The days in January may be short, and the sun in short supply. In England we’ve had more than our fair share of rain this month, or so it seemed. But there were also some brighter, if colder, days. And at the start of the month even some snow (relatively rare these days).
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The National Museum of Qatar was designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. He took his inspiration from the naturally occurring crystal formations known as the desert rose. The sprawling structure's interlocking disks suggest a cluster of such formations.
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Our main reason for visiting Cologne last December was football, to watch Newcastle United play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. And of course there were Christmas markets to enjoy. But we also wanted to see something of the city. The morning after the match was lovely and sunny, with a chilly wind but some warmth in the sun, so we set out on a walk by the river Rhine.
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How often have you looked at a photo and immediately rejected it? Too bland, too flat, out of focus, poor composition… It may have looked good at the time you took it, but for one reason or another it didn't turn out as you'd hoped and planned.
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After any trip I like to explore how the photos I took might look in black and white. I never shoot in that medium, even on those occasions when I already feel it would be the best option, because it’s easy to transform from colour to monochrome but impossible to do the reverse in any realistic manner.
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Cologne's cathedral has a long drawn-out history of construction, starting in 1248 and only finishing in 1880. At that point it was the highest building in the world at 157 metres tall! Today it is the world’s third largest Gothic-style cathedral and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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I think we tend to think of ice as clear, or maybe white like snow; the images in this gallery will show that it is anything but! There is a scientific reason for this. Dense, pure ice appears blue to our eyes because it absorbs longer wavelengths of light (including red and yellow) more effectively, while scattering and reflecting shorter blue ones back to our eyes.
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I often find myself drawn to photograph the little details I see around me, whether close to home or on my travels. So much so that I often come home to find I have lots of photos of the details of a building and none of the building as a whole to provide context.
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As we start a new year of Monday Walks I want to look back to one taken right at the end of last year, on New Years Eve. We were staying in Newcastle over the new year holidays with bright if chilly weather, perfect for a walk by the sea. So we took the Metro to Cullercoats and set off on the short but always lovely stroll to Tynemouth.
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Long or short, every year ends with December, which for many of us means the build-up to the Christmas celebrations. And for those who like me live in the Northern Hemisphere, it also means short days, long dark nights and cold weather.
