Archive for the ‘landscape & travel photography’ Category

Wedding Engagement Photos at Selfoss Waterfall in Iceland

Saturday, February 13th, 2016
Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

This happy couple met me in the UK when they stayed as guests in my house through Airbnb.  A few months later they contacted me to let me now that they were getting married in Iceland – secretly without any wedding guests at all.  I was delighted to be invited to be their wedding photographer – and their witness! Reportage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reportage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reprtage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Reportage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

Selfoss waterfal on a rainy day in Iceland

Reportage rather than posed engagement photos in Iceland on a rainy October day at Selfoss waterfall.

 

For more info contact Elaine via Reel Life Photos Website

 

 

 

International wedding photographers course in Egypt

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Arched windows in Sofitel Hotel Taba Heights Egypt

Sofitel, Taba Heights, Egypt – has amazing architecture!

Wedding Photographers Elaine and Julie are just back from 2 weeks away, after attending an International photographers’ course there, thus missing all the snow and chaos in the UK!

!beautiful blue sky with one striking white cloud above palm tree Taba Heights Golf Course

for landscape & architectural photography in Egypt see Travel Section :

http://www.reellifephotos.silkstream.org/online/index.php?category=Travel+pictures

+world+wide+destinations

picture of the Coloured Canyon near Nueiba in Sinai Egypt

Coloured Canyon, Sinai.

Wedding photos below this entry…

Reel Life Photos International wedding photographer in Cairo Egypt

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

Reel Life Photos wedding photographer in Cairo Egypt

Picture of Elaine & an Egyptian girl in Cairo taken by her little sister!

Just arrived today in Egypt to cover an Egyptian clients wedding in El Minya. Couldn’t resist taking a few interesting travel pics along the way though. See

http://www.reellifephotos.silkstream.org/online/index.php?category=Travel+pictures+world+wide+destinations
for the whole lot.

On arrival at the customs exit of the airport, amidst all the unruly jostling crowds, an Egyptian with an official name tag did the usual offering to find you to a hotel script, but since I had nothing planned anywhere, accepted the travel agents offer and ended up being delivered in person to the hotel of my choice – a budget hostel in Downtown Cairo called New Palace Hotel.

View from the balcony of New Palace Hotel

View from the balcony of New Palace Hotel in Cairo Egypt

local Egyptians in downtown Cairo

Downtown Cairo

An Egyptian’s pride and Joy

classic American car in Cairo

Well its now day two in Cairo so have a look at the rest of the pics here: http://www.reellifephotos.silkstream.org/online/view.php?main_pagesize=48&flag=view&section_id=1502

New Palace Hotel rooftop cafe in Cairo

Rooftop garden cafe at New Palace Hotel

Had a lovely meal – for just over £1- (10 Egyptian pounds), with fish, tomato & cucumber salad, aubergines, rice, pitta bread and Tahini: very spicy, but typically Egyptian. I’m sure you would love it here – the street life, full of colour at night and everyone sitting out of doors. The down side is the drivers are crazy- weaving in and out all over the place tooting their horns all day and night, missing pedestrians by millimetres – literally!

Am going to see the nearest Pyramid and Sphinx tomorrow. Have hired a private driver-taxi so will be safe: its £20 but worth it, as I would never find it using public transport: Cairo is HUGE! The cars all spew out soot and black exhaust fumes but its good round where I am staying though.

 

 

Egyptian girls dancing on boat on river Nile

 

 

 

 

 

Egyptian girls dancing on boat on river Nile

Had a little boat trip tonight – on the river Nile – one where all the young people go and dance to Arabic music – like in a wedding.

 

A man selling tea on the boat, before it set off ripped me off as should have brought my change from £1 (10 Egyptian pounds), said he would come back with the 6 Egyptian pounds – but he didn’t!. Still it was only peanuts, and he would be very happy now! Otherwise all has been very good.

Reel Life Photos team arrives in Southern Ireland for a wedding in St Aidan’s Cathedral

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

The ferry crossing from Holyhead to Dublin sent our wedding photographer Julie crashing to her knees, skidding across the spray-sloshed deck like a rag doll, but in the end she made it safely down below: I had to stay on deck though, as didn’t want to waste the recent picnic by regurgitating it for the seagulls!

