Youthful exuberance

Just look at that kid....not a care in the world. I've only got vague memories of my life at that age but i certainly remember a time when life was much simpler than it is now. I think this image speaks of an excitement and innocent happiness that we could all use a little of.

Dawn glow

He's baaack! As promised, heres a dawn shot i managed to capture while driving back to Veracruz. No, its none of your business what i was doing driving back at that time. I asked a few people where they thought the shot was taken and not surprisingly, no one came up with gas station....lol. Well, thats where i was when i noticed the sky. Naturally, i've processed the shot to obtain my desired effect. How do you like it?

Portrait of a Papagayo

The Papagayo is a species of bird native to these parts. It is also known as a Guacamaya and comes in two varieties, Guacamaya Roja and Verde. They are fairly large birds and have an amazingly raucous cry. Due to their colourful plumage, they are quite pleasing to observe and photograph. This one is a head shot so the colourful plumage isn't clearly visible but i might put another shot up later...

P.s It has come to my attention that not everyone is aware they can click on the images on the page to view a larger version. Have fun!

Twilight in the city

I'm in a hurry so none of the usual spiel. Here is another cityscape from my current home. I like the colors and the static activity in the shot. As always, i'd like to know what you think.

Tortuga

I'm taking a break from the landscape shots but never fear, there is more where they came from. This one is an old photo i took at the local aquarium months ago. I chased this fella around for about half an hour before i could get a decent shot as they are far from slow when underwater. Yes i'm aware of the relatively thin dof but i had to shoot wide open to avoid motion blur!

Storm and Sun

As promised, here is another nature shot with a different feel to the others. Rather than the usual peaceful vibe that sunsets invoke, this one gives the impression of turmoil (to me at least). Those dark clouds are storm clouds (and it turned out to be quite a storm) trying to suppress the splendour of the sunset.

For those commenting that i have much more sunsets than sunrises, whats your point exactly? Well, the reason is self evident isn't it? Anyhow, look out for a sunrise coming soon to your screens....

El Malecon

I promised a few landscape shots and heres another (albeit manmade). This one is of a short stretch of the waterfront in Veracruz city at night. Its commonly called the malecon by us locals...hehe. The waterfront is hugely popular here as a spot to hang out with 'friends' or friends and also just to chill out and enjoy the view.

Explosion of Color

After what seems like forever, i've returned to update my weak attempt at a photo blog. This is the first in what will probably be a lot of landscape shots (mostly sunrises and sunsets) taken in Mexico (yes i'm still here). Still needs work but i thought i'd throw it out there and wait for comments. Hope you enjoy....

Aves

This shot is from a recent trip to the zoo. It was a complete rip-off! No photos allowed in the reptile exhibit and most of the animals asleep or absent. I felt so cheated that i had half a mind to demand a refund. On the other hand i had the wrong lens at hand as well so i'd probably have been more annoyed if they had delivered. This is one of the shots i've managed to salvage from the trip. I think i'm coming down with a serious case of lens lust!

Teotihuacan

I was finally able to check out these pyramids. Man! Were they impressive! At about 200 feet, they certainly won't compare to today's skyscrapers but consider that they were built by hand and you begin to appreciate the years of effort that went into the city. Halfway up the second pyramid, limbs trembling and painfully out of breath, i discovered why the city was abandoned. Who the heck wants to climb up those things several times a day at those altitudes?!!

Natural colour II

I'm not very fond of bugs but they make good macro subjects. I almost missed this one because i thought it was a leaf until he flapped his wings. Shots like this are why i'm not rushing out to buy a dslr. No way i'd have caught this with one of those monsters. Enjoy...

Vistas II

Theres just something arresting about tree silhouettes...

Adrenaline junkie?

In my time i've come across quite a few adrenaline junkies. Those thrill seekers who seek out the most horrific rollercoaster rides and some even participate in extreme sports. I've always liked a nice thrilling rollercoaster ride but consider myself more sensible than the group mentioned above.

Today i was on a commercial flight in one of those little 'twelve row' planes with propellers. The flight was of the vanilla variety until we hit some turbulence. Those that know me can testify that i've done A LOT of flying and i assure you i've experienced my share of turbulence. Let me admit that today's was by far the worst yet. During one particularly bad patch, the plane dropped about 10 feet in moments. I know it was pretty bad because when my very loosely fastened seatbelt halted my motion towards the ceiling of the plane, my (possibly soiled) pants were no longer in contact with my seat.

