BertsEye
Bert dove into digital photography to capture the sights while making psychedelic sounds, touring the US as guitarist in the Flying Other Brothers. Eight coffee table books of Bert's photography are available at Blurb.com, telling stories with images and commentary that make for a nice rhythmic experience. The books are available at Blurb.com/user/bzbert.
Here's a short photoblog of some intimate moments:
Jan 2024 - East africa!
For the past 25 years Cynthia's calling has been to help kids become the first in their family to go to college, and to thrive as graduates. Many of these kids came to the US as children, but have otherwise never been on an airplane, let alone traveled to another country. An org called Global Livingston Institute has made it possible for hundreds of these kids to expand their horizons by visiting East Africa and learning to listen, think, and then act.
I love photographing animals, but Safari has always seemed to us an extravagance that couldn't justify a trip to Africa - but when GLI offered to host us for a cultural experience plus some sightseeing, we jumped at the chance. We learned so much - about the mother continent and the ongoing ascent of man - that we hope to send our grandchildren on a Global Livingston trip and highly recommend you look into it for yourselves. Pictured above is GLI's Sebastian Dittgen, phenomenally talented at bridging cultures and in good enough shape to take me running all around Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
On the shores of Lake Eyasi in Tanzania are small tribes who still live much as the first humans did - hunting and gathering with just the materials they find in nature plus incredible skill. This young man had fashioned a bow and arrow with a corn cob as an arrowhead - perfect for knocking a bird to the ground where you can grab it and ensure a quick death without ripping up the flesh.
In southern Uganda, the shores of Lake Bunyonyi are where the Chiga people also live off the land by subsistence farming - sorghum and irish potatoes are very popular. The kids loved seeing videos of our granddaughters swinging on monkey bars.
A truly great man we had the luck of knowing was Dr. Paul Farmer. While studying medicine at Harvard he and two friends conceived an approach to 3rd world health care in which a doc trains local community health workers, gaining trust and serving far more patients than any traditional clinic could. First in Haiti they turned the tide on AIDS, then in Peru and Russia with $44M from the Gates Foundation they solved crises in Multi-Drug Resistant tuberculosis. After the Rwanda genocide, Paul befriended the Tutsi General Paul Kagame who had returned order and become president, and began establishing a modern health care system in Northern Rwanda. In a region populated entirely by subsistence farmers, there now stands a modern medical school and hospital designed by the incredible architectural firm MASS Design.
One morning in 2022 Paul simply didn't wake up. At age 62 his heart had stopped. In Paul's apartment at the UGHE Medical School, the bed has been made but otherwise it stays exactly as it was that morning, a natural shrine that we found very helpful in our mourning.
Rwanda is on the equator, but you may have noticed we are wearing coats. Most of the country sists above 600ft elevation, where air temperatures are 20 degrees lower than at sea level. The weather in January was very comparable to that in San Francisco!
And then, the animals. A forest not far from Butaro is home to several hundred mountain gorillas who spend their mornings and evenings munching bamboo shoots and leaves, balanced with fruits and insects, and play and sleep and siesta the rest of the time. Thanks to the way human visitors are controlled, they are only mildly curious of us as we hike among their nests.
Eventually we did spend several days on Safari - taking all the same photos everyone else does but gobsmacked by the variety of animals, and the sheer mass of them, all living off an immense plain of grass. Standing up through the roof of the cruiser, in one scan of the horizon you might see 10,000 wildebeest, 1000 antelope, 100 giraffes, 10 big cats, a pair of rhinos, and countless birds of all shapes colors and sizes. Our lives are the latest in an incomprehensibly vast set of chemical reactions, and nowhere is this more visible than on the Serengeti Plain.
Feb 2018 - The Philippines (Finally!)
Cynthia was born on the island of Luzon, in a tropical paradise with 10 thousand islands and 100 million inhabitants. For decades her mom told us not to go - too disturbing, too dangerous. This year her mom can hardly remember anything, so we finally flew to Cynthia's birthplace and got to know just five of the islands: Luzon, Corregidor, Mactan, Bohol, and Cebu. Just as we felt visiting India, we found the natural settings to be marvelous, the urban settings filthy, and the people incredible, with much more energy and civility than we could possibly expect. But what impressed us most were the natural wonders and people's celebration of them. Here Cynthia's trying her best to summon courage to jump into a canyon pool (she never did - but seemed happy to watch her kid-husband do it over and over!
August 2017 - Howling at the Sun
The total solar eclipse was quite a thing to witness. But most enchanting was the behavior of the witnesses. Tap the photo of Beth Setrakian for my favorite video I've shot to date:
July 2016 - In Over His Head
Just a few years ago it seems, our son Brandon was learning to swim. Now at the same neighborhood pool he's underwater with his own daughter Noli. Grandparents talk about how much fun this is, but few mention one of the greatest joys: watching your son be a father!
Dec 2015 - What Would Marcia Say?
