Archive for the ‘travel pictures round the world’ Category

Cuban cars in Old Havana – Habana Vieja – before photographing a wedding in Cuba.

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
old Cuban cars in Havana

Cuban car in old Havana with two little boys playing by the side.

To see the wedding pictures look on our site , here and Facebook.

inside a Cuban car

Inside a classic Cuban taxi car

Cuban classic cars in old Havana

Real life in Cuba as a Cuban lady walks past a red and white classic car

Cuban cars in old Havana, Cuba.

Blue and white classic car taxi in Havana

Classic Cuban car in Old Havana in blue and white.

An elegant young lady in black walks past a blue and white classic Cuban car and a red moped. Arty photos in Old Havana.

Real life in Cuba - old classic car and Cuban kids.

Two little Cuban boys playing by a classic car in Habana Vieja

Red and white classic Cuban car in Old Havana

Red and white classic Cuban car in Old Havana

Real life in Cuba - colourful classic cars on the road in Havana

Colourful classic American old cars driving along a street in Havana on the way to the town centre

 Cuba and classic Cuban cars

Red classic Cuban car

Cuban classic car driving along the streets of Old Havana

These Cuban cars just keep on and on, as you can see with this one looking immaculate as it is being driven along the streets of Havana

Real life in Cuba - classic cars and young people hanging out/

Kids the world over hang out in the streets listening to music. However music is deeply embedding in the soul of all Cubans. To the right a classic American car is being repaired at the roadside

Roadside repairs of a classic Cuban car

Roadside repairs of a classic Cuban car

Real life in Cuba as an engine is taken apart in the street

Real life in Cuba as a classic car engine is taken apart in the street.

Real life in Cuba - man repairting his old American car in Havana

Under the bonnet of a classic Cuban car.

This was my 6th visit to Cuba since 1996, but the cars have not changed.  I was in Havana to photograph a real Cuban wedding – on 14th December 2014 –  but couldn’t resist spending a day in Old Havana just taking pictures of cars and people.

 

I actually met my husband here, on the last day of my very first trip to Cuba, but it wasn’t till my second visit 18 months later that we got together.  I had just completed a 6 month’s rapid course in Spanish, but even so by head ached after spending hours and hours talking in Spanish on that second visit that change the course of my life.   He was working as a Sound Designer /Recordist/Engineer at Cuban TV, and I had just graduated from  Huddersfield Uni. Fortunately he was a very accomplished English speaker too, so no problems of communication at all.

I spent my first week cycling from Havana to Trinidad (a town in Cuba)  – a distance of about 250 km – in aid of the National Deaf Children’s Society, then in the second week stayed with this lovely Cuban family I had met on the last day of my initial visit when on a study trip. They had a 50 year old fridge that needed a new motor, so I made it a condition that I was allowed to pay for that to be repaired.  Towards the end of that week, we went into Havana to try and get an umbrella repaired  – yes repaired  – and on our way back as we were waiting for a bus, I asked Jorge why he didn’t consider coming to the UK to work.  his reply was that in order to work in the UK, he would need to be married.  Without even thinking , I replied,

 

“Well that can be arranged!”

15 years on , we are still married, so sometime things are just meant to be.

 

 

 

Real life in Cuba - Cuban taxi more than 50 years old and still on the road.

Cuban taxi more than 50 years old and still on the road.

Cuban art photo

Art picture of classic Cuban taxi.

Cuban street life with classic car and local Cubans.

Cuban street life with classic car and local Cubans.

Cuban taxi - over 50 years old.

Classic Cuban taxi in Old Havana December 2014.

Strong image of a Classic Cuban car in Havana.  Copyright Reel Life Photos

Love the grille in the front of this car.

Art photo of Cuba

Art photo of the back of an old car by a Cuban window in Havana.

Roadside mechanics - real life in Cuba.  Copyright Reel Life Photos

They have no private space of garage so just set about repairing their cars where they stop.

Real life in Cuba - classic Cuban  cars still driving round Havana.

Cuban streets are so full of beautiful old cars!

Cuban cars in Old Havana. Copyright Reel Life Photos.

A classic Cuban car driver spots my camera and waves to me as he drives past.

Real life in Cuba .  Classic cars an old motorbikes.

Cars and mopeds being driven through Old Havana.

Woman hailing a share taxi in Old Havana.

