Archive for the ‘Travel Report’ Category
She’s Taking All My Time
Tina lost in the middle (almost literally) of Iceland
The She in the title does not refer to Tina – my wife who also happens to be an incredibly talented photographer (pictured above). It refers to my most recent project. Halfway through July, we began a 37 day trip starting in Iceland, chilling in Greece, road tripping through Croatia and finally winding down in Paris.
Back from the Dream
For the last 17 days, I’ve been living a long time dream – a trip to Iceland. Generally speaking, reality never quite lives up to the expectations of a dream. This was not the case in Iceland. It is a landscape that is impossible to prepare your expectations. There is no other place on earth that I can compare to Iceland. It is a spectacularly beautiful, wild country.
I’m off to Croatia in a few hours, so I don’t have the time to write a trip report, but watch this space, Iceland will be the source of many a post to come.
Here are a few random pictures from Iceland in the interim.
Worth a Visit – Cabo de Gata Natural Park
Twlight decends over the peaceful fishing village of La Isleta in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park in Spain.
It has taken a week, but I feel that I’ve finally recovered from a 17 day road trip through Spain. As tiring as the trip was, it was the 33 hour trip from Barcelona to London (thanks to the ash) that was the killer.
Of all the places we visited in Spain (and there were many), the Cabo de Gata Natural Park was by far my favorite.
The park is situated about 50 kms from Almeria. This is quite convenient as Almeria has an airport and many car rental companies.
Why should you visit the park? Pick from any of the following reasons:
A Patagonian Must Read
"Icebergs float on Laguna Torre as sunrise light graces Cerro Torre in the distance, Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina" - Ian Plant
When I started photography – I lapped up every bit of information I could find on the subject. Anything photo related interested me. These days, I rarely read something that stirs and inspires me as much as I used to get when I started. Occasionally however, one pops up that leaves me feeling just like I’m starting out again – motivated, inspired and awestruck.
Ian Plant has just returned from an epic trip to Patagonia. He is a massively talented photographer and writer and his most recent article definately motivates and inspires – even after a nightmare journey home from Spain.
Please note – the above photo by Ian Plant, taken from his article.
The Friendliest
A diver sells his catch along the Wild Coast of South Africa
I read a forum post on a travel site recently on which country had the friendliest locals. I was quite surprised to see that six of the eight people who responded said Turkey. Turkish locals must be super friendly to get such an overwhelming vote (I’ll confirm this when I visit in August).
What was also quite surprising is that no one voted for South Africa. It was then that I realized that many people who travel to South Africa would count Johannesburg as part of South Africa. If you want to get technical, it is, but the Johannesburg locals are definitely not representative of the average South African.
London Town
Despite the weather, visa issues, expensive transport and even more expensive food and drinks, London is a must see destination. Even though I’ve lived in London for a year, I still often see it through tourist eyes, only now I’ve been here long enough to know what is worth seeing and what is better left to the uninformed crowds.
The Unexpected
What first struck me about London was the cultural diversity. At one stage, England dominated most of the known world and as a result, London now represents a large portion of it. I’ve met locals who time how long they can walk before they hear English spoken. Some have quite impressive records.
My Township Tour
Portrait of a Nompumulelo child dreaming of being a star.
I had one goal for our three week trip to South Africa – a township shoot. I’ve realized that township may be a word only recognized in South Africa, so here is my own interpretation of what a township is:
In South Africa, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor (the second largest in the world). Generally, the poor end up working for the rich as cleaners, gardeners and so on. Outside of every major affluent area, there is an area where the “poor” set up a temporary home. Initially, they look like slums (squatter camps), but once permanent residents begin to settle, houses are built (by the government) and the squatter camp gets referred to as a township
Worth a Visit – Bern City Center
A tramlink provides transport through the Bern city center
As travel photographers, we like to be well prepared for the sites we plan to see. This past summer, we were touring Switzerland and our plans fell apart after following our GPS 300 kilometers in the wrong direction. It turned out that Switzerland had two towns with the same name and we had arrived in the wrong town.