Photography Archives - Global Travel Authors

June 12, 2021June 12, 2021

Crazy Travel Photography and Story-Telling

Irene Shaland and Alex Shaland in Africa

Come to a Free In-Person Presentation “Crazy Travel Photography and Story-Telling”

Date and Time: June 24, 2021 at 7-8 PM EST

Presenters: Irene and Alex Shaland

Organized by: Cleveland Photo Fest

Where: 2731 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, in the Bostwick Design Art Initiative Building

About the presentation:

Meet Irene and Alex Shaland, world travelers, book authors, travel writers, and camera swingers. Alex swings the camera, Irene simply looks glamorous. Hear their stories of globe-trotting adventures-on-steroids researching, photographing, and writing about the countries and places they visit, people they meet, and nature and wildlife they deeply care about.

Why was this program titled “Crazy Travel Photography and Story-Telling”? As an example, who else but crazy Shalands would have crisscrossed the entire Indian subcontinent in 12 days pushing the shutter button and scribbling notes as fast as they could. After returning home, they produced two magazine articles, a chapter for Irene’s book, and several lectures. And they have been performing this stunt (research-travel-meet people and become friends-photograph and take notes-write, publish, present–repeat) for over 30 years. Almost 80 countries and counting.

Knowing Shalands’ “mode of operation” event sponsors asked Irene and Alex to share some unusual or “crazy” moments and images from some of their trips. This program will take you from the jaw-dropping architectural marvels of Singapore to insanely-creative street art of Melbourne, Australia; from African safaris in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Tanzania to the pyramids of Egypt; and from the streets and fields of Nepal to national parks in the USA.

About the presenters:

Irene Shaland’s art and travel articles, accompanied by Alex’s photographs, have appeared in over 20 publications and online sources including Holiday Magazine (France/U.K.), The Boston Forward, Tikkun, ZEEK, Diarna Digital Heritage Mapping, Hackwriters (U.K.), IMAGE Magazine, ROMAR Travel, and other journals printed in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Korea, and Kenya. Irene’s third book “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories” narrates little-known tales of Jewish communities in 10 countries over two millennia.

“Suburbanites on Safari” is Alex’s first work devoted exclusively to Africa and African wildlife that, in addition to being informative and entertaining, aspires to support the effort to preserve and protect the animals with whom we humans share this planet.

Learn more about Alex Shaland.

Learn more about Irene Shaland.

April 4, 2021April 5, 2021

Virtual Tour of Singapore

A Few Words About Singapore

Take a quick virtual tour of Singapore. Often called “post-modern,” this city-state, energetic and cosmopolitan, proudly offers the highest quality of life. And this is true for everyone, whether they are residents or just came to visit.

Among many other aspects of life, Singapore is clean and well-organized. In addition, with no street crime, it boasts a lack of unemployment and poverty. And if you talk to Singaporeans, you will find out that they cannot even imagine living anywhere else.

Singapore People

This miracle of Asia was built by immigrants from various corners of the world, and is called a nation of cultures. This city-state is a unique universe of tolerance and inclusiveness. However, it is not a melting pot but rather a mosaic of cultures. As a result, this remarkable nation offers everyone an opportunity to build a peaceful and prosperous life. So, among its citizens, you will find the Chinese, Malays, Indians, and Europeans. They Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jewish, or secular.

English is the main official language followed by Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Religions include Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. As of this writing, the population of Singapore is 5.8 million, of which approximately 74% are Chinese, 13% Malay, 9% Indians, and 4% other.vir

Singapore Location

Singapore is located at the end of the Malayan Peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia. The Singapore Strait separates Singapore from Indonesia. The Straits of Johor are the boarder between Singapore and Malaysia. The state of Singapore consists of the main island and smaller surrounding islands. The mainland of Singapore measures 31mi from east to west and 27mi from north to south.

tual tour of Singapore

See more about Irene Shaland and Alex Shaland.

Enjoy our travel photography at Instagram Travel Photos.

June 15, 2019December 8, 2020

Introducing The Cleveland Photo Fest

The Cleveland Photo Fest was established in 2019 as an annual event for the benefit of the Greater Clevelanders who support photography as a fine art. Our mission is to strengthen the appreciation of photography as a major force in today’s visually driven culture. Exhibitions, publications, educational and fellowship programming are at the core of our active engagement with the Cleveland community.

March 27, 2019December 8, 2020

Elephant in Amboseli National Park, Kenya

The photo of this elephant is my entry for the 2019 AAWR Members Annual Exhibition. I took this photo during our 2013 Great Migration trip to Kenya and Tanzania in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The sun was setting down, and dark clouds were rapidly moving in. On the way to the lodge, we passed this majestic animal rapidly walking along the side of the road. The plains, the dark clouds, and the walking giants were too dramatic not to snap a photo.

January 3, 2016December 26, 2020

Chasing the Elusive Northern Lights in Iceland

All visitors to Iceland fall into two distinctive categories: those who saw the northern lights and those who did not. When Irene set her trip target on Iceland, she was determined to place herself, our daughter, and I squarely in the first category. The problem was that unlike the predictable crowds at JFK on the way to Iceland, the famous northern lights of Iceland are highly unpredictable. However, the best time to see them is from November through December. So mid-November looked pretty good. Oh, and it also happens to be one of the coldest months of the year.