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In ancient Bhaktapur, a royal capital
Bhaktapur lies a little to the east of Kathmandu. At its heart is a series of lanes and squares that seem little changed for centuries. Here more than anywhere in the country I felt immersed in the ageless atmosphere of Nepal.
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Gallery: a stroll around Thamel
Everyone will tell you that Thamel isn’t the REAL Kathmandu. It was once backpackers central, and today is home not only to hostels but to increasingly smart hotels. But between the tourist-focused delights is enough local colour to demonstrate that you are indeed ‘a long way from home’.
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Gallery: fleeting moments in Indochina
Our visit to Indochina was only just over two years ago, yet in some ways it feels like a world away. A world barely touched by Covid, in which we didn’t question our ability to travel. Took it for granted, perhaps? Looking back at my photos I wonder why we didn’t realise that the disease already causing deaths and chaos in China would spread to engulf the whole world. Were we like ostriches, our heads in the sand? Or was it such an alien concept that we couldn’t envisage it?
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Sofia, city of contrasts and a work in progress
Bulgaria’s capital city intrigues and charms me. It seems to be in a state of constant flux, built on layers of history. One minute you are walking on a Roman road, the next staring up at 1950s Stalinist monoliths. Gold-domed cathedrals and churches dominate the vistas along wide boulevards while in side streets elegant villas sit side-by-side with their crumbling, neglected cousins.
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Gallery: on the streets of Paris again
Jean Cocteau said that, 'In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator'. I disagree. For me, there are few more pleasurable ways to pass the time in Paris than sitting on the terrace of a pavement café watching the world pass by.
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A stroll through the Marais
The Marais is one of the loveliest and most fashionable districts of Paris. The name means ‘marshland’ because the original village here was built on a marsh, but there are no signs of that these days! Instead there are elegant buildings, pretty squares and of course the Parisian staples of great little cafés.
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Gallery: the friendly people of Khimsar
Around a 450 year old fort on the edge of the Thar Desert a small town has grown up, consisting of little more than a market, some shops and a bus station. These serve the surrounding rural community and those who work in the fort, which is today is both home to the Thakurs, former rulers of the Kingdom of Khimsar, who built it, and also a heritage hotel.
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Gallery: shots to make you smile (I hope)
We could all use a laugh from time to time, and maybe more than ever over the last few years. It seems to be part of human nature to look for humour in the darkest times.
Or what about ...?
Gallery: playing with bokeh
Gallery: let there be light
Learning through travelling
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Gallery: capturing photographers in black and white
It seems to me that holding a camera gives a lot of people a sense of freedom. They appear more relaxed, less constrained by their surroundings. So what a great opportunity that is for the rest of us who are also carrying a camera with an eye to some street photography!
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Gallery: what makes a perfect city?
When Beatrix Potter adapted Aesop’s fable about the town mouse and the country mouse, in her picture book The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, she concluded that tastes differ. Some of us seem born to city life, others are happiest in the country. I fall firmly into the first group.