A Cuban taxi stops to see if it can get a new passenger.

Old Cuban taxi in Havana.  Copyright Reel Life Photos

Cuban taxi in Old Havana.

Real life in Cuba

Lime green Cuban taxi driving past a street in Havana with peeling paint.

Brown classic Cuban taxi car in Havana

Street in Old Havana with classic Cuban taxi car driving past.

Street in Cuba with red classic taxi car in Old Havana

Red and white old American car used as a taxi, driving past pedestrians walking along the pavement in Old Havana. (Habana Vieja)

Old white taxi  - classic American car in Cuba

Classic white Cuban car used as a taxi in Old Havana

Real life in Cuba, Cubana and classic old cars in Havana.

Real life on the streets of Old Havana

Real life in Cuba - Cuban cars in Havana

Cuban lady looking at an old American car in Havana

Cuban cars in Old Havana - a street in Hbana Vieja.

Cuban cars in Old Havana drive past as girls cross the street in Habana Vieja

ClassicCuban street scene  in Old Havana with old American cars

Classic street scene in Old Havana

Old Cuban cars in Havana still work as taxis.

Old American car used as a taxi in Havana

Lime green and white classic Cuban car in Old Havana

Lime green and white classic Cuban car in Old Havana

Lime green car in Old Havana,  Cuba

Close up of the lime green car with white roof in Old Havana.

Life in Cuba, car, moped, and Cubans

Blue car by candlewick twisted (sugar candy?) columns

Old Cuban car in Havna

Blue Cuban car in Old Havana

Old American car in Cuba

Blue car in Havana.

Red motorbike with sidecar in Cuba

Conversation piece: red motorbike with sidecar in Havana.

Rickshaw and old American car in Cuba

Red, yellow, green and blue!

Classic Cadillac cars in Cuba

Old Cuban cars by El Malecón.

Old Amercan cars in Cuba.

Havana may look as if it is crumbling, but in reality it is full of life.

Dramatic photo of street in Havana in the winter.

Street in Havana

Old Cuban cars.

Old Cuban cars everywhere, gleaming in the sunlight.

Life and old cars in Cuba

The appeal of Havana is in the feeling that time has stood still.

Old Amercian cars in Cuba

Love this shiny blue classic car as it drives past the tall decorative columns of a 100 year old block of flats in Havana.

Old Cuban cars in Havana

Symphony of colour in yellow, blue and green.

Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba Real life in Cuba

 

 

 

 

Plaza de Maceo, Havana, Cuba with old Cuban cars at night.

Old cars going past Plaza de Maceo in Havana, Cuba at night. on el Malecón.

 

 

 

 

Gambian Life in a little village called Jorem

Thursday, September 26th, 2013
Gambian family life in the village of Jorem, The Gambia

Gambian family in the village of Jorem

In April 2010 I was a guest of the Best Man at one of my client’s wedding in The Gambia.  These pictures were taken on my second visit to The Gambia in April 2012 when I again visited the Gambian Groom’s family in their village.

Muslim families often live together like this and having two wives, as the grandfather has here,  is a common practice. They lead a very simple life, full of love and huge daily struggles.  They have to grew their own food, which consists almost entirely of rice and peanut curry. I bought them a fishing net on my first visit, but that didn’t last long so had to be replaced again on this trip too, and no doubt will again have fallen apart by now.

The river supplies them with salt too which is painstakingly collected as dry slabs of salt encrusted sand, then when enough has been gathered up is piled into baskets and carried on their heads across the hot sand to their house a couple of kilometres away.  It is subsequently washed and boiled to release the pure salt.

 

Gambian people and places

encrusted salt by the river in the Gambia

 

dried salt by the river bed in The Gambia

Dried salt by the river bed in The Gambia

Life in the Gambia

Gambian boys and a dog enjoying the river

Gambian children

Peaceful existence as the children take time out to play in the river

Every grain of rice is winnowed by hand then pounded with a stick similar to a baseball bat. I have videoed that so will find the clips and add them here later.

Gambian girl pounding the uncooked rice to remove the inner husk

Fatou pounding rice at their family home in the village of Jorem in the Gambia.

