Our homes often tell the world something about ourselves, especially their exteriors. How often have you looked at a house and drawn some sort of conclusion about the people who live in it? Most obviously, we can tell if they are neat and tidy, or messy. We can tell if they favour bright colours or neutrals.
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I have many special memories of Japan. The scent of incense rising before a shrine. The serenity of a temple garden. The care taken to ensure that everything, from a gift box to a manhole cover, is as beautiful as it can possibly be. But one colour dominates all of these memories: red.
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The short but beautiful Loboc River winds its way through lush scenery in the heart of Bohol Island. Its banks are lined with dense forest, broken here and by clearings with simple houses. Its waters are crystal-clear and emerald green. Unsurprising then that it has spawned a significant amount of tourist activity.
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Why fly for the best part of a day or more and spend good money just to sit and see nothing of the country you’re visiting? Yes, the weather may be better than if you were sitting around at home, and a dip in the sea is fun, but to me it is a waste not to get to know the culture, the people, the history, the food.
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I confess I have never been one to climb mountains, and certainly not these days! But I am inspired by the sight of them and by all the wonders of the world’s wilder places. And where better to see some of these than in a national park? I’m a particular admirer of the US national parks system, which owes much to the campaigning of John Muir.
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What is it about Paris that has so captured the imagination of artists and writers over the years? Is it the light, the architecture, the culture, the way of life? I am not sure, but I know it has captivated me too.
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If a black and white photograph is a 'departure from reality' (and surely it is), then why are so many photographers still drawn to taking them? And what is their appeal for the viewer? Is it merely nostalgia as some have claimed? After all, the oldest among us grew up I'm a world of black and white films, TV and family snapshots.
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When we travel, we love to try the food of our destinations. Pasta in Italy (of course!), curry in India, kimchi in North Korea, even grasshoppers in Oaxaca. And on our latest trip to the Philippines we naturally enjoyed many local dishes, and like the Filipinos themselves ate rice with almost every meal.
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What we choose to leave out of a photograph matters as much as what we choose to include. And we are making such decisions every time we point our camera at a subject. But thanks to digital photography it is now very easy to make them retrospectively, when we come to edit our shots. Furthermore, we can take a single shot and test out a variety of options.
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A good portrait photograph is shaped by the connection between two people, photographer and subject. Without that connection the image is at best less interesting, at worst lifeless. When we look at an interesting portrait we discover something about the person portrayed: their life, their character. But we only do so if the photographer has discovered this and brought it out in their image.