Amid the cries of alarm and terror i could hear two people laughing. It took me a few moments to still my racing pulse and realise that one of those voices was mine. Needless to say i was drawing strange looks from the other passengers who must have thought i was out of my mind. Worryingly, i believe the other person laughing was actually thrilled! WTF?! How the heck does someone find the feeling of your kidneys and liver smacking into the roof of your mouth pleasurable?

Gradually the turbulence passed and some of the passengers broke out in smiles and laughter of relief. This is a completely natural way to relieve tension. The only comment the passenger beside me made was that i must be addicted to rollercoaster rides. She had assumed that i was completely unafraid during the incident. I almost took offense until i realised that of course, she was unaware that it was nervous laughter and also (thankfully) couldn't see my pants. The rest of the flight was spent reflecting on the insanity of thrill seekers (and cleaning my pants).

Vistas

I thought i had decided that wherever i settle down (if i ever do..hehe) would need to be in fairly close proximity to a beach. The next shot makes me think that mountains aren't so bad either. Hmm..wonder if i can get both.

Mexican sunsets

Had to put these up. Eat your hearts out...hehe

Rodeo II

Heres another shot that i found highly entertaining...

Rodeo

Hello there. Yeah its another tardy update. Recently watched my first rodeo show and loved it. Of course given my location it had to have a twist. I got to chatting with one of the rodeo families and discovered there is actually quite a rich history behind it (goes beyond breeding and riding horses). However, all my dreams of rodeo glory evaporated when i noticed the number of 'mobility challenged' veterans around. No they were not born that way. Just forget about being a rodeo cowboy/girl and just enjoy the shots.

Sailing into the sunset

You´re getting a double whammy today because i haven´t updated regularly (like thats a surprise!) and because the previous candid is just not my style. Had to put up something that i liked....

Comfort

We've all been there at some time or the other in our lives. Its not always our mothers but the need is the same. This could get really cheesy so i'll stop here and wait for your comments on my first candid portrait.

London blues

Thoughts of London frequently evoke images of cold grey skies and matching inhabitants. I like this shot because you seldom get to see this in London outside of summer (yes i know its not a 'real' summer). FYI this was taken in the middle of winter. No comments on the inhabitants...

Closer to heaven

Another airplane shot that turned out better than i expected. I think the title says enough so i'll let the shot tell its story. Just a final note; i was coerced to use the title so please no hate mail.

Serenity revisited

Hello devoted fans! I apologise for the lack of recent updates but things have been a bit wild here. I'll try to make up for it however in the next few days. Due to popular demand i've cropped the plane engine out of the serenity photo. Now stop whining!

Serenity

Today we've got something a bit different. Just in case some of you (somehow) don't get it, theres a clue in the bottom right. This was taken on a recent trip and the title popped into my head right after i captured this one. I did some minimal tweaking to adjust the colours but i'm not completely satisfied with the results. For those with unresolved issues (you know who you are) this photo should help with the sessions.

Ahoy!

Anyone of you ever wanted to be a sailor? I've spent a lot of time at sea and have certainly thought of it. Theres something majestic and calming about the sea (unless you're caught in a storm or succeptible to sea-sickness) thats almost hypnotic. I think i'd like a boat for when i want to get away from it all but probably wouldn't like to be away from land for extended periods. Anyways, hope you enjoy the photo.

Aquarium revisited

Following a comment on this photo, i went back and did some post processing to correct the colour tinge. The result isn't what i saw at the aquarium but what i'd probably have gotten if the lighting was different. Strangely, i'm not sure i prefer it to the 'tinged' version. What do you think?

Bokeh?

I've gone and done the obligatory flower shot so now i guess i'm a convicted photo-blogger. This capture was part of an experiment with depth of field in P&S cameras. D.O.F is relatively limited in DSLRs and hence the all important bokeh is not the most difficult effect to achieve. Its a bit of a feat to achieve this effect with your standard P&S. I think this came out relatively well but of course your comments and criticisms are welcome...

Are they gone?

When i saw this next fella, i almost burst out laughing because he looked so furtive. He was slowly creeping out of his little cave and could be clearly seen eyeballing the area. Luckily, since he was moving so slowly, i was able to get a few decent shots of him before the horde of wildly cackling demons chased me away. Yes i'm sure they were actually demons disguised as harmless schoolkids, what do you take me for?