 

 

traditional crafts and food preparation in The Gambia

Gambian girl pounding home grown rice in the village where she lives with her grandparents

Cute Gambian child drinking water

Child drinking water from a black and yellow striped plastic kettle

There is no tap water, so water has to be drawn from underground, either by simple buckets from traditional wells,  which are lowered down on rope, or knotted rags and a rusty old petrol can full of holes – or via foreign-aid-funded pumps.

pumps at the end of the village of Jorem in The Gambia

These pumps are used by certain families, one end of the village, but the family in this post still rely on traditional wells with buckets lowered and pulled up by hand

 

Beautiful Gambian lady by her house in the village of Jorem.

Gambian grandmother dressed in a beautiful tie dyed flowing robe. She is chewing on a toothbrush-stick, commonly used for oral hygiene throughout the whole of The Gambia

 

There was no mains electricity when I went to this village the first time, though good-meaning Germans had funded a few solar panels on the roof of their house, but these were insufficient to power more than a few light bulbs, so the old CRT television sat forlorn, unable to be powered up,  in one corner of the room.  On my last visit, however, the government was in the process of bringing electricity all down this main highway,  which was often just a dirt road, so am hopeful it may have been installed by now.

 

Gambian children drinking water in the village of Jorem

Gambian children, sitting on the ground, drinking water from a plastic cup

The children sleep on beds, looking like bunk beds, but without the top being a bed, arranged in rows within one room, covered with tattered mosquito nets that would certainly not keep them safe from the dangers of Malaria. (I’ll add pics of this later as are on an older hard drive.) The kitchen when I was last there was unable to be used as the roof was falling in and the whole construction in serious danger of collapsing.   They were only built from mud, shaped into bricks, which are dried in the sun, but the rainy season causes many problems, as you can imagine.

 

Arty Pictures of Sandnes in Norway

Monday, August 19th, 2013
Typical wooden houses in Norway

Simple lines and plain white with a touch of added colour in the flowers makes this work really well.

 

I was in Norway with my camera for a client’s wedding, but had a day or two free to take pictures of the area. I decided not to follow the typical mass tourist route to the Pulpit  Rock – Preikestolen – or other local attractions but to walk around the streets seeking interesting images with artistic merit.  I have chosen 20 images from one short walk on our first day in Norway in the neighbourhood around the Airbnb basement flat where we were staying ( https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1125620 )

art images of Norway

This window gives us a glimpse of life in Norway

 

art image of a window in Norway

This window with its simple black and white theme looks like a work of art in itself!

 

art images for postcards of Norway

These wooden walls and simple designs are worthy of being printed on postcards.

 

Artistic view of a creative property in Sandnes

What an amazing house! A little gem with such a creative vision! Love it!

 

arty images of Norway

Neat Norwegian houses in a row, bordering the electric railway in Sandnes.

artistic picture of Norway

This becomes an abstract art image, by looking at its key components, strong textures and colours.

 

artistic images of Norway from a house in Sandnes

Details from a house in Sandnes

 

boats moored on the fjord in Sandnes, Norway

Blue boat canopies contrast with the yellow flowers in the foreground.

 

beautiful view of houses bordering the fjord at Sandnes

What a view the residents of these houses must have!

I actually climbed up this side of the fjord too, up the Hana Treppen – the steps to a football ground where kids were training, but didn’t manage to get a view down to the fjord due to all the vegetation at the top and other house with their gardens.

Sunflowers by the fjord

These sunflowers appear to be growing wild at the side of the water

 

Cyclist going past a traditional old house in Sandnes

Cyclist going past a traditional old house in Sandnes

 

postcard from Norway

a delicious little house with decorative ladder with flowers

 

View of the fjord past an old traditional house in Norway

View of the fjord past an old traditional house in Norway

 

Artistic cafe in town centre of Sandnes

This colourful café in the pedestrianised shopping centre of Sandnes looks deliciously tempting!

 

Picture postcard view of Sandnes shopping centre

Picture postcard view of Sandnes shopping centre

 

Tasteful antiques decorate this shop window in Sandnes, Norway.

Tasteful antiques decorate this shop window in Sandnes, Norway.

 

picture postcard from Sandnes

Tasteful antique shop in Sandnes

 

Swing dancing outdoors by the marina in Sandnes, Rogaland, Norway

Swing dancing outdoors by the marina in Sandnes, Rogaland, Norway

 

 

Travel photography

Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Travel pictures on Reel Life PhotosFacebook page

Just like the juxtaposition of all the colours, and shapes, from two very different events!

