Door, Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, Spain
While the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba is famous for its intricate interior, with a Catholic Cathedral nested inside an old Islamic Mosque, the doors dotted around its outside walls harken back very clearly to the original owners of the building.
Elgol Beach, Isle of Skye
We only had time for a quick stop at Elgol, not enough time to even scratch the surface of the photographic possibilities of this tiny village, but I did pause to grab this picture as we walked back to our car.
One of the things I like about this image is its deceptive sense of scale – it isn’t until you know the two tiny dots directly under the large rock slab in the centre are people that you realise the rocks making up this beach aren’t pebbles, but boulders, and the Cuillin mountains towering in the background are a lot larger than you originally thought.
(See more pictures from the Isle of Skye on Journey Photographic)
La Salle Street Bridge, Chicago
On my recent trip to Chicago, I knew I wanted to get pictures of two things – the moveable bridges over the Chicago River, and the eclectic mix of architecture that makes up the cityscape. I was particularly pleased with the way this picture combined the two, especially since I’d been battling intermittent camera failure all day; this picture was captured during a brief resurrection before it finally gave up the ghost for the day. After some research, I did get it working again after I got home, but it might be time to start looking for a replacement…
Organist and Pipe Organ, Segovia Cathedral
When we visited the Segovia Cathedral, we were lucky enough to to hear this gentleman practicing on the cathedral’s pipe organ. I’m not sure I would have the self-confidence to play an instrument that required me to practice in front of hundreds of tourists, but perhaps that’s why I’m not a professional musician!
(See more pictures from Spain on Journey Photographic here)
Empire State, New York
One of the most difficult decisions of my recent trip to New York was choosing between the viewing platforms of the Rockefeller Centre and the Empire State Building – in the end, I decided no cityscape of New York was complete without the iconic Empire State, and headed up to the Top of the Rock.
The completely open top viewing platform of the “Top of the Rock’ was closed due to extremely high winds (even through the mostly-enclosed lower levels, you felt in danger of being blown away by particularly strong gusts), but by wedging the camera lens into the gaps between the barriers on the lower levels, it was possible to get clear shots obscured by the plexiglass shields. And yes, this did involved having to go right to the edge – far to close for my comfort, but these are the thing we do to get pictures!
Luskentyre dunes, Isle of Harris, Scotland
Luskentyre beach, on the west side of the Isle of Harris, is considered one of the best beaches in the UK, and for good reason – it was truly spectacular. That said, it was the high, grassy sand dunes at the northern end of the beach, looking out to the hills of Taransay and North Harris, that really caught my attention.
(See more pictures from the Outer Hebrides on Journey Photographic)
Looking Down (VII) (the view from a plane), USA
Aerial photography on a scheduled commercial flight must be one of the most frustrating photographic pursuits. You have no control over the subject, the time of day, or the perspective, shooting though tiny panes of thick, dirty plastic at a target that is constantly moving underneath you… when you think about it, getting any decent pictures at all is an indication of just how amazing our planet really is, when viewed from 30,000ft.
(See more aerial pictures from 30,000ft on Journey Photographic here)