 Irish roadside friut and veg stall  Our first impressions of Ireland are happy ones, despite the driving rain, as we passed roadside stalls selling strawberries  and potatoes, 

Southern Irish Strawberries

discovered a home from home B&B – Hillside House in Gorey, County Wexford – and found everyone so friendly along the way.

view from Hillside B&B in Gorey Souhern Ireland 

View from Hillside  House B& B which is highly recommended by Reel Life Photos for service and location!

This dog seemed quite at home in his owner’s cab,

Dog in Irish Truck Cab

Love the colourful shops and houses – so full of personality! 

colourful shops in Gorey Southern Ireland 

Joanne - shop painted Red in Gorey

Its the Strawberry Festival this weekend in Enniscorthy so the wedding in the afternoon will be sharing the celebrations with all the strawberry lovers!

Strawberry Festival in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Southern Ireland

Strawberry stall at Strawberry Festival in Enniscorthy

blue shop front in Enniscorthy colourful shop front in Enniscorthy Enniscorthy

Irish Green Post Box colourful couple outside shop in Enniscorthy delivery at shop in Enniscorthy boy eating strawberries at Strawberry Festival in Enniscorthy

 We rounded off our first full day in Southern Ireland listening  and recording live music of a girl band singing and playing as a quartet at the delightful bar and reastaurant  the BANK in Gorey.

Dar Raider Irish girl band playing at the Bank in Gorey

The Bank - bar & restaurant in Gorey - at night

Blue Sky in Gorey at night

Sydney Opera House, city streets, harbour at night by wedding photographer in Australia

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

night-lit windows facing onto Sydney harbour

Sydney has many facets and moods. Even without ever having set foot in the city, everyone has an image of Sydney Opera House in their heads; so much so that we have a perceived sense of scale in our minds too. I made a flying visit to Sydney a couple of months ago – on my nephew’s birthday, as it happens – (while in Australia to photograph a wedding in Jacob’;s Creek) so was given a whistle-stop tour of the area – at night, when the streets come alive and the multicoloured glow of lights coats it with a surreal magic that most big cities seem to conjure up out of the blackness, changing its shape and forms.

Boss chrome towers in Sydney at night

illuminated street signs: Boss logo at night illuminated building at night in Sydney Australia windows and more windows at  night seductively lit building in Sydney at night neon signs in Sydney at night

neon signs in Sydney at night blue neon signs in Sydney at night Sydney streets at night

passing woman become a silhouetted shop dummy

Sydney at night Sydney bus at night The oldest pub in Sydney at night

Sydney Illusion

passers by destroy the painted illusion

glass fronted building in Sydney lit up at night

shadowy passers by the colourful buildings in Sydney at night

traditional view of Syndey Opera House at night

Sydney harbour at night

ice cream shop on Sydney harbour at night

buildings around Sydney harbour at night

Sydney bridge and ferry boat at night

Sydney Opera House at night

Sydney Bridge sparkling into the water at night

Sydney Opera House and market at night

just arrived in France as have wedding here in a chateau on Wednesday

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Chez Christine et PierreFirst impressions count and my first French encounters have all been delightful. The helpful lady where I picked up the hire car at Charles De Gaulle Airport, the chirpy young man in the service station where I ate a large plate of Ratatouille, creamed spinach and cauliflower for the price of a small one – and the lovely couple who invited me in to stay at their place when I stopped to ask for info on nearby chambres d’hotes, all made my arrival in France very special.

Chez Christine et Pierre salle a mangerChez Christine et Pierre sitting roomChez Christine et Pierre - Goose at Shuttered window

The whole event is very special as the bride-to-be-tomorrow found me on the Internet, while I was in Australia doing a wedding there, and she herself happens to be an Australian getting married in France to a Scottish husband, so I have travelled from Yorkshire to share their day at this Chateau.

