The treacherous footpaths of Ulaan Bataar

Before I went to Mongolia, my aunt said to take a torch. Well, doh! I'm camping... "No, not for the camping. For the footpaths in Ulaan Bataar. They're really dangerous at night! You could hurt yourself." I thought, yeah, right. But, well... Ulaan Bataar is many things. Well-maintained is not one of them. We spent … Continue reading The treacherous footpaths of Ulaan Bataar

Riding into the storm

This is a blatant leveraging of the weekly photo challenge theme of half and half as an excuse to publish more photos (and tell a story) from my recent trip to Mongolia -- a land of big sky, spectacular clouds and sweeping grasslands. The horizon draws the eye repeatedly and bisects many of my photos, … Continue reading Riding into the storm

Walls of the old stone variety

When I travel, I take a fair few photos of walls. Particularly old stone walls, usually up close so you can see the way they've been constructed. For this week's WordPress photo challenge, with the theme of WALL, I therefore thought I'd share some of the of the old English walls I've come across in … Continue reading Walls of the old stone variety

A walk along Surf Beach – with shell

I've been enjoying another relaxing few days at Phillip Island, where beauty and inspiration abound. This morning I took a walk at low tide along the south coast section of the island known as "Surf Beach" to Forrest Caves. With this week's WordPress photo challenge theme of SCALE in mind, I picked up a shell … Continue reading A walk along Surf Beach – with shell

Twinkle twinkle at the beach

'Tis the season for twinkling. In Australia that often means sun and the sea. We love our Christmases at the beach. I know we're not quite there yet (can it only be 12 days until Christmas?), but here's my take on TWINKLE for this week's photo challenge. This is the photo I immediately thought of … Continue reading Twinkle twinkle at the beach

Descent – ways with water

I'm taking an engineering viewpoint on this week's photo challenge theme of Descent. Because I've long been fascinated and thrilled by the way our forefathers used the controlled descent of water under gravity as very clean power source (and indeed modern hydropower stations do too). Above is the flour mill at Cotehele in Cornwall. Water … Continue reading Descent – ways with water

Endurance: Ring of Brodgar

About ten years ago I visited Scotland for the second time. I took a six day small group tour right around the country, which included a day in the Orkney Isles. The neolithic village of Skara Brae still has to be one of the most remarkable sites I've ever visited. Talk about endurance. The remains … Continue reading Endurance: Ring of Brodgar

Adventure in the rain

I like to think of myself as adventurous. It's probably one of the reasons I love fantasy so much -- with its quests and great sweeping landscapes. And it's definitely what drives me when I travel. The above photo epitomises adventure for me -- I'm sharing for the weekly photo challenge. Last year my desire … Continue reading Adventure in the rain

Nothing beats a Melbourne coffee (or an Australian red)

I make no secret of the fact that I drink a lot of coffee. And, since I live in Melbourne, why wouldn't I? Not only are we the world's most livable city (for the fourth year in a row), we have the BEST coffee. My signature beverage is a large (double shot) skim flat white … Continue reading Nothing beats a Melbourne coffee (or an Australian red)

Textures… of France and Spain

I love photographing textures. I'm sure there are others who do a much better job of it, but I make the attempt all the same. Especially when I'm travelling, because that's often when I'm looking and seeing and breathing in the atmosphere of a place. Today's textures are once again inspired by the WordPress weekly … Continue reading Textures… of France and Spain