Worldcrunch
The English have long occupied Malta, hence the driving on the left with steering wheel on the right-hand side. But they haven’t managed to import the Anglican religion: Catholicism is still deeply rooted in the island, as evidenced by the religious icons and Latin formula Verbum Dei caro factum est (“The Word of God was […]
A wicker basket worked just fine as a crib for this baby in eastern Nepal, though she looked just about ready to outgrow it.
The traditional pavement in front of Funchal“s 17th century Igreja do Colégio can be found throughout Portugal but also in the country’s former colonies. My grandson recently took pictures of similar black-and-white sidewalks bordering Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.
In 1960, I was able to afford a trip to faraway Norway, because I’d just won the first prize at a radio show trivia contest — 1,280 new francs, the currency that had just been introduced in France at the beginning of the year. Of course we went there by car, in our robust Peugeot […]
Twenty years ago, Beijing was already dealing with monstrous pollution — and since then, China has surpassed all other countries in vehicle sales. So cyclists in the capital must have a harder time navigating Tiananmen Square … and breathing along the way.
The inhabitants of Nazaré lent themselves well to portraits back when people were more open to being photographed than today. This woman was carrying a recycled oil can that she used to draw water from a well.
For their First Communion, these German mädchen were still dressed as little brides, before albs became more customary.
Almost 60 years of travels, and hardly a drop of rain. Yes, even in Scotland, that’s how lucky we were. And what better proof than these Scots working on their tan in Princes Street Gardens, the charming public park in the centre of Edinburgh — or as we say in French, Édimbourg.
This picture is old, but not as old as it seems: These men were actors taking a break on the set of a war movie on the river Krka in the historic town of Sibenik. Still, the image provides a slice of history, as we were on a trip through the Socialist Federal Republic of […]
These good old-fashioned haystacks in the Ötztal valley, in the Austrian state of Tyrol, remind me of haymaking in the village of my ancestors in eastern France, before mechanized balers and tractors became commonplace.
On Sept. 3, 1967, traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. Our daughter Cécile was understandably puzzled by the overlapping lane markings on the road, just a couple of months before the big change — and frankly, I find it somewhat of a miracle that no […]
It only seems fitting that to achieve Nirvana — or, as it is sometimes referred to in the West, “enlightenment” — some Buddhists would turn to burning candles. This woman picked the right place to pray: The ancient city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka was the center of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries.
Quito’s old market takes place right in front of the presidential palace, in the city’s centro histórico. It’s this colorful jumble of rowdy, narrow streets and dignified colonial buildings that makes the Ecuadoran capital one of the most beautiful Latin American cities.
Uschi, scratching herself on the leg, takes a picture of her udder. Fat Lola, who is mainly interested in eating, keeps her head down, which means the photos she takes are close-ups of grass blades. Only old Frida shows considerably more artistic talent, because she looks around while chewing her cud and takes in the […]
We saw another glimpse of Zulu culture in Swaziland, the landlocked country where a small portion of this community lives. The pompoms these dancers wear on their arms and legs are actually frilly goatskin bands.
Forty-nine years ago, the gondola traffic jams on Venice“s Grand Canal somehow seemed more manageable than today.
I was a young philosophy teacher in eastern France when we went to Berlin, then divided in two. My wife took this picture of me at the crossroads between Leibnizstrasse and Kantsstrasse — though Spinoza has always been my favorite.
When we went to Florida’s Cypress Gardens in the late 1980s, the botanical garden theme park was trying to survive, threatened as it was by a nearby rodent stealing all its visitors.
The Dol Cathedral in northwestern France is missing one of its two towers. Some say it’s because an angry giant once threw a menhir — Brittany’s trademark standing stone — that decapitated the cathedral before landing in a field. The Menhir de Champ-Dolent weighs 150 tons, so it’s fair to say that little boy wasn’t […]
Driving on the rugged roads of Northern Greece in our valiant Simca Aronde, we stumbled upon a couple of quaint surprises — enormous piles of watermelons, for instance.
Chess has been a favorite hobby of mine long before 1963, when I took part in the Franche-Comté regional finals in Besançon. (I finished third.)
Although it was built to protect the Chinese Empire against military incursions, the Great Wall of China faces a more insidious enemy: erosion caused by sandstorms, which has chipped away at the massive structure for centuries. I witnessed the potency of the assault when I went there almost 20 years ago: The haze in the […]
It’s in this picturesque town hall of St. Gilgen, on the shores of Lake Wolfgangsee, that the birth of Anna Maria Walburga Pertl was registered in 1720. The name rings no bell? Well then, you’ll recognize her son’s: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Becici, a sea resort near Budva in western Montenegro, boasts one of the most beautiful beaches in the country — and the hotel from whose terrace I snapped this picture offered one of the best beers I’ve ever had.
I’ve already told you about the knitting abilities of Peruvian men and women. But the Uru people living on Lake Titicaca take it to a whole other lever: Not only do they use bundles of dried reeds to make boats like the one on this slide — but they weave the artificial islets themselves!
I’ve already shown you how the Mayans’ colorful traditional clothes were made — now you can see how the local women and girls wash them, on the shores of the beautiful Lake Atitlan.
Welcome to Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, the city in the middle of the world, about 30 kilometers north of Quito. My wife Claudine and I were standing on each side of a line symbolizing the Equator. Modern equipment has since shown that the Equator actually lies about some 240 meters north, but this stays between […]
The Arbore church in northern Romania was built in the early 16th century and dedicated to St. John the Baptist — the martyr beheaded by Salome. Coincidentally, the Orthodox monastery itself suffered a comparable fate when marauding Cossack troops melted the lead roof to make bullets.
Funny how a picture without any people in it can still illustrate a city’s dual heritage, both linguistically (French/English) and demographically (Acadian/Creole).
I told you we were going to publish this slide soon, didn’t I? As you read this, my grandson may be taking pictures of the same statue of the Little Mermaid before which his mother, my daughter Cécile, was posing 47 years ago: He’s in Copenhagen today.
Thailand takes national pride very seriously. Every morning in schools throughout the country, students gather to salute the flag, stand at attention — hands out of pockets — and sing patriotic songs.
Sometimes it’s best to just let the slide do the talking.
Al Karak, with its famous Crusader castle, used to be an important place of power because of its control over the caravan route between Damascus and Egypt, and the pilgrimage route from Damascus to Mecca. But that was a long, long time ago. Just three months before we went there in 1996, there were food […]
More than once have I experienced the power and joy of a 70-300mm telephoto lens. Looking from afar, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, I couldn’t even make out what these little creatures were — they even looked like they could have been penguins! But once I zoomed in, I could enjoy watching these locals […]
When I dug up this shot of the statues of Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza next to the monument to their author Miguel de Cervantes, in Madrid’s Plaza de España, it got me hunting for other literary characters who had come to statufied life: I’ve got one photo of the Little Mermaid in […]
News in images
In the 1970s some elderly women in Volendam in northern Netherlands were still wearing traditional dresses and bonnets as part of their daily lives. Back in my native Franche-Comté, I was the conductor of a traditional folk choir in which the singers — including me — wore 19th century costumes.
The Bay of Brest, in northwestern France’s Brittany region, has been an important military port for centuries. I walked a hundred meters or so on a forbidden but unguarded path overlooking a naval base to take a picture of this fine example of our glorious French fleet.
If snake skin and dried llama fetuses are your thing, then La Paz” El Mercado de las Brujas (The Witches’ Market) is a must-see.
Romania was one of the largest automobile producers in Central and Eastern Europe during the Communist period. But that doesn’t mean horse-driven carts were entirely discontinued, especially on a traditional wedding day like this one.