Travel
I'm lucky enough to travel a lot but I also aim to understand a place in some depth. So I like to find out about the local history, sociology, wildlife and local arts. I prepare for a trip by looking up photos of the famous sights, they're usually a good guide both about the local visual interest and also a warning of what has already been done or over-done.
I try to use the tools of modern photojournalism and photography to communicate how I feel about a place. You’ll see that I have used Portrait, Street, Interior, Historical, Abstract, Landscape, Historical, Wildlife, Phone-camera and Selfie genres at different times for specific effects.
Fun ride out in Brian’s Marcos Mantula, the first time I’ve been in a car with so much performance. He does a lot of work on it with sockets and spanners to keep it running well. A totally different experience to an economy saloon or SUV, the Marcos tootles along happily and smoothly in traffic but the big V8 engine is ready to roar a bit when the opportunity arises. Which was possible a few times in the Kent countryside on a sunny September afternoon, though resulted in noticeable warmth coming through the engine compartment to the legs.
Postcard of my photos and views of Menton from our Riviera holiday based in Menton-Garavan. Our stay started a bit hot but cooled down during the week.
Gorgeous Mediterranean dawns. We enjoyed fine food in the restaurants, particularly fish, plus picnics on our balcony overlooking the beach promenade and the coast road to Italy. Also afternoons reading, walking the paths and enjoying the gardens.
My thoughts on driving a hired Fiat Grande Panda LaPrima Turbo 1200 ch for a week in the Alps and the South of France
The Grande Panda LaPrima is the SUV version of the ubiquitous Fiat Panda, the resemblance stops with the name, the shape is SUV not the blocky half-van seen on rural school runs and farms. There’s no way this is a “Panda on steroids”. It’s high, the profile is SUV and looks big, so is competitive in the arms race of road presence. Visually striking, the Grande Panda LaPrima turns heads. The style is blocky, like a Lego car. It looks like it might go off-road but it’s very much a suburban SUV.
Read more: Giant Panda - Fiat Grande Panda LaPrima Turbo 1200 ch
A small beach on the Mediterranean on the Côte Bleue, west of Marseille. Multi-coloured box beach flats, wild birds and a sandy beach.
Lowgill Viaduct carried the Ingleton branch line from the West Coast Main Line to Sedbergh until the railway was dismantled in 1967. Lowgill Viaduct is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Arnside is on the estuary of the River Kent, which feeds in to Morecombe Bay. The estuary is inside but Arnside is just outside the Lake District National Park.
