John

When New Zealand’s Department of Conservation rangers monitor Campbell Island each austral summer, they’re protecting something that exists nowhere else on Earth: fewer than 200 Campbell Island Teal, the world’s rarest duck species. These flightless birds survived extinction by a margin so thin that conservationists still lose sleep over every cruise ship proposal that crosses … Lire plus

Hidden in the Loire Valley of France, a 13th-century Carthusian monastery has transformed into one of the country’s most extraordinary villages. Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez isn’t just a place to visit—it’s a living museum where ancient monastery cells have become family homes, and cloistered courtyards serve as village squares. A village born from sacred silence What makes Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez … Lire plus

Twenty years photographing bamboo forests across Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia taught me something unexpected: size means nothing without soul. I’ve walked through sprawling groves spanning miles, yet none prepared me for what happens inside Arashiyama’s compact 400-meter path where towering bamboo creates what Japan’s Ministry of Environment officially recognizes as one of the … Lire plus

I stumbled onto this rope swing completely by accident, following a muddy side trail off the main Waihee Valley path that most hikers walk right past. The bamboo forest opened up to reveal a turquoise waterfall pool with a thick rope dangling from a massive banyan tree, and I realized I’d found what locals have … Lire plus

I spent two decades chasing bioluminescent bays across the Caribbean, dragging my camera equipment through crowded tour groups and competing for elbow room in waters that barely glimmered. At 50, I finally discovered what I’d been searching for all along—and it wasn’t in any of the famous spots guidebooks kept recommending. Mosquito Bay in Vieques … Lire plus