China 2012: Bejing

A clogmaker in Zaandam, Netherlands demonstrates how he crafts the famous wooden shoes.

I went to Macau for a day trip during a longer trip to Hong Kong. An insanely crowded and densely packed place with as many contrasts as buildings. Colonial buildings jostle with temples. Apartment blocks with mega casinos. A single day was not enough to even begin to scratch the surface.

A beautifully intricate mausoleum in Meknes dedicated to Sultan Moulay Isma'il, who ruled Morocco from 1672 - 1727.

This was a fun one. I've always had a fascination with birds of prey and when visiting an old schoolfriend in England, was delighted to find there was a sanctuary nearby where you could arrange to meet some of their residents face-to-face. A decade later, buzzards and kestrels are now a common sight on the coasts here in Guernsey as they hunt and breed here.

The weather finally broke and I grabbed my bike and onto the ferry for a four day round-trip ride to Mont Saint-Michel, a true bucket list location that I've tried to get to for the last 6 years and been tripped on in one way or another from Covid to an operation on my arm. Unfortunately the day I got their it was enveloped in thick fog to the point where I could barely see it even thought I was there. The Abby was also closed due to an emergency so I didn't get to see as much as I'd hope. Which just means I have to go back. The weather played another trick by whipping up a storm the day I was supposed to go home. So a cancelled ferry meant an unexpected day in Saint-Malo. I'm glad it arrived that day as I'd have really struggled with the bike to get back there if was a riding day. But despite the hiccups, the riding was fun and I enjoyed myself. The intention is to spend more time with my bike in France and exploring what is on my doorstep.

I was invited to visit Bristol during the annual Hot Air Balloon festival by a colleague who had recently moved there. The wind conditions meant that the balloons only took flight on the evening of the last day, but it didn't spoil discovering a vibrant city filled with industrial history and a bustling art scene. I was still suffering from a back injury which restricted my mobility at the time, and as I look back on these image now I have an urge to go back and walk around and photograph it in the way I wasn't able to at the time.

A true learning experience. My first time shooting RAW and my first time plucking up the courage to shoot street. This is a selection of images that convey the overwhelming assault on the senses I felt entering the Marrakech Souks

After shooting in the region of 250K photographs. This set is a first. The first roll of film put through my 1968 Olympus EE-2. The first using time an experimental film from Revlog - SNOVLOX, for that snowy, wintery feel. But mainly because this is the first roll of film that I personally developed (equal first, there were two rolls in the tank. This just happened to come out first). See below for the accompanying travelogue post.

It's the second time I've been here and the second time I've come away feeling a bit uninspired. I feel it shows in my photography. Looking online at other peoples images, the best take a very low angle with an ultrawide in courtyards and either a closed venue or a hell of a lot of digital erasure of other visitors. Of both my times in Morocco, this is the place I've struggled to capture.

The Formula 1 Exhibition at the eXcel Area in London as seen in December 2024.