Man with a beard in sunglasses, wearing a hat
Pick a Word,  Themed galleries

Gallery: pick a word (July)

July 28, 2022 / 29 Comments

Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can one word describe a photo, or a photo define a single word?

That’s the challenge set by Paula in her monthly Pick a Word post. Five words, five photos inspired by those words. I enjoyed my first attempt at this last month, so now I’m back for another go. And as before, I’ll try to be succinct while also giving a bit of context to my choices.

COVE

Looking down at a beach with rocky cliffs

A small cove south of Salalah, Oman

We were following the main road south along the coast from Salalah in southern Oman when our guide Hussein stopped and invited us to follow a short track up a ridge. Camels were grazing on the rocky slopes around us, and at the top we were treated to a view of a beautiful cove below us. Its white sand and turquoise waters would not look out of place on a Caribbean island!

DEBONAIR

Man with a beard in sunglasses, wearing a hat

In the Place Dauphine, Paris

No one does debonair quite like a Parisian! Whenever we visit our favourite city we like to stroll through the Place Dauphine on the Ile de la Cité. We spent our honeymoon in 1981 staying in a very cheap hotel on this pretty triangular haven. Today it’s a very desirable area, but still a popular spot with the locals for a game of boules. I spotted this debonair gentleman sitting in the shade of the Palais de Justice watching a game.

GIGANTIC

Two huge statues with small figure of a man in front

Statues of the Great Leaders in Pyongyang

The bronze statues of the Great Leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, stand on Pyongyang’s Mansudae Hill. They are twenty metres high and appear even taller, thanks to the stone plinth on which they stand, which adds a few more metres, and the fact that you approach them from below.

North Koreans come to pay their respects and lay flowers at their feet. Some will be here to mark a special occasion, such as a birthday or wedding, while others are (rare) visitors from out of town. This ritual is expected of them but is also important to them. The vast majority are confident that the Leaders have always looked after their people and protected them, and that they continue to do so today.

TEXTURE

Metal container stained orange and yellow

In the spice market in Jaipur

The metal of this spice container in the market in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is pockmarked from years of use and glowing with the rich colours of the spices.

WINDOW

White framed window in a dark red corrugated wall

A window in Reykjavik

I find the traditional domestic architecture of Iceland very appealing. Corrugated iron walls, often painted in bright colours, the ridges creating interesting patterns of light and shade. Punctuated by white-painted window frames sometimes, as here in Reykjavik, offering a glimpse of life inside.

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29 Comments

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