Travel & Humanitarian Photos
On 16th February the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Act will bring amendments to the Terrorism Act of 2000 which will further increase Police powers. The new rules make it unlawful to “elicit or attempt to elicit information about [members of armed forces] … which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or [...]
I had a really nice day yesterday, wandering through some of my favourite Bangkok photo haunts during a Bangkok Insider Photo Tour. The Pak Klong Talat market has become a much-loved location and I can never resist a visit there but I really appreciated the market traders’ gentle generosity even more than usual yesterday. I [...]
Occasionally a weekend will come and go which leaves you with a warm glow inside. This has been such a weekend. I’ve known David duChemin and Matt Brandon for a while now but until Friday night it had been an entirely virtual relationship, carried out across continents via the wonders of the Internet. David is [...]
Crossing the border from Laos to Thailand was straightforward and relatively swift so there was time to play at Nong Khai station before boarding the overnight sleeper back to Bangkok. This seemed to be the only train coming through the station that evening and it was there hours before departure time, giving me the opportunity [...]
I think of all Vientiane’s beautiful temples, Wat Si Saket is by far my favourite. The Lonely Planet guide suggests that it is “in dire need of a face-lift” but I have to disagree. I think that some things are best left and seeing the temple spruced up would remove the essence of what makes [...]
Laos’ most important national momument is Pha Chedi Lokajulamani, “World Precious Sacred Stupa”, and representations of the golden stupa appear on the national seal, currency, postage stamps, Laos TV idents and countless other places. The stupa is built on the site of a former Khmer temple which dates back to the 11th century and is [...]
My photographic guide to Morocco’s capital city, Marrakech, appears in the current edition of Digital Photographer magazine, which seems to get better with every edition. In all good newsagents now!
I’m just about to jump in a tuk-tuk and head to Friendship Bridge before beginning the overnight journey back to Bangkok but thought you’d enjoy these two samples of Laotian fare: spicy sausages wrapped in banana leaves and some kind of frog or toad, ready for roasting. Gentle reader, I must report that I declined [...]
It’s been over five years since I last came to Vientiane in Laos and things have clearly been changing. The hotels are more in number and the new ones are modern and swish. The little JoMa cafe which was once a candidate for “Best cafe in the world” with its rustic charm, freshly-baked pastries and [...]
The overnight sleeper train from Bangkok (Hualamphong Station) to Nong Khai is a popular and inexpensive way for people to travel from Thailand to Laos. The First Class sleeper consists of just two fold-up beds in a lockable compartment with a small sink and firmly locked windows. Unfortunately, it’s winter in Thailand at the moment [...]
I spent a very enjoyable morning with a past workshop participant at the weekend. Young Irene dropped me an e-mail to ask if I’d like to join her on a photo walk around Bangkok’s Chinatown and we had a really productive time. Looking at the images from our Sunday morning expedition they seemed to deserve [...]
The other variation on this is when people see you with a big camera and declare “Wow! That’s a nice camera, I bet it takes great pictures”. Tsk!
Not before time, the UK police are now provided with guidelines on the laws regarding photography in public places. After numerous examples of officers over-stretching their authority and abusing Stop and Search powers, they are now clearly reminded that the Terrorism Act should only be invoked in exceptional circumstances, not to prevent photographers from exercising [...]
The Travellers Tales Festival takes place at London’s Royal Geographical Society from 28 February to 1 March. It’s not an event that I’ve heard of before, perhaps this is the first year? If so then the list of Guest Speakers is wildly impressive. How’s this for a list: Don McCullin Steve McCurry Colin Thubron John [...]
Owners of shiny new Canon 5D MKIIs (Tewfic, David, Matt, Barry, Andrew et al, you know who you are) will want to download the fix for the camera’s black dot glitch. The Firmware update also fixes the vertical banding problem found when shooting sRAW. Canon EOS 5D MKII Firmware Download
I don’t know why I’m coming to JPG magazine so late in the day. Indeed, not just late in the day but actually long after dark. The online magazine has shut down this month. Rob Haggart has, as is often the case, an interesting take on the concept of web versus printed magazines and his [...]
The current edition of the excellent Canon EOS magazine carries my tutorial on the production of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. Firstly, let me just say that if you’re a Canon user and don’t subscribe to EOS then it’s well worth considering. I’ve been a reader of the magazine since before I started working as [...]
A trip up the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok is one of my favourite journeys in the world. I’m at a loss to be able to explain why, to be honest. Bangkok doesn’t have the iconic landmarks on offer beside the Thames or the Seine and the Chao Phraya doesn’t have the spritual associations of [...]
If you’ve come anywhere near an Internet-enabled computer in the last two years you will undoubtedly have enjoyed Matt Harding’s dancing travel videos. Well, after the New York Times declared Matt’s Dancing video to be an “almost perfect piece of Internet art”, World Hum have just announced that Matt is their Traveller of the Year [...]
I mentioned at the end of 2008 that I’ve been working on a number of exciting projects for ’09 and I’m pleased to be able to announce the first of those already. What a great start to the year! I’m launching a series of photographic classes under the umbrella of the Bangkok Photo School. I [...]
I’ve enjoyed leading a few Bangkok Photo Workshops recently and have invariably been impressed with the level of the participants’ expertise and especially with their level of enthusiasm. Most recently I spent the morning with the effervescent Suzanne exploring the Pak Klong Talaat market, photographing the impressive reclining Buddha in Wat Pho and, finally, capturing [...]
The first free desktop wallpaper of the year shows the often overlooked Humayun’s Tomb in Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. Humayun’s Tomb has similar Mughal stylings to the Taj Mahal although its construction was completed over sixty years before Shah Jahan began to sketch out plans for his monument to enduring love. If you ever visit Delhi [...]