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.
The massive walls of the medieval fortress at Aigues Mortes on the Camargue, the embarkation town for the seventh and eighth crusades in 1248 and 1270 AD.The Burgundian King of France, Louis IX ordered the construction of the fortress in the Camargue marches and also a causeway to a quay a short distance away where the ships were able to berth. Burgundian France had no navigable harbour on the Mediterranean Sea until a century later when Louis XI incorporated Provence in to France in 1486. These days, the walls enclose an attractive tourist town with restaurants, bars and boutique shops.
The ombragère (sun shade) is a cool and welcome escape from the full strength of the Mediterranean sun toasting tourists enjoying the Vieux Port of Marseille. The underside is mirrored, giving an unusual persepective. Also known as l'Ombrière.
A trip in the Quantock Hills and Exmoor, checking out the Black Cat route from Dunster (near Minehead) down to Tiverton, known as one of the top fifty bike routes in the UK. The Black Cat road is in good shape, it gets its name from the garage and cafe at the side of the road near Bampton; I'm looking to make an opportunity to ride it after the 2016 GLME Ascension bike camp, based in Salisbury.
Touring the Malvern Hills in a brand new Audi A1 hire car, just 17 miles on the clock when I received it. “Two wheels good, four wheels bad” (to misquote Animal Farm), but fun to drive on interesting roads, mostly clear of other traffic and with fine views of the Malvern Hills; the A1 was pretty good for the drive back on the motorways too.
Market day in Forcalquier in the square in front of the Concathédrale Notre Dame du Bourguet de Forcalquier in Provence; the trees revealing the solid 12th century architecture, so different to the graceful arcitecture of cathedrals from the north of France of the same period. It's easy to imagine the cathdral doubling as a fortress.
