THE SHOT
As a photographer, there are images you take that mean more to you than others.There’s a variety of reasons for this. It could be that the image is significant to you because of your personal attachment to the subject matter, it could be that the photograph reminds you about a time in your life that’s important, or it could be that you are pleased with the composition and exposure of the image.
The purpose behind this page is simply to display some of these images that the photographer thinks can be given the title of “the shot”.
Stained Glass
I love stained glass. It doesn’t matter whether it is in an old building window or door, or in a church, I admire the skill of the crafts-people and the effect that the light through the window creates. This image from the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, while featuring the window, also shows the effect of the light on the surrounding stone work. So for me, it gets a tick as a “shot”.
You can read more about the basilica.
Waiting for Richard
This photo is from a visit to Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia. My friend Ben and I were on a day trek to climb Cradle Mountain, Ben out front and me bringing up a long rear. My only excuse (apart from a lack of fitness) was that I was carrying about 12 kgs of camera gear – but we did make it to the top. This photo was taken as we approached the climb to the top. You can see Ben waiting for me in the lower-left corner of the photo. There are a couple of hikers’ packs on the ground outside the shelter, and the bulk of Cradle Mountain looms in the top left of the image.
Well Dressed in Paris
I’m a bit of a people watcher. I love sitting in the parks or squares of big cities and just watching the world go by. Wondering about what people are doing, where they are going, who they are, what problems they might have, how their life has been This gentleman caught my eye one day in the Square Léopold-Achille in the Marais area of Paris. He is obviously off to an important engagement, or maybe he just dresses like that every day. In any case, I enjoyed my thoughts about who he was and how important he might be – it’s fun!
On Top of the Ridge
I took this photo when we went on the Ridge Top Tour in the ancient Australian outback area of Akaroola. We were based at Rawnsley Park Station which is just South of Wilpena Pound and we had taken a small plane ride to Arkaoola to join the four-wheel drive trip out into the Arkaroola wilderness.
The last bit of the trip was to climb one of the high ridges that criss-cross this country to get a view over the landscape. And then the clouds came in. Maybe it was disappointing that we didn’t get the full view, but the mist just seemed to enhance the mystery of this ancient place.
Sailing to the Holy Mountain
The only way to enter the Orthodox Church's territory of Mt Athos is by boat. The trip, for some, is akin to making a trip to Mecca. Pilgrims are allowed to stay in the territory for three nights.They stay at one of the twenty monasteries on the Greek peninsular, Some of these monasteries have had up to 5000 monks in residence, but now most of the communities are quite small.
It's a real privilege to be able to visit this unique area. Only men can visit, so Jenny stayed with a friend in Thessaloniki. My visit was an experience I will never forget and this photo is a great reminder of the anticipation I had as we sailed towards the Holy Mountain.
You can read about my trip.
Herding on the Tataouine plain, Tunisia
Jenny and I had hired a car in Djerba, Tunisia so we could visit Ksar Ouled Soltaine and a few of the other ancient Berber villages. We had had a great day and were on our way home on a lonely road miles from anywhere and we came across this shepherd with his dog and about 30 sheep.
We had had a day of looking at old deserted villages and this scene just topped it off. It could have been from a time centuries ago. A lonely herder looking after his small flock as they picked their way across a dry plain. I was pleased I stopped the car to get "the shot".
Berbers have lived on the Tataouine plain in Southern Tunisia for thousands of years. Many traditional Berbers raise sheep and cattle with some agriculture including grains and olives. The Berbers living in the Saharan region were nomadic, while those in the Northern parts of Africa established villages often built on higher hills or mountains where they could be more easily defended. The Romans brought Christianity to Northern Africa in the first and second centuries and then the Arabs conquered the area and introduced Islam.
You can read more about the area where this photo was taken.