Many in West Seattle know environmentalist B.J. Cummings as the former director of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, or DRCC, She now runs their healthy communities projects. Cummings and her 13 year-old son, Colin Sackett, held an opening reception Friday night featuring 15 of their travel photographs exhibited at Hiroki, a Wallingford pastry shop at 2224 N 56th St. This show features work exhibited recently at the Nature Consortium of West Seattle in the Youngstown Arts Center on North Delridge. Images include photos of he temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Also featured is poetry written by the young teen when he and his mother traveled the world for a year beginning September, 2009, when he was just 11. The West Seattle Herald reported on their trip here before they left, and here during their travels. They visited East and Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. Cummings' husband, Colin's father Tom, who works at Adobe in Fremont, joined them briefly in Japan and Greece.

Colin and Tom are learning Japanese as the family will revisit that country next year for one month. Colin is insistent on doing something there his mother did not allow last time in Japan.

She explained, "The next time we go he's determined to try the one thing I managed to steer him away from, horse sashimi. He looked all over for it and I kept making sure he didn't find it, but now he is determined to find it."

The environmental advocate is also a strong travel advocate.

"It was the best thing for both of us," Cummings said of their adventure. "It's the best education you can get. First of all, every American should get out of the U.S. for at least a little while- and I don't mean like a week long vacation to Mexico, to get a better understanding of the world. I think it's in short supply here. Colin gained some of that and he has something to build on now."

She said he continues to take pictures back home, and is drawn toward nature, and urban abstract photography.

Yalonda Sinde, a former West Seattle resident, attended the show. She is a friend and former colleague of Cummings with the DRCC, and also with Community Coiaition for Environmental Justice.

"I haven't seen B.J. in a while and had to come in and see her," Sinde said. "When I went to South Africa in 2001 I took a bunch of photos. They're still in a folder in a chest of drawers. These beautiful photos inspire me to frame some of mine."

Look for a feature about B.J. and Colin, and their trip abroad in an upcoming issue of Seattle's Child Magazine.

To see more of B.J. and Colin and their trip, visit:

http://www.thenomadicduo.blogspot.com/