Here’s an image from a really cool market in Marrakech. It was so vibrant and interesting with a huge variety of things to buy. Food, lanterns, electronics, fabric, threads and more… speaking of Threads, I’ve just crossed 10k followers over on the new platform. It’s been great so far. Much more civil than Twitter, way less drama and no ads (so far!). Come check out my account and follow if you’d like to receive my random musings each day. 🙂

Incredibly Tenuous Link Incoming

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-12 06:03:50
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO1000
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Now here, somewhat above Chefchaouen, is a place where the military police shut us down with our quadcopter! I came into town with Anton and Ana from SmugMug to work on a promo piece. We had been already using Anton’s quadcopter all over Morocco, but when we got here, the taxi driver alerted the local military police that we had some sort of a “plane”! This caused a lot of worry and consternation (and, I should add, a significant amount of confusion). After we were there for half an hour, the military police descended on our hotel with a rather sour attitude. I’ve never had any success negotiating with the Moroccan military, and I had no success here either. I did put up a good intellectual fight, but I eventually acquiesced, mostly because of the size of their guns. Well, there was no gunplay… but I did see a lot of guns… which always helps one side win an argument. So, while I’d like to have had a proper shot from the air, it was not to be!

Not as High as I’d Hoped

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-05 06:59:23
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture16
• ISO160
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I had an amazing and rather hot time in the Sahara. To get this photo, I had to go up a huge dune on foot. I gave my own camel a break and decided to walk up. How hard could it be, I figured. Even with my past troublesome dune experiences. I figured wrong. And that night, I got so dizzy and sick, then realized it was probably because I hardly had any water… even though I’ve seen thousands and thousands of shows and movies about people not drinking enough water in the desert, I was so excited that I forgot to drink water!

Crossing the Sahara

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-08 06:48:55
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture5
• ISO100
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I can’t believe this thing has somehow evaded the principals of Newtonian physics! When I pulled into a small kasbah called Aït Benhaddou in the desert to take some photos, I saw this huge truck full of hay rumbling past. I barely kept my wits about me to take a photo just after it passed.

Hay!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-10 23:42:06
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture9
• ISO200
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1.3

Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.

This is a Aït Benhaddou, an incredible kasbah near Ouarzazate, Morocco. I’ve always wanted to visit this place ever since I saw it in Gladiator. It’s the place where Russell Crowe was taken on a stretcher and where he learned to become a gladiator. You may also remember it if you watch Game of Thrones. It’s one of the spots where Daenerys took her dragons with the unsullied.

I don’t set up for a lot of selfies because I’m not a vapid Instagram influencer that tries to sell you a special tea that helps your chakras. However, this is a rare selfie.

Where Daenerys Targaryen Dragon-Roasted The Slavers

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-11 00:03:01
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/750
• Aperture9.5
• ISO250
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This is the amazing Auberge Le Festival in the gorge just on the edge of the Sahara Desert. After spending several nights out in the arid desert situations, I started to work my way back towards the Atlas Mountains. This area is very near a fantasy (but real!) oasis, and it was absolutely perfect in every way. If you ever go to Morocco, be sure you look up this unbelievable place!

Amazing Castle on the Edge of the Desert Gorge in Morocco

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-09 08:04:36
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time25
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

I have a lame confession to make about this photo. I was too tired to get to the top of the sand dune to take this photo from the top. I mean, it was absolutely huge. I set out with the best of intentions. It must have been 400 feet high. That may not sound high, but it is effectively almost 1000 feet because every step up makes your feet slide down just about as far as you just ascended! I went right up the spine of the dune so I could put a foot on each side, but the sand was so impossibly soft and fluid that it was almost useless. So I eventually just gave up and thought, “You know what? The sunset will be good enough from right here!”

The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-08 06:47:54
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture16
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1