Flowers and nature from further afield..

So here it is, last post on Cuba but by no means least! And hopefully spring will start to appear outside and we might get to see that big round thing shining in the sky. I hope so otherwise I will be all over #throwbackthursday with blogposts of sunnier places!

Have a few more of these flowers but that's for another blog post in a few weeks time! Pretty flower though huh?

I hope you've enjoyed looking at my Cuba photos as much as I enjoyed taking them and being out there! 

Don't forget that all my images are available to buy in a variety of formats. Please get in contact for details or check the price tab at the top of the page. :)

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'. 

Humid Havana Nights

Havana by night is just as amazing as during the day. The locals go out and socialise, holiday makers are out sampling the local delights (rum, rum and more rum!) and there are people salsa dancing where ever you look. But before a night out, I always liked to soak up the last rays of the sun, well, I let my camera soak them up. Amazing how different sunsets are depending on where you are in the world!

This was taken on our balcony. Not a bad vista eh?!

This image hasn't been editing, how amazing is this?!

Love how the clouds look like a mountain range in these two sunset photos!

And would be rude for me not to include a few long exposures!

I'm still here!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to pop a wee post on here to say hello and let you know I haven't vanished off the face of the earth! It's been an absolutely manic few months personally and as such although I have lots of photos to share, time is pressing and I haven't had chance to put a post up.

That said, here's a little taster from Cuba, just to keep you going! Over 800 photos to go through )about a quarter of the way through!!!!) so you will have to bear with me in the build up to Xmas too but I will be back with posts galore before you know it!

Stay tuned for my post on my favourite images I've taken this year and what's to come next year. Until then, I hope you all have a really special Christmas with loved ones and friends, an amazing New Year and a happy and healthy 2014!

My Skydive!

As I'm sure ALL of you will know (!) I decided in March this year to do a skydive for charity. It's something I have always wanted to do but never had the guts to do it without the moral support of someone I know doing it too. Then at my day job one day, an email went round to see who might be interested in doing it for the two charities we are raising money for this year; Breast Cancer Campaign and Prostate Cancer UK. I literally jumped at the chance!

So, the date was set for 17th August and I'm not lying, I was super excited! As the day approached, I couldn't wait to do it. Then, the day before, work got a call cancelling all 50 of the jumps we had booked for the following day due to weather. I was devastated! I'd psyched myself up so much to do it and felt really deflated. BUT, I suddenly realised I didn't need the 50 other people at work to do it with me. I was more than happy to go it alone (well, with my boyfriend, mum and dad in tow!). 

So, I rebooked, 5th October was the day. So the day rolled round and I didn't flinch. Much to my surprise I was a cool as a cucumber, even in the plane up! It didn't feel real, I really didn't feel like 'wow, I'm about to jump out of a plane'. And then I did! It was amazing, exhilirating, like nothing I have ever done before! Someone told me it was like floating?! Nothing like it unless floating feels like travelling completely unprotected by anything at 200mph!

Well enough of my jabbering! Here are a few, ok, quite a lot, of photos from the day, obviously not taken by myself! Massive thanks to my mum, dad and boyfriend for supporting me on the day and HUGE THANK YOU 

to everyone who sponsored me! I raised a massive £760 all by myself thanks to you generous bunch! In addition to that, my work will double the money I raised, how amazing is that? One of the proudest achievements in my life.. And I might just have found my vocation in life.... Photographing other skydivers?! Imagine doing that 10 times a day? Watch this space! ;-)

And the link to the video I got some of these stills from is here.

Ok at this point I was like 'Whoa, I'm about to fall out of a plane and hurtle to the ground!'

Think my stomach got stuck up by the plane at this point!