Cuban history in bricks and mortar..

Penultimate post on Cuba, I'm certainly going to miss looking at the blue skies in these photos compared with the constant grey sky and rain we've been experiencing for how long now!? Anyway, still this one and one other to go to help keep SAD away! Buildings were so ornate, yet so run down in some places, and everything had a lot of character. 

This is the Hotel Nacionale in Havana, as you can see, not run down like the photo before. This hotel was built by the Mafia and is an amazing building inside and out with beautiful gardens. A definite must if you find yourself in Havana.

This is the old wall that surrounded Havana. The wall was knocked down to enlarge the city but parts still remain such as this one and denote 'Old Havana'. 

Some of my favourite images from 2013!

As I start any new year I like to think about the things I have achieved in the previous 12 months. Reflection is really important. Sometimes time passes by so quickly that it's easy to forget all that you've achieved, even if it's only something little. You did it! And you should pat yourself on the back for it.  2013 really was a bumper year for me, I had work featured in online magazines, my first photo shoots, a new course started with The Photography Institute to name but a few and I have learnt a lot along the way. It's very easy to carry on and feel like you are not improving or getting anywhere. 

So this is my own little pat on the back and I hope you enjoy sharing it with me! 

Would love to hear what your favourite images of 2013 have been, post links and comments in the box below, here's to 2014! :)

Summertime in Brighton!

Yes you do detect a hint of sarcasm!! ;) It was my birthday in June and my lovely other half took me to Brighton for the day. I haven't been there for years so really looked forward to it, shame the weather was a bit grey. Who'd have thought it in June?! Here are a few of the images I took...

I really like the composition of this photo. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a child who'd been left alone on the beach on a pretty cold and wet day but I like the kind of solitude of it.

                                    

Random shabby looking bird that I found endearing.

Honestly can you believe this was taken on 12th June?! It could have been November looking at this photo! Love how the building disappears into a clouds.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed my day there. Must go back soon when it's a bit sunnier mind....!

Light trails

I really love long exposure shots and I have missed doing them! I love all the different effects you can create from doing them, the different moods you can impart on an image by using long exposure, the colours, the lines, love it all! There's a flyover near my house that I've had my eye on and with the long nights nearly behind us (we hope), there's not much time left! So here are a few of the shots from other night!

 And playing around with temperature settings on the camera...

Night life around London

Went out a few weeks ago with my photo buddy Keith around London to catch it at night. It was pretty cold and very wet but it was fun and actually the wet added to the feel of the night because the lights all reflected in the puddles and raindrops. Here's a few that made the final cut! 

Goodbye Goa!

Last post about Goa so it really does feel like my holiday is over now! These last two are just some images I was playing around with but I like them! So I hope you do too. :)

This photo was my first attempt at a panoramic shot. It's made up of 5 photos stitched together and I was pretty darn proud of it! 

And this one, as you can tell, is a triptych of the same fire artist eating fire. But again, just a wee little experiment that I liked the end results of! 

Old Goa and Panjim

For those of you who follow my Facebook page, you may have seen that I was in Goa for two weeks in January and boy, what a holiday it was! If you haven't been there before, I absolutely recommend you go there once in your life! The people are amazing, the food is amazing, the colours, the smells, everything, I can't speak of it highly enough.

Anyway, enough of my gushing! I have a few blogposts to share with you over the next few days of the various things I documented whilst over there. First up is Old Goa and Panjim. Just a quick history lesson. ;) Old Goa was the first territory that was colonised by the Portuguese in the 17th Century. Panjim is the state capital of Goa and many of the buildings still retain Portuguese charm with faded colour washed walls and Catholic churches. 

This is The St Francis of Assisi Church in Old Goa

  

And this is inside another church on the other side of the road; The Basilica of Bom Jesus. Inside this church, there is a tomb of St Francis Xavier, whose remains are said to have never fully decomposed! Nice.

These next photos were taken around Panjim.

Before I went away, a work colleague said if I went to Panjim, I had to go the Mandovi Hotel because it was like something from years gone by. It was very art deco, as you can tell by this photo!

I love the colours in this photo.