UK 2024: Kew at Christmas

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

By day the Jemaa el-Fnaa is a bustling market with traders, and entertainers seeing a coin or two from the visitors. By night it transforms into a huge open air food court. Brightly lit against the night, with a myriad of scents from the cooking meats and spices.

After three solid days of walking the city, I did something I don't usually do and took a ride on one of those hop-on, hop-off tourist buses that tend to be found in the big city.

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is a world wonder that truly lives up to its reputation. A set of memories rather than a great set of photos. I'd not slept in around 72 hours, was struggling a bit physically and once I set foot on the wall was suddenly hit by the realisation that I no longer had a job, was actually at a place I'd dreamt of since I was a kid and at the start of a grand adventure. What a place to start it.

A dull but crisp morning walk around Greenwich Market a few days before Christmas. I knew there would be Christmas lights all over so shot with a star filter. I'm still not sure that was the right call, but it's good to try something different occasionally.

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.

I love epic train journeys, and three days straight-through from the north to the south of Australia in backpacker class certainly sounds epic. That is until the reality of the 5am New Years Day hangover start time, the small seat which is now your bed, the lack of stops to get off and explore and that the Australian bush is near unchanging until you near the coasts! Great experience overall. Just split it up with a break in the middle if you can, unlike me that fit it between flights.

My 2nd visit to Iceland. This time in Springtime. One glorious day followed by another in which the heavens opened and the wind raged.

Another of those places that has to be seen with your own eyes. Every nook and cranny is filled with detail that even a gallery of a thousand photographs could not hope to capture. So many moments where you turn a corner and say 'hang on that's a...'