I admit, I’m a fan of ThinkTank products. And contrary to popular belief, I don’t have a ThinkTank fetish. I do seem to have a bit of a collection. I started out with the old Urban Disguise 60, then added a Speed Freak, followed by a Streetwalker Harddrive. I added a Steroid Speedbelt, along with 4 pouches of various sorts. My latest addition is the Shapeshifter backpack. I also have assorted card wallets, battery and cable bags, an overnight bag and a T-shirt. But I don’t have a problem! I reviewed the Urban Disguise 60 as...
read moreWhile in St. Petersburg, a collegue and I had a chance to visit one of the most important museums in the world, the Hermitage. This is an incredible collection of art, some of the most famous artists are represented, including two Da Vinci madonnas. I found it very inspirational, but ultimately overwhelming. Oh look, another Rubens… I don’t like photographing art. You need to experience it first hand. So I didn’t take many images. I did shoot this set of horses in armour. I don’t think I did it justice, but it was a...
read morePart of my exploration of old Istanbul took me to the Mısır Çarşısı spice bazaar, close to the Golden Horn on the north side of the old city. I didn’t know what it was as I was just wandering around and saw a lot of foot traffic. I walked through the southern entrance and was immediately assaulted by the pungent aromas emanating from the vendors stalls. The Market was crowded, and I took the first shot from the steps at the southern entrance. There is stall after stall of the most amazing and exotic spices, sweetmeats, teas and,...
read more..I was fortunate to be able to spend a few days in St. Petersburg recently. This is a really nice city, sitting on the edge of the Baltic sea. It is a lot more like the classical European cities like Vienna, although there is a feeling that it tries a little too hard to emulate it’s western sisters. Despite that, there are some truly beautiful places in St. Petersburg. I’d done some research and new I wanted to shoot the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood and not just because of the cool name. I wanted to see it from the...
read moreBusiness dictated that I recently had to go to Turkey. The plan was to stay in Istanbul for a few days before travelling on to Russia. I’d never been to Istanbul before, but I’d heard a lot about the Aya Sofia (Hagia Sofia). This was a Christian cathedral, then an Islamic mosque and was used as a place of worship for 1,575 years. This place has history in spades! So, I got in the line and paid my entrance fee. It’s very busy with tourists, being a museum now, and you are constantly waiting for tours to walk pats and get out...
read moreLast day of the Rio De Janerio trip. I’ve finished with the day job and scuttled back to the hotel. All packed up, and head down to the lobby, meeting 2 friends and getting a car to take us to Corcovado, aka the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The plan is to go there, shoot for an hour through sunset and head to the airport for the flight home. The plan went very well. The weather held off and it is a fantastic place to visit. The statue is big, which you really don’t appreciate until you get close, and the view across the city is...
read moreMy first trip to Bucharest, Romania. It’s hot and trying to rain, just like Houston! I really wanted to get something distinctive in Bucharest, but I admit I struggled. I didn’t have a lot of time, and the city is challenging to capture a distinctive image. There is an awful lot of ugly concrete architecture, not much of a riverfront, no real CBD. There are a few outstanding and interesting buildings, but it doesn’t help that the city is flat, depriving any cityscape of texture and context. I didn’t even get a chance...
read moreBusiness took me to Rio for a few days. This is a fantastic city, one of the most interesting that I’ve been to in Latin America. Back in the early part of the century, I used to fly here on my way to the oilfields, but never had a chance to stop. This time I did manage to grab a sliver of time. Staying in a hotel near Copacabana beach, on a weather day, a friend and I decided that clouds would make the Statue of Christ a grey fog. That left Sugarloaf mountain. A short taxi ride later we’re at the base of the hill, and purchase...
read moreI had to go to Bogota on business and needed to try and get a better shot for my cities project. I had almost no free time, so accepted a kind offer to shoot from the El Nogal Club, which might have a good view of the city. Unfortunatly, terrace is on the wrong side and I didn’t get a great shot…. El Nogal has an interesting history, being the subject of a terrorist bombing in 2003. If I had time I would have gone for a shot of the building, providing I didn’t get hasseled by security . Alas, time and tides, etc., so...
read moreVienna has all sorts of hidden views. A beautiful spring day precludes walking through the underground tunnels of the metro system, and reveals the interesting. This edifice of ornate design, for a cafe and metro station, almost a confection in it’s presence. More to...
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