Dave G Houser & Jan Butchofsky-Houser

Yay! Dave's done it again...

Lauded by judges for his exceptional story telling and reporting, Dave has been honored with the third Lowell Thomas Award of his 29-year freelance career. In the 25h Anniversary edition of a contest generally regarded as the nation's premier travel journalism competition, Dave was presented the Bronze Award in the Grand Award category for 2009 LT Travel Journalist of the Year. The competition, for work (a selection of nine articles) done from spring, 2008 to spring, 2009, drew 1,191 entries. It was judged by faculty from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism. Dave won the Silver Award in the same category back in the early days of both his career (1986) and the competition. In 1992 he won a Gold Award in the Self-Illustrated Article category.

 

 

As part of an ongoing series of photo esays we're back with another colorful spread in Porthole cruise magazine. This time, the port of call is cutting-edge Dubai.

Think you can't take home great vacation photos from a cruise-ship excursion? Think again. Every one of these images were made on a 7-hour layover during our Middle East voyage with Peter Deilmann Cruises. In über-stylized Dubai, fabulous photo ops lurk around every corner.

Dave and Jan continue to pile up the awards for their words and pictures...with their latest honors coming in the 2009 SATW Western Chapter travel journalism competition.

Dave netted a pair of Golds, one in the"Internet Travel Article" category for his Universal Press Syndicate feature on Greenland as posted on DenverPost.com and another top prize in the "Newspaper Travel Article" category for a feature describing his visit to the monasteries of Mt. Athos, Greece. That story was for UPS as well and while it appeared in a number of papers the contest entry came from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Last but not least, Dave and Jan teamed up to take Silver in the "Magazine Self-Illustrated Travel Article" category for their Greenland cruise feature published in MEN'S FOLIO.

Wahoo!

We're thrilled to have been invited by Porthole, nation’s leading cruise magazine, to contribute photo essays, like the one below, featuring various ports of call and off-beat cruise itineraries.

As you can see, our 16-day voyage of Melanesia aboard the 5-star expedition cruiser, Orion, served up one photo op after another. We were so impressed by Orion, that we've signed on to cruise with them again (April/May 09), this time sailing along Australia's remote Kimberley Coast.

Next up for Porthole...Dubai!

By our usual standards, we scaled back on travel in 2008, with just a few foreign jaunts. But, WOW!, the first one was a trip of a lifetime (even for travel journalists) to the South Pacific. We started things off in New Zealand, staying several days each at Huka Lodge, an upscale trout fishing retreat where Jan turned out to be the top hooker (no pun intended), and Treetops, a country inn surrounded by a 1,500-acre wildlife preserve where we hiked out to observe magnificent stags, wapiti (elk) and Asian water buffalo.

The Asaro District of the Eastern Highlands is famous for its warriors known as Mud Men who traditionally covered themselves with grey mud and wore huge, fearsome masks before engaging in battle. The intention was to frighten off their enemies before a fight was even necessary. Today Asaro villagers recreate the scene for visitors in a rare and exciting cultural ritual, Papua New Guinea.

Next we joined the ultra-luxe Aussie expedition cruiser Orion in Auckland for a two-week voyage through Melanesia – mostly among the remote and rarely visited Solomon Islands – to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea (PNG). We stayed on for a week in the PNG Highlands where we visited the villages of the famed Goroko Mudmen. These are the guys who, until fairly recently, smeared themselves with mud and donned gruesome masks of molded mud – to frighten off their enemies. This is a wonderfully primitive place…where they still hunt with bows and arrows.

Orion Ship The German-built, Australian-based expedition cruiser is compact and agile, able to go where big ships can't -- with great style and luxury, Solomon Islands.

Tiger’s Nest Monastery, BhutanJan was off to Bhutan in June for a 3-week, small-group, invitation-only “journey of the spirit,” hiking the Himalayan foothills and valleys to visit ancient monasteries, nunneries and other sacred sites. As you might guess, she and friend Cathy Kazen (a fellow animal advocate) managed to perform a series of dog rescues…and only the prospect of insurmountable logistics prevented the Houser household from welcoming home another four-legged immigrant…or two. Jan’s photos from Bhutan are breathtaking. More up on this soon!

Young Monk, Bhutan

Hard to miss from anywhere in Dubai, the towering sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel rises above its elegant but much more subdued sister property, the Mina A'Salam boutiqe hotel, Dubai, U.A.E.

