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  • About me
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  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Bulgaria
      • Estonia
      • France
        • Paris
      • Germany
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Jersey
      • Latvia
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Seville
      • Switzerland
      • Ukraine
    • Beyond
      • Africa
        • Botswana
        • Cape Verde
        • Gambia
        • Kenya
        • Morocco
        • Namibia
        • Senegal
        • Tanzania
        • Zimbabwe
      • Americas
        • Belize
        • Canada
        • Chile
          • Rapa Nui
        • Costa Rica
        • Ecuador
          • Galapagos Islands
        • Guatemala
        • Jamaica
        • USA
          • New Mexico
          • New York City
          • Washington State
      • Asia
        • DPRK
        • India
          • Kerala
          • Rajasthan
        • Indochina
          • Cambodia
          • Laos
          • Vietnam
        • Japan
        • Nepal
        • Oman
        • Syria
        • United Arab Emirates
        • Uzbekistan
  • Themes
    • Architecture
    • Art
      • Crafts
      • Street art
    • Colour
    • Dark tourism
    • Eco-tourism
    • Food & drink
    • Gardens
    • History
      • Ruins
      • War
    • Landscape
      • Coast & seascapes
      • Deserts
      • Mountains
      • Rivers
    • Nature and wildlife
      • Animals
      • Birds
      • Plants
        • Flowers
        • Trees, forests and woodland
    • People
      • Culture & tradition
      • Street photography
    • Travel in general
  • Photo galleries
    • Themed galleries
    • Travel galleries
  • Postcards from the road
  • Challenges
    • Photography challenges
      • Just One Person
      • Lens-Artists
      • Mid-week Monochrome
      • Monochrome Madness
      • One Word Sunday
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • General challenges
      • Monday walks
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Life in Colour
      • One-to-Three
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Doors
      • Thursday Trios
  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive

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Topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks mountains nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife
  • Architecture,  Paris

    Rising from the ashes: Notre Dame in 2021

    September 30, 2021 / 41 Comments
    View of cathedral on far side of river, with large crane

    Television has brought our world together, never more so than at times of great historical significance, and times of great tragedy. Together we watched as Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon. Together we watched Live Aid. Together we watched the planes fly into the twin towers on nine/eleven. Together we watched the fall of the Berlin Wall. And together we watched Notre Dame burn.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Series of ornate arches with trees beyond

    Gallery: looking out from the shadows

    May 7, 2022
    Terraced fields, shadowy buildings and mountains tinged with pink

    In Bandipur, an ancient hilltop town

    December 20, 2022
    Sculpture of a cat on a roof

    Gallery: meet the many cats of Riga

    September 25, 2021
  • Monday walks,  Paris,  Street art,  Street photography

    A sunny Sunday walk in Belleville

    September 28, 2021 / 30 Comments
    Panoramic cityscape

    What do Parisians do on a sunny Sunday? They do much as people do in any city. They meet friends in a favourite café or restaurant. They exercise in the local park or take the children there to play and for a picnic. They walk the dog, do a bit of food shopping perhaps, or browse a lively market. Certainly the people of Belleville do all those things.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Sign saying Kapana in Cyrillic letters

    Gallery: a walk in colourful Kapana

    December 18, 2021
    Large stone in a field

    A stroll around Avebury’s stone circle

    June 28, 2022
    Ruined stone church

    A stroll around Fountains Abbey

    August 29, 2022
  • England,  Gardens,  Lens-Artists,  Sunday Stills

    Signs of autumn at Emmetts Garden

    September 27, 2021 / 59 Comments
    Landscape with church and autumn trees

    Autumn comes stealthily. A touch of orange on a leaf. A few berries on a tree or bush. Late summer flowers starting to dominate our gardens. Conkers falling and squirrels out foraging in our local parks. It's my favourite season, although I'd like it even more if it weren't followed by winter, my least favourite!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Lobster pots, small boats and a distant castle on a hill

    Gallery: an ode to beautiful Northumberland (shhh!)

    November 28, 2022
    Large mural of orangutan with a baby

    Gallery: the colourful street art of Brighton

    October 17, 2021
    Stone statue on a plinth on a grassy hillside

    Admiral Lord Collingwood, a forgotten hero

    April 25, 2021
  • Architecture,  Latvia,  Photographing Public Art

    Gallery: meet the many cats of Riga

    September 25, 2021 / 33 Comments
    Sculpture of a cat on a roof

    In the centre of Riga is an imposing house, which has come to symbolise the city. What would in any case be a grand Art Nouveau structure is made special by the presence of two large cats on the turrets at either end.

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    Or what about ...?

    Banner with photo of a tightrope walker

    Friendly Friday: meet a young tightrope walker in Jaisalmer

    August 27, 2021
    Elegant stone buildings and a large church with a lawn

    A visit to King’s College Chapel, Cambridge

    July 21, 2022
    Rustic blue house

    Stepping back in time in Bulgaria

    June 5, 2021
  • Cambodia,  Friendly Friday,  Laos,  Travel galleries,  Vietnam

    Gallery: getting up close and personal

    September 24, 2021 / 31 Comments
    Hand holding knife and straw shavings

    Like many photographers, I shoot quite a lot of images of flowers and that’s the first thing I think of when asked to showcase macro photography (which technically-speaking I don’t do) or close-up photography (which I do a lot). After that, my next thought will be insects. And I already have a few posts here on those lines. So what to do when Amanda asks for close ups and macros for this week’s Friendly Friday Challenge? The following photos are all taken from my travel archives, specifically my early 2020…

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    Or what about ...?

