Travel with me

Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • About me
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    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
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      • Photographic techniques
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    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • 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
        • Colombia
        • 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
      • Nature Photo Challenge
      • 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 Trios
      • Thursday Doors
  • 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 animals architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities colombia 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 nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife
  • Landscape,  Sunday Stills,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: photographing the four elements

    January 31, 2022 / 41 Comments
    Black lava beach, crashing waves and offshore rock formations

    Fire lives in the death of earth, air lives in the death of fire, water lives in the death of air, and earth in the death of water (Heraclitus). Some of these four elements are easier to photograph than others, as a quick trawl of my archives shows. Of water and earth I have many images. But air is much harder to capture, and fire too.

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    Sun setting over the sea

    Gallery: enjoying serene views in Costa Rica

    February 19, 2022
    Steep-sided valley with tall palm trees and other vegetation

    A (steep) walk in the Valle Cocora

    March 13, 2023
    Moon shine reflected in the sea and framed by shadowy trees

    Gallery: the sound of silence

    January 25, 2023
  • History,  Landscape,  Lens-Artists,  People,  Travel in general

    Learning through travelling

    January 30, 2022 / 41 Comments
    Simple shop in a wooden shack and toddler in the scruffy lane alongside

    'Try to travel, otherwise you may become racist, and you may end up believing that your skin is the only one to be right' The above is the opening verse, in translation, of the song Viaggiate by Gio Evan, poet and songwriter. A friend posted it on Facebook and for me it sums up everything that is wonderful and important about travelling.

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    Faded photo of a large statue and old apartments behind

    Where Lenin once pointed the way to …?

    February 5, 2021
    Several bridges over a river

    Newcastle: a city and its river

    February 18, 2021
    Church tower and old stone built gatehouse

    A city walk in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    May 31, 2022
  • Art,  Photographing Public Art,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: fountains from around the world

    January 29, 2022 / 36 Comments
    Metal duck's mouth with water spouting

    One form of public art that really enhances many of our cities are the many fountains to be found in our squares and parks. However I often find myself drawn to photograph these. I like to try to capture the flowing water, or perhaps to pick out interesting details in their sculptural groups.

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    Man in a brown hat with a feather

    Shanti Arts: inspired by world travel

    June 9, 2021
    Three large sculptures in a landscape

    Gallery: the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

    September 4, 2021
    Sculpture of a soldier in uniform waving

    Gallery: a wartime farewell in Tavira

    April 23, 2022
  • Friendly Friday,  Photographic techniques

    Friendly Friday Challenge: the rule of thirds

    January 28, 2022 / 68 Comments
    Label for rule of thirds challenge

    Rules are made to be broken, they say. Not necessarily true; if the past two years has taught us anything, it’s the importance of following the rules in particular during a time of emergency. In photography it’s arguably another matter. By breaking the rules we can sometimes create the most impact. But I’m a firm believer that in order to effectively break a photography rule you must first understand it.

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    Or what about ...?

    Two elephants in long grass in black and white

    Two ways: black and white or colour?

    November 6, 2020
    Rustic blue house

    Stepping back in time in Bulgaria

    June 5, 2021
    Hand holding knife and straw shavings

    Gallery: getting up close and personal

    September 24, 2021
  • Art,  Paris

    A visit to the Musée Rodin in Paris

    January 26, 2022 / 34 Comments
    Garden with statue and gold dome beyond

    Over breakfast on a damp Parisian morning we discussed our plans for the day. Maybe rather than a walk a museum visit would be a better option, given the weather? This museum occupies the Hôtel Biron, where Rodin lived for the last decade of his life.

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    Green hillocks and winding paths

    Is it art or is it nature? Northumberlandia

    June 30, 2021
    Group of sculpted figures among dune grass

    The Conversation Piece and the Eye

    June 11, 2022

    Gallery: tripling the impact

    April 8, 2022
  • Animals,  Galapagos Islands,  Lens-Artists,  Sunday Stills

    Spotting wildlife in the Galápagos Islands

    January 23, 2022 / 59 Comments
    Large yellow reptile looking at camera

    For many years I wanted to visit the Galápagos: to walk on these remote islands where unique species thrive, where Darwin first developed the ideas that would change our understanding of nature, and where animals have never learned to fear humankind. In 2012 I realised my dream; and fortunately, it more than lived up to my expectations!

