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Gallery: shoes, slippers, trainers, boots and clogs
Visiting other countries, meeting people from different cultures and beliefs to our own, helps to narrow the gaps between us. We start to appreciate all the things we have in common, and to understand why some may see things differently from ourselves. We learn that having a different belief from our own doesn’t make a person less of a person; likewise wearing different clothes (or indeed different shoes!), living in a different type of home, or having a different way of life. As someone once said, ‘There is more that…
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My first taste of adventure: a 1970s camping trip
I can still remember the small thrill of excitement that ran through me – an extremely unusual emotion to feel at a school assembly! Our headteacher had just announced that our local authority was organising a three week camping trip to Niagara Falls, open to fifth and lower sixth pupils, for the following summer. I was just starting the lower sixth, so I was eligible to go. I was just starting the lower sixth, so I was eligible to go. I wasn’t even sure at that point where Niagara Falls…
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Gallery: the Chewing Gum Man
Artist Ben Wilson is the ‘Chewing Gum Man’. While he has produced many other artworks, it is his minute and detailed creations on discarded blobs of chewing gum that have brought him fame. And one of the best places to see them is on London’s Millennium Bridge.
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‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
The crumbling red stone ruins of the Kasbah of Telouet hide a secret; within their walls lie the remains of a glorious and self-indulgent palace, where Pasha Thami El Glaoui asserted his power and wealth. These atmospheric ruins are relatively off the tourist trail, although easily visited on a day trip from Marrakesh.
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Gallery: a bouquet of purple flowers
According to Alice Walker, 'it annoys God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.' Purple is my favourite colour so there is little risk of my annoying God in that manner at least!
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Gallery: ‘Coming home Newcastle’, a football anthem
At half-time during Newcastle United games at their home stadium, St James’ Park, one song is always played. 'Coming home Newcastle' was written by Ronnie Lambert, the Geordie busker. In it he captured the feelings of exiled Geordies returning home from abroad or London. He also reflected the love that Geordies feel for their native city.
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Travel inspiration – where does it come from?
I am often asked where we get our inspiration from when deciding where to travel next. What makes us choose one destination over another, when there are so many places we could go?
Or what about ...?
Gallery: getting away, or, there’s a wonderful world out there!
A year in numbers
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Gallery: searching for street art in Santiago, Chile
If like me you enjoy a wander around an interesting neighbourhood just as much (if not more) as seeing the major sights of a city, Santiago’s Barrio Lastarria is likely to appeal. This is the perfect area to stroll through and enjoy for its ambiance and street life. And it's a great district in which to photograph street art.
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Gallery: people at work in Kerala and Rajasthan
If you enjoy candid photography there is no better country to visit, perhaps, than India. I have never been anywhere else where people are so comfortable to be photographed and that is its one downside, as they can be too eager to pose as soon as they see your camera. However, a posed photo can be as effective as a candid shot if you are photographing people within the setting of their workplace.
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Gallery: a selection of summer bugs
Anyone who enjoys flower photography will know the special joy of suddenly spotting a little bee or other bug in the flower you are about to photograph. Over the years I seem to have amassed quite a number of these ‘bonus bug’ shots.