My love of music came from my mother. She also gave my sister Cathy a rugged elegance and gave our little sister Ginny her gift of laughter. And suddenly Mom is gone.
Everyone eventually loses their mom. I've seen it many times, but never imagined feeling the way I do now. It' suddenly clear that for half a century there has been an umbilical cord connecting to Mom. The nourishment included her persuasion that I could become whatever I wanted. With no constraints other than to be safe, be decent to others, and appreciate the joys that come in life.
Mom never had any interest in controlling others. And yet this woman had a HUGE personality. How can one be so deeply influential without being pushy? Well, she was astute. But it also helps that she loved simplicity. So with a few words she could brightly light subjects that others would avoid.
Only when her body became weak did Marcia's essence become fully clear. She had always known what matters most in life. She had stayed curious, self-sufficient, responsive to others' needs, and funny - knowing how humor helps this world go 'round. Living this way, plus being lucky in love, had given her an astonishingly deep satisfaction. Focusing on things naturally within her control, Marcia showed us how an individual can easily make the world a better place.
Especially in the words she chose near the end - when each word took seconds to prepare - Marcia showed us how to live. Big questions will remain unanswered in life, and that's just fine. A little question we like to ask each other now is this: "What would Marcia say?
Nov 2014 - Life's Second Half
Not long ago, 50 was an age most humans didn't reach. It's now an age some of us aspire to double. And many of us now think of 50 as the start of life's second half.
My sister Ginny is a case in point. A brilliant Physical Therapist, being available to her patients means not getting many chances to take consecutive days off. But when she turned 50 she took a few off with me, just driving around Northern California and talking. Occasionally we'd come across a breathtaking view, she'd walk and I'd photograph. Just after sunrise at Death Valley's Zabriskie Point, she seemed to be contemplating the ups and downs that lay ahead.
June 2014 - For music venues, smaller is better!
Every June, dozens of the world's best musicians congregate in Telluride for the Bluegrass Festival. Some only play the main stage, but all walk through the town, and many participate in "Nitegrass' sessions where you can experience astounding music-making up-close.
This is the tiny Sheridan Opera House, where for several years now our friends Punch Brothers have closed the festival with a late nite jam. Jammed together around Gillian Welch are many of our very favorite musicians: Sara Watkins, Gabe Witcher, Bryan Sutton, Aoife O'Donovan, Chris Eldridge, Dave Rawlings, Sean Watkins, Paul Kowert, Chris Thile, Ronnie McCoury, Willie Watson, Sarah Jarosz, a mandolin player I don't recognize (sorry!) and finally Noam Pikelny & Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.
2013 - Can't Stop Designing
I stopped working full-time in 2009, but can't stop designing. Home remodeling is an easy way to get a fix, Megan's new degree in Landscape Architecture drove this project: a green roof, solar trellis, and faux-slate roof with stainless steel eaves and gables. One goal was to make the carport - which is very close to the street - part of the landscape rather than part of the house. Another was to include solar panels in a way that feels integral rather than a tack-on afterthought. A third was to eliminate the fire hazard of shake shingles by re-roofing with something lightweight but also substantial. Fourth was to have no visible gutters or downspouts.
2012 - Getting high in the Himalayas
As soon as he felt recovered from triple bypass surgery, my running mentor Mike Nuttall asked me to accompany him on a 100mi Stage Race in the Himalayas. It became the trip of a lifetime, including a week exploring the Khumbu region around Mt Everest. I guess this was a 'selfie' (before the word became popular). I took it at 18200ft atop the Kala Patar ridge, showing Mt Everest and Nuptse above and Everest Base Camp below.
2011 - Off to College in New Orleans
On graduating high school, our first 37 College Track students in New Orleans were able to meet Bill Clinton (also the first in his family to go to college). Great inspiration to aim high, as these students embark on their college careers! Thank you Bill for the down home eloquence that's in everything you say.
2010 - Gone surfing
I'm going to learn to surf well, before it's too late. This isn't a selfie, it's Darryl "Flea" Virostko, the Mavericks legend who was acting as Water Patrol at my favorite surf spot - Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz. The wave wraps a cliff, turning north into a dependable offshore breeze, and sometimes continues for up to a quarter mile before ending at Cowell beach.
2009 - The Wedding Singers
Megan and Brandon, singing Nick Drake's "Northern Sky" during Nate and Katie's spectacularly blustery Big Sur wedding.
2008 - BertsEye opens
In 2008 I started transitioning out of full-time work, to make room for other passions best pursued while young. Kris Kristofferson said "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose". Well even then there's something you don't want to lose, and that's TIME.
We now start each day asking "what sounds most exciting today?" and jumping up to follow that excitement!
This is the edge of the Great Salt Lake. After driving Megan most of the way home from Ithaca after she finished college. I ran as far onto the lake as I could, and found a moment of perfect stillness, alone except for a sun worshiper, a tumbleweed, and billion sand flies.