Anyway, for all the critics out there, keep the comments coming but know that i'm now moderating comments....muahahahaha

Sadly the lion isn't always king...

This next one is my favourite photo from a local aquarium. Its a species of lionfish that unlike his more famous cousin, (given some of the other aquatic specimens i saw) is far from king of the jungle. As an aside, the aquarium trip taught me a lot about the limitations of my camera (and photography) and i've encouraged (okay challenged:p) my friends to make a similar trip and see what the results are.

Is this turning into a photo blog?

Mexican sunrise

Given the content of the capture, its not the most imaginative of titles but thats beside the point. A lot of you already know how fond i am of colour in my images. It certainly doesn't look it but this was taken in the Gulf of Mexico in some of the most unromantic surroundings imaginable. Lovely sunrise, shame about the company...

Natural colours

For me this image is all about the colours...that and the fact that it was kinda an accidental capture. Just a simple tree really; can you spot the little green men in there?

Stormy

I look at this image and thats the word that springs to mind. Its actually part of a series that started off as a moon and sun shot in the same frame (taken at about 9am). I've played with the image a bit to bring out the colors i wanted. Hope you enjoy...

Finally...

I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates so far. My muse appears to have deserted me for the moment so no more scintillating articles till further notice. In the meantime you'll just have to make do with a few photos. Here's the first ....

Moving house

There are few experiences in life as frustrating as moving house. I've done it three times in ten years and i can tell you i'm in no great hurry to go through it again. My last move was slightly less painful than the others partly because i had grown to hate the place and partly because i had my sister do most of it...hehe.

Anyway, this is just a long winded way of admitting that i've caved in to pressure and decided to move my ramblings and shameful photography from my msn space to a more reliable host. There will be several posts a day until my gargantuan (who the heck came up with that word?) blog has been transferred; You there! stop smirking, no one likes a smart ass.

I really hope this is the last time but if not, i know a certain web geek whose arm i can twist next time:D

Road etiquette

During my first month in Mexico, I made an interesting realisation. Fellow travellers would have noticed that every country (indeed city) has a distinct driving style that offers some insight into its inhabitants. I hasten to add that due to their 'unique' mental and personality patterns, taxi and bus drivers must be exempt from this generalisation. Without doubt they provide ample proof that not all of the society's dangerously insane are safe within padded cells. More on this later on.

Civilised (yes, you see how I cleverly eliminated the French and Italians) europeans use the the horn only in the most dire of emergencies and consider its use for such trivialities as telling that ingrate to get out of your way not just a form of road rage but almost as demeaning as wearing speedos in public. In other parts of the world, the language of the horn is almost a national dialect. What I observed in Mexico is the horn's use as a form of flattery.

Attractive female (think Jessica Alba) walking down the street; what does the male driver do? Honk. Pan to hot male (okay okay, me) sauntering along; female driver does what? Honks! This is what ups the ante over here. Male and female drivers using the same signals to convey admiration gives it the legitimacy of a true language. Whats more, the reactions of the pedestrians here are similarly different from elsewhere. Try this in London and you get that favourite digit waved in your face. Over here, you get a look and a smile and sometimes even a wave

So what does this tell us about societal differencies and the underlying cultural forces, thats for you to mull on. For my part i just wanted to waste another five minutes of your time.

Have a good one.

New experiences

Sometime around 2 a.m a couple of days ago i'm lying in bed pondering the meaning of life and other such weighty issues when the wall i'm staring at seems to move sideways. My first thought is that i'm really asleep and this is some sort of surreal dream. However, a crash from upstairs and the faint sound of a baby's cries from somewhere in the building convince me that i'm awake.

Some of you will already have guessed what became apparent to me as the seconds ticked by; Yes folks, i'd just experienced my first earthquake. I briefly wondered what the prudent thing to do would be then decided that as my apartment was on the first floor, I could easily jump off the balcony should things take a turn for the worse.

As i lay there listening to the neighbours soothing the baby back to sleep, I decided that judging from all the footage i'd seen on tv, this must be a relatively slight tremor. It only lasted about 20 seconds but by the end i'd concluded that not only is Africa extremely fortunate but perhaps the relative absence of a fear of sudden and cataclysmic natural disasters has contributed to our quintessentially laid back attitude to life. With that on my mind, I drifted back into my favourite dream (more on that some other time).