I have to admit to rather liking shopping. Even grocery shopping can be quite enjoyable if you’re buying some of your favourite foods. And while shopping for clothes isn’t quite the unadulterated pleasure it was when I was younger, it’s still great to come across something that looks and fits just right, even if that’s a rarity these days! I don’t even have to be shopping for myself; Christmas shopping for gifts also gives me pleasure.
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The Irish author James Joyce lived for many years in the city of Trieste, from 1904-1920 (with a spell in Zurich during WW1). During those last years of the city's Austro-Hungarian glory it was much-loved by Bohemian artists and writers such as Joyce. He moved there when he was just 22 years old and began writing some of his best-known literary works there.
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Cityscapes have a strong appeal to the photographer in many of us, and perhaps especially if we like to work in monochrome. Strong architectural lines, contrasting materials and interesting shapes, particularly those of some modern architecture, are well-suited to black and white compositions.
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Who hasn’t stood on the shore and gazed out at a distant horizon? Or on a hill or mountain, looking out over an expansive view and the sky above? But when we try to capture it with a camera we are sometimes disappointed. The view that awed us so much may seem flat and less impressive. ‘You had to be there’, we might say.
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Some weeks ago I mentioned that I would be exhibiting an image in my photography group’s show this coming September. Several people showed interest in seeing the shot and I promised to share it in due course.
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The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a group of nineteen astronomical instruments built in 1734 by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city. But if when you think of ‘astronomical instruments’ we are visualising telescopes, or maybe small handheld devices, think again! These are dramatically large structures, most far taller than a person.
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Oddly, while I find my own aging appearance less than appealing, as a keen street/candid photographer I’m often drawn to older people. And especially for monochrome photography. The character in these faces really suits that medium; or does the medium suit the character?
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Although Angkor Wat is the most famous sight in Angkor, it is not the only one by any means, despite the fact that the two names are often used interchangeably. Angkor in fact means ‘city’ and Angkor Wat the ‘city temple’. But there are over a thousand temples, ranging in scale from mere piles of rubble scattered through rice fields to Angkor Wat itself.
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It’s often said that odd numbers of objects make for more interesting compositions in photography: three, five, maybe seven. And I’m sure we’ve had photo challenges linked to this concept, especially threes. But today I’m talking about photographing numbers themselves. Photographing not three objects, but the number three. Not five objects but the number five.
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We have the US to thank for the myth of the magic of the open road. Stretching in front of us, inviting exploration, always (in our imaginations at least) empty. Travelling this road doesn’t just open up new vistas, new places to discover; it also lures us with the promise of new beginnings, even new versions of ourselves.