 

October found us threading the pirate-plagued waters of the Middle East, cruising with the German-flagged MS Deutschland from Istanbul to Dubai. We actually felt pretty smug passing through the Gulf of Aden, which separates Yemen and Somalia, as we were following in the wake of a Russian Navy frigate – one of a number of international warships patrolling the region. We called in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Dubai. It was informative to see what our payments for Gulf oil have purchased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you safe journeys, health, peace, freedom and joy for 2009 and beyond.

Dave & Jan Houser

Southern Colorado's Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway produced a surprising variety of photo opps as Dave and Jan explored the 125-mile route that traverses the northernmost reaches of colonial Spanish rule in the U.S. -- the mountain-ringed San Luis Valley.

Byway coverage begins with scenes of a century-old steam locomotive of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad puffing out of the Antonito, CO, depot on its daily 64-mile run to Chama, NM. Then it's on to Conejos, home to Colorado's oldest parish church, the 1858 Our Lady of Guadalupe, followed by a stop in Manassa, birthplace to the great heavyweight champion boxer, Jack Dempsey. Next comes a visit to the 1851 Hispano settlement of San Luis, Colorado's oldest continuously occupied town, with its remarkable Stations of the Cross Shrine and hilltop capilla. There's more history at the old adobe Fort Garland, an Army outpost once manned by Indian-fighter Kit Carson. The Byway abounds with scenic and natural attractions as well, including Great San Dunes National Park, which boasts the highest sand dunes in North America, the Nature Conservancy's sprawling Zapata Ranch, and a number of wildlife refuges such as Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, where Rio Grande River wetlands attract a host of migratory waterfowl and songbirds. The journey concludes with a climb up and over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs and a day spent soaking in hot mineral water pools at The Springs Resort.

Just back from one of their favorite journeys ever -- a month "down under" -- Dave and Jan are busy prepping images and writing features from their March-April visit to New Zealand, New Caledonia,Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The trip began with a week in green and gorgeous New Zealand...North Island to be specific, and stays at two of the world's top-rated luxury lodges, Huka Lodge near Taupo and Treetops, an upscale wilderness lodge near Rotorua. Article and photo coverage includes the region's vast geothermal landscape, Lake Taupo andenvirons, trout fishing, Rotorua town and its leading visitor attractions,including Government Gardens, Rotorua Art & History Museum and Polynesia Spa.

The Housers then joined the Australian luxury expedition cruiser Orion for the vessel's inaugural 16-day "Melanesia and the Solomon Islands" voyage,which hop-scotched up the Pacific chain of islands, visiting Isle of Pines(New Caledonia), Vanuatu, a half-dozen remote islands in the Solomons, and concluding at Rabaul, Papua New Guinea's fuming, smoking volcanic island,part of the New Britain group.Jan playing around with local children

A final week found Jan and Dave in PNG's Eastern Highlands where, based out of Goroka, they made daily 4WD treks into remote highland villages to check out a government tourism initiative being carried out on a local level by interested and highly dedicated residents looking to showcase cultural activities (dancing, singing, face-painting, etc.) hunting and agricultural methods, scenic and archeological sites. A final day in the capital city of Port Moresby allowed time to cover major points of interest there as well.

Dave rekindled a long love affair with Key West and the Florida Keys, spending nine days recently in the Conch Republic -- both to bolster stock selections at Houserstock and Corbis -- and to develop photo-features for his magazine clients.

Dave first visited Key West as a fun-seeking University of Florida journalism student in the 60s -- back when Jimmy Buffett was singing for tips in bars along Duval Street. It made a lasting impression on him --this quirky, colorful slice of the Caribbean at the tip of Florida -- and his most recent images (and articles) reflect a fresh look at one of America's most unique travel destinations.

Dave and Jan returned September 10 from a splendid two-week voyage along the northwest coast of Greenland – focusing on the ice-choked fjords of Disko Bay and north to Thule. They traveled even farther north of that fabled Arctic outpost, in fact, to a point beyond Cape Alexander in Smith Sound where their expedition vessel MS FRAM ground to a halt in the ice…at 78-degrees-49 minutes-North.

Taking advantage of near-perfect weather throughout the voyage, Dave and Jan returned with a truly colorful and comprehensive collection of images from Greenland – which is at the center of an amazing barrage of international media coverage directed at the dramatic meltdown of the Arctic icecap. Greenland is the very focal point of the Global Warming story and the Houser’s photos nicely document summer activities and settings in remote Inuit settlements in the far north and bustling towns such as Ilulissat, Upernavik, Sisimiut, Qeqertarsuaq, Uummannaq, Siorapaluk and Qaanaaq.

