In a foreign country the everyday can seem unfamiliar. Different food, different customs, different houses, different ways of dressing and moving around. Sometimes the most familiar sights are the famous ones. We’ve already seen them so many times in films, on TV and on other people’s photos that we think we know them already.
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A black and white world is a strange world indeed, but then there is much in the world that seems strange to us. Different cultures, different landscapes, different architecture, different animals … and that is why we travel.
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At this time of year night is longer than day here in the northern hemisphere. But days are now perceptibly lengthening. Does more daylight mean more opportunities for photography? Perhaps, but the night can be a rewarding time too, of course.
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Of course, not everyone can travel and certainly not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to travel as much as we do. I wouldn’t want you to think that I don’t realise and appreciate that. But if you are in a position to travel, it would be such a shame not to do so.
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Whoever came up first with that saying ’a picture is worth a thousand words’ didn’t understand the first thing about either one. (Wim Wenders)
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Like many who travel a lot, I prefer to think of myself as more than just a tourist. But I’m never sure it’s as clear cut as that, and I don’t get too offended by the ‘tourist’ tag! I think the truth of the matter is, we are all both at times, depending on where we are and what we are doing.
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None of us knows what is around the corner. And as time passes, the pressure to do all that we want to before old age (or worse!) prevents us from doing so grows. For those of us who love travelling that can mean a sense of urgency, trying to fit in all the countries we most want to see.
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We travel of course to see the big sights. We want to see for ourselves the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York. We want to marvel at the height of the Alps or Himalayas, the endless sands of the Sahara, the dense rainforests of Amazonia. But what we sometimes remember just as much are the people we meet along the way.
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Our world is full of signs, both those we erect ourselves to convey a message, and the more subtle ones we can read in landscapes and nature. The latter include the signs that speak of changing seasons, like autumn leaves or buds on trees. There are signs in the rocks telling of seismic changes in the earth’s crust, or more subtly speaking of people that came before us.
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Hummingbirds are among the hardest of birds to photograph, I find. So even though it’s not perfect I was happy to get this shot of one in Costa Rica last year.
