeeper's pretty young daughter perched among the array of goods, sad and shy.

The shop was in a neighborhood peopled by motorized food vendors.

It is always a good day when I can hang around a holy tree and contemplate The Buddha, The Teachings of The Buddha, and The Followers of The Buddha.

Ocean City Boardwalk, New Jersey Shore, 4th of July.

Shayne Rockey, reflective beach boy, Ocean City Beach, NJ fireworks, July 4, 2011.

Another version of fireworks on the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey . . .  notice the embracing couple in the gloom.  Beautiful

Victory Monument Circle is a major transportation hub in Bangkok for busses and the SkyTrain. Many people pass through the make-shift sidewalk market every day to and from their work.

There is a wet night market under the SkyTrain tracks where some small stalls are erected.

The commuters stop and buy food for dinner, like this tasty Thai dim sum, and are then lured into the other stalls for impulse items.

Biodegradable packaging for the tasty rice. As the sun sets the lights come on and the shadows grow longer.

Anything that is considered cool anywhere on earth finds its way to this corner of Bangkok and onto a card tables under the SkyTrain.

Are they real? Who knows.

A scarf or hanky, a blouse or . . .

. . . or something for the hair  -- on the  way home through Victory Monument Circle.

My other favorite thing about Victory Monument Circle is the Saxophone Blues Pub.  The night's entertainment was roiling blues.

When we arrived home from Canada I noticed that one of the orchids in the garden had bloomed.  This particular Vanda orchid, a Vanda Pachara Delight, blooms only twice a year.

Orchids are extraordinarily interesting in the way that their textures and features mimic living creatures from the animal kingdom.

A close examination of an orchid petal reveals a tiny world of amazement.

As the shadows of a late afternoon crossed the orchids, strange orchid moods  arrived.

The sun struck the orchid at odd angles, revealing new detail as the minutes passed by.

Orchid reproductive anatomy.

I'm glad I bought that Sigma 70mm macro lens.

Reproduction of this amazing living entity takes place here.

When a person has lived in close proximity to the equator for over 25 years, as I have, they are easily amazed when encountering temperate rain forest flora. Vancouver's Stanley Park is flush with floral beauty.

The Rhododendrons were wet from a morning shower.

A small platoon of Rhododendron stamen surprises the morning.

Rhododendron flower clusters begin as a bud.

The path I followed was often lined with a froth of pink.

The pink froth array came in many varieties.

Rare white Rhododendrons could be seen here and there.

The wet forest floor hid some wet yellow blooms.

What is going on here? What is the ecological niche and counterpart of these magnificent reproductive parts?

Purple Chrysanthemums blossoms begin as these green bud clusters . . .

. . . and progress through this adolescent stage.

All of the forests of the Pacific Northwest of North America are completely colonized by the ubiquitous fern. Stanley Park is no exception.

Not every flower one encounters in these environs is neat, tidy, symmetrical . . .

. . . or friendly.