A particularly beautiful day in the icefjord created by the glacier Sermeq Kujalleq (or Jacobshavn Glacier as the Danish named it) led to some amazing iceberg shots. This is the world’s fastest moving glacier and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. It certainly produces the world’s most dazzling display of ice!

CLICK HERE to read Dave's article about the trip recently published in the DENVER POST.

On the rebound home, Dave & Jan wisely chose to make a two-day layover in COPENHAGEN and their timing, once again, couldn’t have been better. These were-picture perfect days in the Danish capital and many new images from one of the planet’s prettiest little cities will soon appear at Houserstock. There’s some new views from one of the city’s popular canal cruises and some tony images from the very hip, ultra-Danish Modern FRONT Hotel in the Nyhavn neighborhood. Invited to a Tanqueray “After Hours” party, D&J boosted their ISO ratings to record some upscale urban fun – Euro-style.

A surprise birthday trip (for Dave's 66th) orchestrated by none other than wife Jan, led the couple to Las Vegas in February. Dave didn't know where he was going until he got to the airport! Jan even packed his bag.

It wasn't all about partying, however, as the hard-working Housers had to go there soon anyway to complete coverage for a magazine feature on the city's swankiest suites. They got the ball rolling (their photography, of course)right at home in their sleek suite atop one of the new Signature Towers at the MGM Grand. In between shows and some delectable dining experiences they also photographed suites (with models) at New York-New York, THEHotel at Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Monte Carlo. These images will supplement previous suite coverage on file at Houserstock from Rio, Venetian, Mirage and Caesar's Palace.

Death Valley can be hotter than Hades...but Dave and Jan found it quite pleasant and more than entertaining during a visit in November to cover the annual 49er Encampment. This is the BIG event, year in and year out, at California's Death Valley National Park, when several thousand desert rats, four-wheelers, musicians, mule packers, artists, cowboy poets and curious bystanders assemble at both Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells for a long weekend of activities. The fun includes gold panning, fiddle contests and other music events, a major art show, hikes and 4WD tours for the off-road set, cowboy cookouts, poetry readings and even a golf tournament...where else but at the world's lowest golf course. (214 feet below sea level!)

Dave is still smiling about his September 06 rail journey in Mexico's COPPER CANYON aboard the Sierra Madre Express. Heavy summer rains produced the most lush conditions seen in decades in Barrancas del Cobre -- which made for super photo conditions. Dave was on assignment to develop an illustrated feature for the new magazine MEXICO TRAVEL & LIFE -- and also to add images from this dramatic region and its fascinating Tarahumara Indians to the Houserstock collection.

Add Mongolia to the Housers list of exotic locales! Dave & Jan's 17-day trip in July coincided with the annual Naadam Festival -- something of a Nomad Olympics and the biggest and most colorful celebration of the year in that Central Asian country. The Housers were on hand for festive opening ceremonies plus wrestling, archery and horseracing events. Mongols love to be photographed, especially in their traditional ethnic dress, so there are portraits aplenty of these proud and profoundly photogenic people.

Staying in ger (yurt) camps, Dave and Jan also visited remote and pristine Lake Hovsgol, hard by the border with Siberian Russia, and the great Gobi Desert which is home to the world's northernmost sand dunes.

The Housers are among the first photographers to have fixed their lenses on the new Three Camel Lodge, a 5-star Gobi Desert ger camp that has been internationally heralded as a model eco-resort. The remote camp operates exclusively and quite luxuriously on wind and solar power.

The new Mongolia file is riotously colorful and comprehensive -- a fine selection of digital images from a wild and scenic destination that's fast becoming a favorite among adventure travelers.

READ ARTICLE

Dave's April, 2006, visit to Bhutan was a cultural odyssey -- a step back in time that presented a rare and wonderful opportunity to photograph a traditional Buddhist society that has all but disappeared from the rest of the Himalayan world.

The highlight of Dave's 16-day photo-tour (guided by SATW Photographer of the Year, Blaine Harrington) was the annual Tsechu Festival, an exuberant and earthy dance-drama that celebrates events in the life of Padmasambhava, an 8th century Buddhist saint. It is a four-day affair featuring fancifully costumed and masked dancers -- young monks -- who perform tirelessly on the grounds of Paro's ancient whitewashed Dzong (a fortress-monastery). Dave covered it all -- from ringside!

He brought back some splendid images, too, from the capital city of Thimpu, Punakha (and its famous Dzong), Trongsa, Bumthang Valley and the even more remote Ura Valley where Dave photographed farmers with yaks plowing/planting potato fields -- a scene he describes as "emanating from centuries ago."