Paul Smit | Mick Palarczyk - Features, Photos and Text : What's New?

Picture of the Month: The Face of Europe's youngest Member State

Nowhere in Europe daily life is as authentic as in Romania's countryside. Gipsy girls wear the traditional black, the original headgear was never abandoned and festivities are still connected to the rhythm of the harvests and not to the schedules of the tourists. Now Romania has entered the European Union this authenticity will disappear slowly but certainly. And maybe the unusual kindness and hospitality of the people as well. That's why now is the moment to explore the youngest member state of the European Union. (Photos Mick Palarczyk).

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These pictures are part of the feature Wolf People in Sheep's Clothing.

Picture of the Month: Through the Eyes of a Saint

A child enjoys the view from the back of a giant. The Colosso di San Carlone from 1698, a huge copper statue of a canonized member of the powerful Borromeo family, overlooks the slopes along the Lago Maggiore near Arona in Italy, and blesses the landscape. As an ordinary mortal you can view the world through his holy eyes if you climb the narrow stairs leading up into his head. (Photos Paul Smit).

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These photos are part of the feature Lago Maggiore.

Picture of the Month: Rasta man

How long did it take to grow all that hair?" Antillian Roland Joe, better known as Ras Bushman, smiles. "Already as a youth I wanted to be a Rastafarian. Since then no hairdresser was allowed to touch my scalp, of course." You can enjoy his hairdo in Philipsburg, on the island of St. Maarten, where he runs the vegetarian restaurant Freedom Fighters Ital Shack. All the food is home grown and tastes really good. Ras is a musician as well, but he has retired from the band Freedom Fighters he founded. His son has taken over. Often you hear their reggae sound coming out of the shack. (Photos Mick Palarczyk).

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These pictures are part of the feature Netherlands Antilles: Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin.

Picture of the Month: Brown café in Leiden

Dutch historical cities are known for their brown cafés and Rembrandt's native town Leiden is no exception. One I really like is Café De Bontekoe. It was designed around 1900 as a butcher shop and is still decorated with tiles painted in the style of the Haagse School showing Dutch landscapes and cows. This venue is mostly frequented by creative forty-somethings, who deal with their midlife crises. (Photo Paul Smit).

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This picture is part of the feature Leiden.

Picture of the Month: a house front that makes music

After building for twelve years, the jewel was put back in the crown of Dresden's skyline with the inauguration of the Frauenkirche in October 2005. That was headline news. But during recent years more great architecture has seen the light in Dresden, that celebrates its 800th birthday this year. The Kunsthof Passage in the hip Neustadt quarter, for instance. It's an explosion of architectural creativity, like here in the Hof der Elemente (Courtyard of the Elements). This façade makes music when it rains. (Photo Paul Smit).

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This picture is part of the feature Around Dresden.

Picture of the Month: Pumpkin soup with sour cream?

The Wave, situated in the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, is one of the most bizarre landscapes in the USA. It looks like a wave of sour cream stirred into pumpkin soup. But it is made of sandstone. (Photo Paul Smit).

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This picture is part of the feature In Search of the Wave.