I don’t really know what it takes to get a good wildlife shot, but I like this one shot off of a boat while on safari in Botswana.
Jan 102014
Jan 092014
On my first day in Guatemala I was woken up by the intense heat. I’d spent the night sleeping surrounded by 3 fans but still woke up drenched with sweat. I took a shower, and set out to explore my new surroundings. After a quick lap of the island town of Flores, I flagged down a kid passing by in a launch and arranged to be taken on a tour. I took this shot as we returned to the boats after our first stop, a breathtaking hike to a viewpoint looking out over the Lago Peten Itza.
Jan 082014
Here’s another shot of the inner workings of the original Heineken brewery.
Jan 072014
On my recent tour of Europe, I wasn’t particularly good at getting up early to take pictures. Partly because for most of the trip the weather wasn’t ideal but mainly because I tended to hang out way too late to even consider getting up early. Florence, on the other hand, inspired me. I couldn’t go there and not come away with some sunrise photos. So, I dragged my travel buddy up at the crack of dawn. We’d wander the empty streets of Florence before collecting our car to drive up to Pisa, down to Sienna, and back up to Florence.
The sunrise didn’t disappoint and I got this opportunity to take a super close up of Florence’s famous cathedral in front of blue sky and pink skies. Following this I bought two prosciutto on mini-croissant sandwiches for breakfast. It was a good start to the day.
Jan 062014
In Guatemala, just outside Antigua there’s a Macadamia nut farm, owned by a German from California, and named after Viking paradise. It’s called the Valhalla Research Center. I decided this would be an interesting place to visit. When I booked a hike up a volcano, I saw that the tour shop also offered tours to the farm and the surrounding villages. The problem was, the price would vary depending on whether or not the tour was filled up, and two days in advance there was currently nobody booked. After I said I’d have to think about it, the nice lady behind the desk mentioned that her brother was a tuk tuk driver and he could take me on the tour for a very low price. I thought this sounded like a much better solution and quickly booked the tour.
As it turned out, the volcano climb I had booked for the day before the tuk tuk ride was pushed back by a day due to inclement weather. I was in Guatemala at the beginning of the rainy season, and it was coming down harder than any rain I’ve ever seen. As a result, I had an early morning ascent scheduled followed almost immediately by a tuk tuk tour of the surrounding village.
As it turned out, I met another solo traveler from Singapore while climbing Pacaya who was looking for something to do in the afternoon. Once he’d heard my plans, he decided to join me.
The odd thing was, the rain held off all day. It was cloudy and miserable on the ashy slopes, but it wasn’t raining. Five minutes before the tuk tuk was due to pick me up the heavens opened. Luckily, when the three-wheeler arrived, the usually open parts had a nice vision obscuring plastic cover. So, off we went, two guys in a tuk tuk that felt like it was going to get washed backwards down every hill we ascended by the torrent cascading down all around us. There were times when I had to wonder if we were actually floating.
After hopping out in one of the towns and finding a couple of hundred somber looking people standing around, we sidled up to one of the onlookers to ask what was going on. My Spanish isn’t the greatest and all I could pick up was something about a husband and a wife. I interpreted that to mean it was a wedding.
We stood back and watched. Then, two coffins exited the church and were carried up the street followed by a brass band. It turned out my interpretation was incorrect. We decided to make a quick exit, but while on the way back to our trusty stead, I snapped a quick shot of it in front of the silhouetted volcano in the distance. We asked our driver where the cemetery was as the pall bearers were carrying the coffins. He told us it was the cemetery we had passed on the way into the town. It had to be two miles away and uphill, and they were going to carry them all the way there.
Jan 052014
I’ve had this picture sitting around for a year now waiting to find out where exactly I took it. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, and I’m tired of passing it over every time I look for a photo, so I’ve decided to post it tonight. I think it’s the last of my images from South Africa. It was taken after leaving a beach and on my way for a few drinks sat outside a pub, which we departed due to a chip shortage. Then, we had a nice lunch sat outside a well-stocked pub across the street.
Jan 042014
Most pictures of this arch that I’ve seen were taken from the other side, with the volcano in the background. I think the forested hills disappearing into the haze may be equally interesting.
Jan 032014
This is another one of my older photos taken with my Canon Rebel, I played around with the levels a bit before posting it here.
I remember there was a man sat to the left of me, just out of frame painting this scene and I kind of copied his composition exactly. I think it’s an interesting view of the tower with some of the typical buildings in the foreground. It’s a colourful place.
The clock tower was first built in the 14th century and had various additions over the years. The roof had to be rebuilt at one point after the town’s gunpowder supplied exploded. The small four corner turrets denote the act that the citadel had judicial autonomy and the right to decide on capital punishments.
Originally, the tower housed the town’s council but now it holds a museum. As you climb it you get to learn about the history of Sighisoara.
Jan 012014
Happy New Year everyone.
Now that we’re through the holiday season I’ve decided to get back to trying to post a daily photograph. This is a shot I took on my September country hopping week and a half in Europe. I liked the laundry hanging out to dry and the vines in this small street in the beautiful little town of San Gimignano.
I’ll be heading off island again in 10 days for London and Rome, so hopefully will be posting some photos from that trip soon.
Nov 042013
While waiting for my launch to take off, I went down onto the beach to see if there was a good photo of the dock. As I set up, this girl came and sat down and completed my shot nicely.
