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The palenqueras of Cartagena de Indias
You won’t have to walk far in Cartagena’s old town before spotting one or more of these colourfully dressed women. They stand on street corners, bowls of tropical fruit ready to balance on their heads for any tourist willing to tip them a dollar or two. And most visitors will feel it is worth that tip to get a photo of such an iconic sight.
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A stroll around Bolam Lake
In the early nineteenth century the Reverend John Beresford, Baron Decies, decided to turn a swampy area of ground on his estate into an attractive landscape with a lake and woodlands. Many landowners were carrying out similar improvements but perhaps more unusually the Reverend was acting out of philanthropy.
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Gallery: celebrating reds, yellows and blues
Today’s rainbow will have only three colours: red, yellow and blue. Why? Because they are the primary colours from which all other colours can be made.
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Tak Bat in Luang Prabang
The traditional ceremony of Tak Bat, or almsgiving, isn't unique to Laos, or even to Luang Prabang, but has become particularly associated with this town because of the sheer number of temples in a concentrated space. Every morning the monks leave the temples to walk the streets, carrying a pot in which local people place food, usually sticky rice. In this way the monks have food to eat, and the people receive good karma and blessings in return for their giving.
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Nothing to crow about
If it is the case that crows eat slugs and snails, then surely I should be glad we have so many in our neighbourhood. Our garden is plagued by snails in particular. But on the other hand, if crows do eat snails, why then that plague?!
Or what about ...?
Gallery: seeing double
Gallery: reflecting on birds
Gallery: some birds that eat fish
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Gallery: seeing the English coast in black and white
It’s August, so where better place to be than the English seaside? Although truth be told I like our coastal areas much more in the winter months and maybe even more so in spring and autumn.
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Gallery: faces in the crowd
With 7.888 billion people in our world it shouldn’t be hard to find someone interesting to photograph. Yet, among so many, how do we find the ones that stand out from the crowd? Which are the faces that speak to us? Which seem to tell a story that can be captured in a single shot? Perhaps it’s their clothing, their expression or what they are doing?
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Gallery: gone to seed
We photograph flowers for their beautiful colours and shapes. But without seeds we would have no flowers, and those seeds too have their beauty, especially while still on the plant. Their often-dramatic sculptural structures are ideal for macro photography both in colour and monochrome.
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Gallery: seeing Newcastle in black and white
When I first started visiting in the early 1980s Newcastle did seem like a city in black and white. Once a great industrial hub it had been hard hit by the closure of the shipyards and coal mines of the region.
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Gallery: in the frame
Have you ever watched an artist at work and seen them hold up their hands, using fingers and thumbs to create a rough rectangle? They are considering how best to frame their subject; what to include and what to omit.