Chateau de Tilly in Loire Valley, France

Magnolia Blossom at Chateau de Tilly in the Loire Valley

Detail of Chateau de Tilly France

Majestic Arched Gateway in Chateau de Tilly

Aire Valley Guest House along the Great Ocean Road near Otway National Park in Victoria Australia

Monday, March 17th, 2008

I was supposed to cover around 300 kilometres a day in order to get to the Barossa Valley in South Australia in good time to meet up with the bride and groom the evening before their wedding, but by the 4th day of travel since leaving Melbourne, I was only 300km in total from my starting point, with another 700km still to go!  Still it was impossible to miss out on so many beautiful sights on the Great Ocean Road, and the peaceful Aire Valley Guest house above a rain-forest – the Otway National Park – offered an oasis of calm in which to deal with the backlog of wedding enquiry emails.  It was also impossible not to go mad with my camera round Anabelle and Martin’s house/guest house, a sprawling wooden single story house with an all round veranda, surrounded by trees of all kinds, grapefruit, lemon, and the ubiquitous Eucalyptus.

Aire Valley guest House veranda off the Great Ocean Road, by Otway National ParkVictoria Australia

Early morning view from Aire valley Guest house off the Great Ocean Road Victoria Australia

Detail of Aire Valley Guest House off the great Ocean Road Victoria Australia

A wooden Chair on a flower-filled corner of the veranda at Aire Valley Guest House of the Gt. Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia morning view of veranda at Aire Valley Guest House off the Great Ocean Road, Victoria

tree with long cream pendulant bell flowers

 I don’t know what this tree is called but maybe someone reading this can tell me…  It struck me as soon as I approached the Guest House after dusk during my travels.  Anabele and Martin nearly passed me on to another Guest house, as it was their night off and they were to be away early the next morning for a trip out with their 3 beautiful  children, but I was lucky!  They trusted me to let myself out the next day, and even personally autographed a children’s book for Levana (my granddaughter) that Annabel had written. They are a wonderful couple who moved here from the UK 4 years ago.  They even provide handmade soap in the ensuite bathroom – just perfect for a honeymoon couple – paradise on earth!

 guest entrance to B&B

The Guest entrance.

view from Aire valley Guest House over Otway National Park

Travelling through Victoria, Australia

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

I’m sitting at a beautiful location (Lorne) with individual wooden cabin houses on the hillside under Eucalyptus  trees, listening to the screeching/squawking of pure white cockatoos  (sulphur crested cockatoos apparently) – in their dozens.  Amazingly enough its a YHA, so if you don’t mind the guy in the bunk above you sounding like an earthquake every time he turns over, then it is paradise indeed!  If you are fussy though, there are private rooms available too, of course…

YHA in Lorne Victoria Australia

A Sulpher Crested Cockatoo is eyeing up the breaklfast Table! breakfast in paradise: YHA at Lorne in Victoria Australia

Yesterday I saw my first Kangaroos – albeit on a well catalogued popular haunt – at Anglesea Golf Course…

Kangaroos browsing on Anglesea Golf Course Australia

Kangaroo classic pose

The Great Ocean Road has many visual temptations, so its time to carry on my journey to fit a few of them in…
coastal view near Anglesea Australia on Great Ocean Road beach scene at Bells. Victoria , on Great Coastal Road Bells beach view from near Great Coastal Road Australia

January weekend in the Lake District for a wedding

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Well, we’re back from Jacki & Darren’s wedding at the Inn on the Lake in Ullswater, Cumbria.  I’m still working on those images in RAW, tweaking and converting them stage by stage, but in the meantime here are a few showing the beautiful surrounding landcapes on the foothills of Helvellyn. 

Landscape at Glenridding, Ullswater, Cumbria  This one shows Julie, my second photographer on a dramatic mini mountain.

 Landscape in Lake District Glenridding

 I’d have like to have climbed all the way up ,  as I did a few months ago with my daughter Saskia when she introduced me to Striding Edge, but these should give you the picture.

View towards Ullswater from foothills of Helvellyn 

colourful landscape with tree above Glenridding

If you are a bit sceptical about the colours shown here, I see the world through an artist’s eye so try to convey my vision to you, as I would have painted it had I got the time, but using simple image editing software to bring out the existing tones and hues.

Colours and textures of a dry stone wall in Cumbria