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    Two elephants among trees

    Elephant encounters on elephant terms

    September 13, 2020
    Back of whale with mountainous coast behind

    Thar she blows – eventually!

    July 7, 2021
    Close up of a giraffe's eye

    Gallery: making eyes at me

    June 27, 2022
  • Art,  London,  Photographing Public Art

    A little bit of Nairobi in London’s Spitalfields

    January 22, 2022 / 42 Comments
    Bronze sculpture of two young elephants

    On the outskirts of Nairobi is a very special place, where orphaned baby elephants find safety and refuge… Thus I started a blog post last May about the amazing work being done at the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Imagine how thrilled I was when many of those residents made their way, in sculptural form, to London’s Spitalfields Market!

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    Gallery: encountering elephants in London parks

    July 6, 2021
    Sculpture of a lion outside a building with columns

    Gallery: some of the many monuments of Sofia

    October 15, 2022
    Group of sculpted figures among dune grass

    The Conversation Piece and the Eye

    June 11, 2022
  • Animals,  Themed galleries,  Thursday Trios

    Gallery: when three is better than two

    January 21, 2022 / 49 Comments
    Lioness followed by two cubs

    It's said that two is company, three a crowd. But when taking wildlife photos I’m always happy to have a third animal join the shot! Designers have long recognised that an odd number of items is more effective at capturing your gaze. Odd numbers force your eyes to move around the group and that forced movement is the heart of visual interest.

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    Black and white monkey in a tree with small orange fruits

    Gallery: wildlife in the Caño Negra refuge

    March 17, 2022
    Elephant calf drinking

    Meet the orphaned elephants being rescued in Nairobi

    May 15, 2021
    Back of whale with mountainous coast behind

    Thar she blows – eventually!

    July 7, 2021
  • Kerala,  Monday walks,  Street photography,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: a stroll through a Kerala village

    January 18, 2022 / 28 Comments
    Washing drying outside a simple home on a dirt street

    Chowara is a small fishing community in Kerala. While tourism has come to the area, bringing visitors from elsewhere in India and further afield, it remains unspoiled and still focused on that traditional mainstay of its economy, the fish. Our hotel lay right next to the village, so it was easy one morning to forsake the lure of the pool and take a stroll with our cameras.

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    Or what about ...?

    Man applying colourful face paint

    Gallery: a traditional Keralan Kathakali performance

    April 28, 2021
    Hazy view of bamboo clump

    Periyar’s monkeys, elephants, bison and more

    October 4, 2021
    Man sitting among motorbikes in front of a garage

    A walk in Fort Kochi, Kerala

    January 12, 2022
  • Colour,  Sunday Stills,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: does white exist?

    January 17, 2022 / 16 Comments
    White marble carving of an elephant and various people

    Peer at a white flower and you’ll observe nuances of different shades. The same in a white sky, even a field of snow. Light and shade play tricks with the eyes and white turns to grey, to blue, to cream. Perhaps that’s why, when I started to search my archives for ‘white’ images to share for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge, I found the purest whites in manmade objects.

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    Or what about ...?

    Line of seated stone statues wearing red caps and bibs

    The Bake-Jizō of Kanmangafuchi Abyss

    February 16, 2021
    Lots of metal lanterns hanging

    Gallery: all that glitters is not gold (or silver)

    December 15, 2021
    Dried fruit and nuts displayed with price tags

    Gallery: tenderly love the apricots

    September 15, 2022
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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 animals architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities colombia 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 nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife

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  • Gallery: three is an odd number
  • Gallery: monochrome portraits and street shots
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  • Gallery: the wheel turns and turns

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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