With 185 acres and the opportunity to visit with more than 800 species in its “nine worlds” housing more than 7,500 animals, Pairi Daiza was the culmination of a dream for Eric Domb, founder and chairman. He discovered the property in 1992, abandoning his career and devoting himself to the creation of paradise out of the former Cistercian Abbey of Cambron, founded in 1148 in Brugelette by twelve monks from Clairvaux.
Events, Photography and News
Green Heron image wins Big E Photo Contest
Mark D Phillips photograph of a Green Heron titled “On The Hunt” captured the 2024 Best in Department prize in the Eastern States Exposition’s (The Big E) Creative Arts Photography Contest. The fair celebrates the people, the food, the livestock, wildlife, shopping, agriculture and music of the six New England states, hosting about 1.5 million revelers annually and this year drew a record of more than 830 Photography Contest entries.
GowanusCanal.us
Mark D Phillips launches GowanusCanal.us, a new website devoted to his 35-year documentation of the renaissance along and in Brooklyn’s Superfund waterway.
Return to Barcelona
Barcelona. I haven’t been there since 1992. Today’s Barcelona is sprawling and majestic, much as it was in 1992, just more. When I gazed across the cityscape from the patio of Fabra Observatory, near the top of Tibidabo, the tableau of city and Mediterranean stretched along the coastline.
Photoville evolves to its best version yet
Photoville 2024 returned to its true home under the Brooklyn Bridge with its best rendition yet, presenting a showcase of photographers around the world. I had a tingle of anticipation as I spotted one of the greatest photographs of recent memory, Ami Vitale’s heartrending image of the last moments of the last White Rhino, Sudan. Looking at the image, with the incongruity of the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge above it, was striking.
Hello Darkness My Old Friend
Professor Jay Pasachoff of Williams College lit my interest in total solar eclipses and I thank him as I celebrate my third TSE viewing on April 8, 2024.
Remembering Chuck Liddy
Remembering Chuck Liddy, by Mark D Phillips. Chuck Liddy is the reason I am the photographer I grew into. Our competition at the Morganton News Herald shaped my entire photographic career.
Wilmington Where?
Wilmington? Vermont? It was a one stop-light town in the way on my way to Mount Snow. I always drove into town, turned right at that light and never once stopped. That changed this weekend in my efforts to travel on the New England Masters Ski Racing circuit in an old-style way, keeping costs down and when traveling alone, basically looking for those 70s and 80s type cheap motels that a single is willing to stay i
A Hot New Year in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires. My first time in Argentina, my first time in South America. 15 million people and the city is thriving. It’s a traveller’s dream location.
Ski the East: The Hochgebirge Challenge
The Hochgebirge Challenge began in 1931, running continuously except for a few years because of war and lack of snow, and is recognized as the longest running team event in the US. The race has been an Olympic qualifier event, a National Championship, a National Championship qualifier event, and most recently, the qualifier for the Masters National Championship. The trophy is spectacular and makes you want to kiss it just like the Stanley Cup.