For many years I wanted to visit the Galápagos: to walk on these remote islands where unique species thrive, where Darwin first developed the ideas that would change our understanding of nature, and where animals have never learned to fear humankind. In 2012 I realised my dream; and fortunately, it more than lived up to my expectations!
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. Of course we all love to photograph a stunning landscape, an attractive old building, a beautiful flower or tree. But look carefully and you will find beauty in the most unexpected places. Or if not beauty, at the very least interest.
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When I started blogging almost eighteen months ago I had no idea that the blogosphere was full of challenges, and it took me some time to discover them. Once I did, I was hooked, and especially on photo challenges.
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Maybe it’s the ex-librarian in me that drives me to put things into categories. But as a librarian I learned that some things fit into categories more easily than others! That was certainly true of my favourite photos from last year, and when I’d finished sorting them I was left with a set that didn’t neatly fit into a single theme.
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Increasingly as a photographer I find myself drawn to the little things. Even the most ordinary of sights, the places we pass every day, can seem more interesting if we focus on the details. And when travelling somewhere new, picking out those details can add colour and texture to a record of our travels.
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Whether close to home or travelling further afield, one of my favourite subjects for photography is always the people I see. I recognise that some have concerns about candid street photography, and I understand those. But to me these photos of people living out their daily lives tell you so much about a place. On city streets or elsewhere, it’s the people that bring a place to life.
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My travels may have been somewhat curtailed in 2021 but I did manage to visit two beautiful cities abroad. One, Paris, is well known to me (this was my seventh visit, I think), while the other, Seville, was new. They proved a rich source of photos, as did my home city of London.
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One of the many things I find difficult about photography is self-appraisal. Choosing my BEST images is often a challenge; but ask me to choose my favourites and the task becomes a little easier … but only a little!
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Early morning by Lake Atitlàn. A lone fisherman drifts past, checking his lines. Volcanoes dot the horizon. In the distance a small motorboat speeds past; empty now but likely to be full of passengers when the lake’s ferry services start up soon. The jetties too are quiet, waiting for the lakeside villages to wake up.
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Imagine an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony; full of spectacle and colour, involving tens of thousands of performers. Add a good dollop of political propaganda and unashamed messaging. Throw in hundreds of well-drilled cute children, all eager to please. Imagine too that this ceremony takes place every single night for several months. Now you have just a small idea of the scale of the North Korean phenomenon known colloquially as the Mass Games.
