If you enjoy candid photography there is no better country to visit, perhaps, than India. I have never been anywhere else where people are so comfortable to be photographed and that is its one downside, as they can be too eager to pose as soon as they see your camera. However, a posed photo can be as effective as a candid shot if you are photographing people within the setting of their workplace.
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Anyone who enjoys flower photography will know the special joy of suddenly spotting a little bee or other bug in the flower you are about to photograph. Over the years I seem to have amassed quite a number of these ‘bonus bug’ shots.
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Browsing a flea market in East Berlin many years ago I came across an old postcard, with a pretty painting of forget-me-nots. Turning it over I found, to my surprise, that the message was in English. It was dated 19.6.17 and was sent from BEF France – the British Expeditionary Forces.
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Anacortes struck me as an easy-going and slightly quirky small city. It's the sort of laid-back place where a brief stop can easily turn into a couple of hours as you stroll its downtown streets, pause for a leisurely coffee, pop into a shop or two.
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When we realised that our route back into Seattle at the end of our Washington State road trip would take us through Renton, just to the north of the city, there was one detour we just had to make.
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In June 1940 France fell to the advancing Nazi army and was occupied. The British government decided that the Channel Islands, just off the Normandy coast, were of no strategic importance and would not be defended. The islands were effectively demilitarised, and the residents were faced with an impossible choice. Should they stay and face occupation or go, leaving behind families, friends and possessions?
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Some of the most beautiful architecture I have seen has been in the Islamic world. Islamic art shuns the depiction of living figures, whether human or animal, partly to avoid any suggestion of idolatry and partly because it is believed that the creation of living forms is Allah’s prerogative. Instead the emphasis is on geometric forms as well as calligraphy and abstract floral motifs.
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New Mexico dubs itself the ‘Land of Enchantment’ and indeed we were enchanted. What delighted us most was the variety. In two and a half weeks we saw natural wonders and man-made. We followed trails worn down over the centuries by the moccasin-clad feet of early inhabitants; and sat in the cramped confines of a Mercury capsule. We marvelled at the legends of those early Native Americans, and at the tales of aliens crashing near Roswell.
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In nature still water provides the best reflections. So most of the photos I have selected for this post are of reflections in water – but not all of them.
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We visit Iceland for its magnificent landscapes: mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, craggy coastlines. But for street art? Probably not; and yet its capital, Reykjavik, is a cool town with plenty of beautiful and/or interesting murals to be found.