    White window shutter and green leaves

    Eating out with a conscience in Indochina

    April 17, 2021
    Red lantern, blue wall, green shutters

    2020: my (pandemic) year in review

    January 3, 2021
    A man with a young girl on his shoulders

    Lunch with Mr Noon and his family

    January 13, 2023
  • Culture & tradition,  England,  History

    Stepping back in time: living history at Beamish

    September 23, 2021 / 29 Comments
    Old bus and motor garage

    How does it feel to step back in time and immerse ourselves in the world our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents knew? There are places where we can do just that, living museums that collate and preserve not just objects but the buildings that housed them and the environments in which those buildings sat. One such place is Beamish, in north east England.

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    Or what about ...?

    Small squat tree in a dry stony landscape

    Dhofar, the Land of Frankincense

    May 11, 2022
    Little boy and two little girls in Japanese costume

    Celebrating childhood at the shrines of Japan

    April 25, 2021
    Golden temple reflected in a lake

    Exploring the temple gardens of Kyoto

    May 9, 2021
  • Architecture,  Colour,  Lens-Artists,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: let there be light

    September 21, 2021 / 39 Comments
    Colourful paper lanterns at night

    The sun bathes us in natural light, even when covered by cloud. But for part of each day it is hidden from our sight, lighting the other side of the world. Our ancient ancestors learned to make fires, to keep the threats that darkness held at bay (as well, of course, to keep themselves warm). Since then mankind has developed all sorts of artificial ways to mimic the light of the sun when it disappears at night.

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    Or what about ...?

    Street of traditional Japanese houses

    Gallery: the merchant houses of Takayama

    September 23, 2020
    Blue tiles with religious painting

    Gallery: tiles, tiles and yet more tiles!

    April 30, 2022
    Black and white photo of street signs

    Gallery: meet me on the corner

    September 2, 2022
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Photographing Public Art

    The Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification

    September 18, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Huge statues of young women holding a stone map above an empty road

    Like many such states, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea does public art on a big scale. The many statues of the Dear Leaders are well known, but perhaps a little less so is this rather astounding example, the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification.

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    Or what about ...?

    Low chairs around a table, dark wood wall units

    Welcome to the 1980s in Bulgaria

    October 20, 2022
    Painting of young slave

    Roots: dark history or tourist trap?

    October 29, 2020
    Ornamental gate

    The Killing Fields of Cambodia

    June 23, 2022
  • Chile,  Deserts

    El Tatio: a steaming landscape

    September 16, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Steam rising from several geysers at sunrise

    It takes a certain amount of sacrifice and discomfort to visit El Tatio. For one thing, you will sacrifice sleep, as all tours leave very early in the morning. The steam from the geysers is most active and visible at dawn, so you need to be there before sunrise. You must also be prepared to be very cold and to cope with altitude; the geyser field is at 4,200 metres above sea level. So is it worth it? Oh yes!

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    Or what about ...?

    Two flamingos feeding

    Gallery: reflecting on birds

    March 27, 2021
    Mountain landscape

    To touch the sky: the Torres del Paine

    May 30, 2021
    Blue lake with flamingos feeding

    Around the world in ten photos: day two

    December 18, 2020
  • Paris,  Sunday Stills

    Going back to Paris, and to the Place Dauphine

    September 14, 2021 / 33 Comments
    Man with a long beard, sunglasses and hat

    Never go back, they say. And it’s a rule we tend to follow when it comes to travelling, but we make a few exceptions. And prime among those exceptions is Paris. We spent the first part of our honeymoon there, recently celebrated our fortieth anniversary there, and in between those two trips have visited together on five other occasions. And that doesn’t include a visit each back in our even more ancient and separate histories!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Roof tops, trees and white domes

    Gallery: a walk around Montmartre

    September 12, 2021
    Panoramic cityscape

    A sunny Sunday walk in Belleville

    September 28, 2021
    Gardens with flower beds, lawns and statues

    Gallery: a sunny afternoon in the Jardins du Luxembourg

    September 30, 2022
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Read my featured blogger interview

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By Marsha of 'Always Write'

And my answers to Bren’s ‘five at five’ questions

Lady in a hat and red top sitting on rocks

Some favourite photos

Man in a turban with fishing nets
Fisherman in Fort Kochi, Kerala
Two elephants in long grass
Okavango elephants
Blue glacier edge
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
Elderly woman in black hat and sunglasses
In Santiago, Chile
Very large statues of North Korean Leaders
Statues of the Great Leaders on Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang
Water reflecting the sky with clouds and low sun
Approaching sunset in the Okavango Delta
Feet of huge metal sculpture, with man standing beside
The feet of the Angel
Large moai with row of more behind
The ‘travelling moai’ and Ahu Tongariki
Man in knitted hat by water, black and white photo
Waiting for the ferry, Banjul
Mountain reflected in a lake
On the road to Dyrholaey
Sunset at Wahiba Sands, Oman
Squirrel with a conker in his mouth
In Walpole Park, Ealing
Silhouette of a man in a gateway
Looking out from Bundi Palace
Blue and pink bird on a dead tree
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe NP, Botswana
Buddhist monk in orange robes with mobile phone
Monk at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang
Man sleeping in a tuk tuk by a carved stone wall
Tuk tuk driver by the Terrace of the Leper King
Close up of flamingo with head tucked under
Flamingo (Jersey Zoo)
Lady with baskets of fruit sitting by a canal
In Hoi An, Vietnam
Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake
Lake Atitlan
Wet street and two people with bright pink umbrella
Street in Lucca, rainy day – edited

Some topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks mountains nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife

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  • Gallery: pick a word (January 2023)
  • Gallery: seeing Japan in black and white
  • Gallery: the sound of silence

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