India 2015: Mahabalipuram

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 world away from the vineyards, safaris and huge shopping malls in Cape Town Wharf, Langa is a township where the Apartheid government sought to control Black South Africans, yet the people forged a tight-knit community that resisted and persevered. Today it’s a vibrant place that educates visitors on its history and suffering through the heritage museum, and welcomes you to explore the Arts & Culture Centre, as well as walking streets full of play, small businesses, and food stalls serving the community.

A walk around Kew Gardens at night, guided by Christmas Illuminations.

First trip away in a long, long time. A couple of days in London and a photowalk in some inclement weather along the Thames.

Late afternoon we arrived in the city of Rabat and our destination The Mausoleum of Mohammed V, which shares the ground with Hassan Tower. The changing colours of the polished surfaces due to the reflected light from the overhead clouds and a sun that was now lowering in the sky brought to mind the Taj Mahal in Agra where I had watched the same phenomena

Another of those places where it felt surreal to walk the pathways of a place I'd seen in everything from Asterix graphic novels as a kid, to movies via many history books. Every footstep, a connection to the past. I visited on a bright but changeable February morning and the queues were still deep. I cannot imagine how busy it must be at the height of summer.

Sometimes you make a mistake, and sometimes that mistake is utterly avoidable. The day before this trip I got the then new iPhone 7 took a couple of shots in nice light and thought, 'this is good'. I'd taken some online comments to heart. Something along the lines of 'only 'cause you've got an expensive camera'. Rather than dismissing it, I thought I'd challenge myself and set off to Amsterdam with only the iPhone. As it turned out, I fell in love with Amsterdam that weekend and wished I'd had my X-T1 with me. The iPhone looked alright in good daylight and on a phone screen, but quality simply fell apart as soon as the light dimmed and seen on a laptop or larger. In December in a city filled with beautiful illuminations the good light fell away quickly and what was left on the sensor did not do the city justice. The next time I went, I did not make the same mistake twice.

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.