Varanasi
January 2006

The picture on Wikipedia of Varanasi, (Benares), is glowing in yellow sunlight, taken one bright day. Majestic. The photos I took in 2006 are not like this at all. The sun is a smudge of yellow masked in gray. The buildings decaying, crumbled and filthy. The mass expanse of polluted river merges with a concrete coloured sky to leave barely a line where the two meet. The air is thick with dust and stench. Regarded as a spiritual place, men and woman have lived and worshiped here on the banks of the Ganges for centuries. In 2006 between the guesthouse and the river, grubby children and their begging mothers squat amongst modern day rubbish, of plastic bags and bottles, in dirt shanties. Waiting, praying and hopefully surviving.

Mallorca
September 2009

Sydney
February 2010
Sydney in the summer. I like this photo so much I decided to use a variation of it for my banner and also for my website which is in the process of being redesigned.

Nepal
December 2005
A trek in the hills just outside Kathmandu. Little girls who live in a tiny village selling coke and soup for lunch. A path to a slightly bigger village. A freezing night, with a fierce breeze slipping through the cracks in the windows. But hospitality so warm and the sun so welcome in the morning.

Phnom Penh
April 2001

I've been working on a book today where the author travels through Cambodia. It got me thinking of my own time there. It was 2001. My first trip to South East Aisa. The plane from Bangkok was so old, it had bench seats. Phnom Penh. Crazy. A hotel that I am sure doubled as a brothel. There seemed to be a lot of very friendly girls in the hotel bar. Families of five on scooters. Heat so intense the sweat looked like I'd been caught in the rain. Decaying French elegance. A slow-moving mass of river. An ancient cyclo driver who didn't know the way of where I wanted to go. Ex-pats and NGOs. And then a ride up the river on the roof of a boat. Hours of sunshine, brown water, muddy banks, rickety homes on tall pools and flatness. To arrive at Siem Reap.

Botswana
July 2008

In July 2008 I was lucky enough to spend some time in Botswana, and a few days in the Okavango Delta - the worlds biggest inland delta. It used to be that only men could be 'polers' but today women take on the role also. They do it with style and grace. It was so peaceful gliding through the water, inches above the surface. The hour or so that it took to reach our camp was over too quickly.

Kinloch
January 2010

A run in the summer rain. On the mouth of the Dart River. On the edge of Lake Wakatipu. At the bottom of the South Island. Damp air. Polypropolene and down jackets. Hovering clouds. In the morning fresh snow dusted on the mountain tops.

Namibia Dreaming
August 2008

Today I am thinking of Namibia, of red sand, and golden grass, of cloudless skies, and gravel roads, of rocks and dirt, and river beds without water, of elephants and oryx, and beautiful people, of camping in tree huts, and a fog covered town, of hot air balloons, horse rides, and driving into sunsets.

Today I had the honour of being a guest at the beautiful blog house of Pia Bijkerk.
I had such a lovely time. Pia, thank you!

ps. this is the beautiful city of Dubrovnik.

A technique I just discovered called 'tilt shift'.
Kinda cool I think!

I went looking for inspiration on Wednesday and came across a Scottish artist called Jack Vettriano. His paintings weren't what I had thought I was looking for but I'm glad that they were found.

About 10 days ago I made a couple of etsy purchases.

Last night they arrived in the post. How lovely. They exceeded my expectations. Both were sent in beautiful packages. With extra things, small notes, hand wrapping, delicate touches. It was so joyous.

One came from Paris the other from Los Angeles. These cities are foreign to me and I don't know anyone who lives there, but here I was receiving gifts from far away places, wrapped in personal touches with hope and pride attached to each one. I know I did pay for them. But it felt so much nicer than a purchase from a normal shop, a grumpy sales girl going through the motions, trapped in her air conditioned mall.

I love it. Etsy you are so special.

Thank you.

It's been on my mind for a while now to create some small images to have printed onto art paper. These are my first in what I hope will be an inspiring ongoing series. The pelican is my favourite.

It has taken me a little while, but I finally got around to making and then taking photos TtV. Through the viewfinder. I've had an old Kodak Brownie Reflex for years, and am so thrilled that I have found a way to revive it and bring it to life. I love it. This is one of my first photos.

This is my first ever blog. Today is the 19th of October 2006. It is 8.12am and it is a beautiful sun filled day outside.