Street Light Photography, Xi’an
Not sure how this look on the average desktop monitor, I imagine the details might get lost in the darkness due to my reliance on some fluorescent lamps for lighting. Taken in Xi’an China, with my travelling friend Ricky undertaking deliberation duties. The white background of the site does absolutely nothing for the photograph admittedly, one must enlarge!
Over the Hills and Far Away, Scotland
Due to sunshine being somewhat intermittent over the west of Scotland, it is decreed that when it arrives, it is duly welcomed with open arms by all; and last week – with arms open – I was able to go up through the fields armed with my camera. Not exactly the Led Zeppelin journey I allude to in my title.
It is somewhat refreshing to find yourself in complete isolation from the background noises we so typically find ourselves encompassed by. No cars, no computers and no people. In Scotland at least, if you want to get away from it, the fields are your answer!
Naturally over time, these fields fall into a state of desuetude, and its with this they gain a somewhat unique charm, serving as a sort of timestamp for many years before. These poles above, long since serving any actual purpose, can stand to represent something completely different than originally set out.
Wat Pho, Bangkok
Situated next to the King’s Grand Palace in Bangkok, Wat Pho temple is famously known as the home to the world’s largest reclining Buddha. Prominently fixed throughout these beautiful golden leafed pillars displayed above however, are hundreds of ancient marble tablets, giving unique insight into the understanding of the human anatomy displayed by their engravers 200 years previously. The amazing thing being that even today, the material displayed is still being used to educate tomorrow’s generation.
Sightseeing at the Bund
Usually, leaving your shutter open freehand whilst on a moving platform can only be a recipe for disaster, but utlising such techniques whilst crossing the most surreal attraction the Shanghai tourist board has to offer can create somewhat unique results.
The Bund sightseeing tunnel contains everything you would expect… well everything except actual sights that is. After a hefty admission fee, you are bundled into a small compartment and transported underneath the Huangpu river, where for the next few minutes you are treated to a psychedelic light spectacular, complete with kamikaze blow up dolls popping up in front of the compartments, prepared to meet their ultimate demise. I could dress it up a bit more, but literally that is the offering. No sights, no purpose and no refunds!
From a concept perspective, you can’t help but scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking when they created it, but despite my cynicism, it still provided an experience I’d likely not come across anywhere else in the country, and in between the shock/laughter I was atleast able to capture a few unique photos. The image captured above is how the camera seen it, with no post processing done. I’ll hazard a guess and say there is probably not too many places you can capture an image like this!
Crocodile Farm, Mekong Delta
I stumbled across this crocodile farm whilst travelling down to see some of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Unfortunately, you can’t really tuck into some crocodile meat or grab yourself a nice skinned purse when the production line is so visible to the eye.
The image itself doesn’t really have a focal point, and your eye isn’t really drawn anywhere; which is actually the thing I find so interesting about the photo. How can 30+ crocodiles blend so seamlessly into one shot? You eventually scan over the photo and all you can catch are a set of eyes here and there, set amongst a sea of vintage purses and exclusive bags.
Cao Dai Temple, Vietnam
I captured this picture last year at a midday prayer meeting at the Cao Dai Temple, a few hours drive from Saigon. With the exception of the priests who are dressed in vibrant red, yellow and blue – colours which represent the Buddhism, Taoism and Catholicism aspects of the religion - all the followers are dressed top to bottom in white.
For me, it is this sequence of white along with the almost perfect positioning of the followers which really makes the image. I wish I could’ve taken more pictures of the meeting but due to the location, was only able to stay for 45 minutes or so. It was however a fantastic, if somewhat brief, insight into new religion. I’d bore you with the details but recommend a wiki trip instead.
Lijiang, China
Last year I was lucky enough to spend 6 weeks travelling in China, which, despite its overly enthusiastic officials and utter disregard for Lonely Planet maps (I’m looking at you Taiwan) has to be the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited.
From the east to the west of the country, the culture of the people and the setting is hugely dynamic and so untypical of many countries today. I captured the picture above in Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is situated on the trail to Tibet in Yunnan province.
At the time, I didn’t really think much about the photo, but after getting back home and looking through my images, I found there was something about this forlorn figure, sitting idly whilst streams of people passed by, that really resonated with me.