A photo challenge sometimes entered weekly, sometimes monthly, it depends on what photos I have available. It also means thinking outside the box sometimes and I confess I’m not great at doing that.
Like many people, I hesitate to photograph people without their knowledge. Sometimes, if the mood is right, I ask permission, but then the people invariably strike poses or give an embarrassed smile for the camera. So, the few I have are usually street scenes or action scenes. Some I feel I couldn’t display publicly as they could be misinterpreted, have vulnerable children in them, or are otherwise not suitable. Below are some I hope fit the challenge and I have captioned them.
My one and only balloon trip was over the vineyards of Rioja and the town of Lograno in Northern Spain. It was both exhilarating and exciting but I’m not sure I would do it again! It was dark when we got to the spot and dawn was just breaking when we took off – it was magical, wonderful, and a time I shall always remember.
Here are a few photographs of the Ascent.
I apologise to the readers, I cannot get rid of the white space between two of the photographs. I shall have to work on this and try and re-edit.
A misty morning on the pedestrianised bridge over the Lake of the Restored Sword in Hanoi, Vietnam.
They assured me I could walk in safety here but I chickened out when I saw the railway line running down the middle of the street. Unfortunately, it also started me humming The Railroad Runs Through the Middle of the House, which my grandfather used to sing, and it stayed with me for days.
Both my ‘texture’ pictures come from Bratislava, a lovely city where old traditions are still honoured, lace making is still practised by ladies who sit in the square with their spools of white cotton, and where the coffee house is an institution.
This first picture definitely reminds me of texture. Before visiting I had read about the fabulous Bratislava chocolate and couldn’t wait to try it. It was a cold, rainy day and I was looking forward to some hot drinking chocolate with a dollop of cream on top. No one had told me that it is a liquid chocolate eaten with a spoon. Texture.
My second texture is also nostalgic. This was a sweet-shop in the centre of town with an array of boiled sweets, caramels, toffees and chocolates, that so reminded me of my childhood. I could taste the texture of the clove sweets, the bullseyes, and the fruit caramels but I ended up buying some delicious chocolates. You guessed it, I’m a chocoholic.
I couldn’t resist this one. I also saw it printed in very large white letters on a wall in the downtown area but it was in an area in which one felt uneasy taking photos so I didn’t even take my camera out.
It reminded me that we once had notices all over the place, including buses and trains, that said: “Do Not Spit”. How times have changed.
Just literally bridges. I thought of all sorts of ways in which to interpret the challenge, but when I started looking through my photos I decided to go with the obvious. It’s too hot for serious thinking today, so here is a selection of some of my favourite bridges.
Above – Sur le Pont d’Avignon
Amsterdam, Triana Bridge Spain, and Ponte Vecchio Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy: Pisa, Italy: and the famous painted bridge at Lucerne, Switzerland
La Somail, France, Linked houses in Strasboug, Williamstad, Curaco from our cargo boat.
The Daddy of them all – the bridge at Avignon, France.
Surprises come in many forms and here are three of mine.
In Cyprus recently, I was surprised, and pleased, that the island wasn’t trying to hide its revolutionary past. This bronze grouping was perfectly placed to remind people of what the island had gone through to achieve it’s current tentative peace.
The beauty of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto, Japan, should not have surprised me but it did. A cool, calm, oasis of tranquillity in the midst of a busy city it had a calming effect on everyone. I noticed that even mobile phones were less in use here than elsewhere – how’s that for peace!
The blue sky through my cherry blossom is enough to put an idiotic smile on my face and make me feel really good. How beautiful is that sky and how perfect the flowers.
Shine can have many meanings: a high gloss polish, a brilliant lacquer finish, a light on a mirror, moonlight on water, a child’s freshly washed face before bedtime any or all of these can be offered. I’ve found one or two that fitted these categories but they weren’t my favourites, instead, I’ve gone for the photographs below.
The first ‘Shine’ is the colourful and exquisite marble floor of the covered-in Galleria Emmanuelle in Milano, the trendy, upmarket shopping area that stretches from the famous Duomo to the Opera House. All the top-named brands have shops here (dare one call them shops, I wonder?) and apart from the gloss of the beautiful marble, the whole place has a ‘shininess’ that seems part of this monied world.
Exquisite marble floor of the Galleria Emmanuelle in Milano – Mari Nicholson
And now for something completely different. The photograph below was taken when I visited a workshop outside Hanoi where dedicated instructors were teaching children who had been injured by landmines in Vietnam, a trade that would eventually enable them to work in the world outside. The glass jar on the table is full of wafer-thin sheets of gold leaf and this young girl is painstakingly applying it to parts of a picture.
Vietnam, Applying gold leaf to a picture to make it shine.
On on the same trip in S.E. Asia, in Cambodia, we came across a school .with something of the same idea. A group of young students were being taught how to use gold leaf on religious icons, how to make Buddha statues, how to do intricate woodwork etc. To me, it seemed incredibly difficult and needing great patience, but the ever-smiling children assured me it was easy for them and better than working in the rice fields where they never had enough to eat.
And what is nicer than a sunset with the falling sun shining on the water, the rustle of palm trees, and the lap of the waves.
And lastly, probably the best shine of all, the moon on the water, in this case a silvery moon that turned the sea a shiny gunmetal grey that could have been anywhere but was actually in a tropical land.
“Any place I hang my hat is home”, or so the old song goes and this is almost true for me. I seem to be able to settle in any location and feel instantly at home – even on holiday. Feet under the table, a few friends around, some olives and some wine to keep the conversation flowing, and I’m happy.
That’s not to say, however, that certain places don’t take precedence, one of which is my permanent home now and has been for many years, the Isle of Wight, and the other is my childhood home in Northern Ireland. These definitely represent home to me.
Starting from childhood:
Growing up I may have spent too much time in this pub, for the craic and the wild music – Photo Mari Nicholson
Another favourite pub in Belfast – Kelly’s Cellars – famous for its Guinness. Photo Mari Nicholson
Now I live near the sea, in this town, a favourite of many people some of whom visited it for the first time on a school trip. The weather is usually good, we seldom see snow, the beaches are clean and safe, and the walking is superb.
It’s a place of thatched cottages, thatched pubs and even a thatched church Photos Mari Nicholson
MARI'S TRAVELS WITH HER CAMERA 