Visit www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see more travel pictures

Snow Art Pictures of West Yorshire

Saturday, January 19th, 2013
Dynamic snow art pictures from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire

Tree Fingers

Dynamic snow art pictures from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire

Tree Fingers

Dynamic snow art pictures from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire

Dancing Snow Twigs

Travelling to photograph an Asian wedding in Pakistan

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

I had always wanted to travel to India or to Pakistan to photograph a traditional village-style Asian wedding, and last week I got such a chance. My head is so full of images and the overall experience of being immersed into such a different way of life, where I was the only “white” woman the locals had ever seen, that I know I will struggle to choose the right images for this page, knowing that I cannot show you all that is exciting, that depicts even the first day’s travel from Islamabad to the village of Bhamber, 35 kilometers outside Jhelum, without totally crowding out this blog, so here are just a few photos  that might entice you to look further.

Colourfully decorated lorry in Pakistan

Colourfully decorated lorry in Pakistan

The first day involved a 3 hours drive from Islamabad airport, squashed two to a seat , as I clicked away at all the colourful lorries  and buses which, unlike our beasts, look for all the world like elegant gypsy wagons, complete with curves, tiny patterns and shiny chrome.

Detail from a Pakistani lorry shot from the minibus while travelling from Islamabad

such beautiful designs and colours - and all different!

Outside Islamabad airport, the desperate, but highly skilled, beggars plead and badger you till you either give in or are rescued by your transport.

Pakistani bus with its ladder to the "top deck"

Pakistani bus with its ladder to the "top deck"

decorated lorry in Pakistan

Pakistan transport - wagon with a rose

This lorry is a bit different with is large flower on the back

Pakistani bus and wagons

Pakistani bus and wagons
Pakistani wagon.

Even the most basic are works of art!

tall painted wagon in Pakistan
detail from a decorated lorry in Pakistan

detail from a decorated lorry in Pakistan

typical dry landscape near Islamabad

typical dry landscape near Islamabad. They also seem to be removing much earth from the soil all round here, maybe for building materials...?

travel picture from Pakistan

colourful Rickshaw

www.LeedsWeddingPhotographers.com

Art picture postcards from Tunisia

Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Abstract art Arabic script on a boat

Red boat on blue with Arabic boat

abstract art patterns as fine art postcard

Shadows in the Midday Sun

abstract art

Tunisian Boat in patterns of yellow blue and orangey red

Tunisian food

Chilli red

Abstract art with Tunisian umbrellas

Stormy Skies and Woven Sunshades in Tunisia

abstract art inTunisian camel saddle rag rugs

abstract art patterns in camel saddle rugs

abstract art

Beauty in decay...Rusty iron spikes in concrete

tranquil river refelctions in Tunisia

Tranquillity.

abstract art

Patterns of Metal on White

abstract art in Tunisian window

Artful window

passing camel by on beach

Shadows and structures with passing camel.

abstract art  postcard

Textures in blue and neutral

Hammamet near Sentido Phenicia hotel

Shadows in the sand.

art postcard of pottery patterns

Pottery Patterns

abstract art photo

Cogs on yellow and orange

Tunisian boat filled with water

Abandoned boat

Abstract art photo with colours of Tunisia

Tunisian Colours

sunset over beach in Tunisia

Sunset Gold

abstract art patterns on sun lounger

Zig-zag highlighted in golden light

abstract art photo

Sand textures between wood grain.

abstract art

Sea Meets Sand

smiling Tunisian cook at Sentido Phenicia

Smiling Tunisian Chef

swimming pool as abstract art

Blue Pool in Late Evening Sunlight seen as Abstract Art

postcard of Tunisian window and blue painted metal doors

Tunisia Blue and White

Just a few art images  from my first few days in Tunisia, that would make beautiful picture postcards.  Not been able to wander far from the hotel due to being at a photographer’s conference here,  but still think they are interesting.  Will see more of Hammamet tomorrow.

www.reellifephotos.co.uk

Travel pics in Singapore

Monday, October 25th, 2010
Chang-Hi Airport , Singapore

Terminal 2 Singapore

Peacock Flower Sculpture in Singapore Chang-Hi Airport

Peacock Flower Sculpture

So glad we decided to break our journey on the way to Australia for Carolina and Theo’s wedding.   First impressions are that this is a very clean and well organised hi-tech city, with delicious local food.

Changi Airport Singapore

Contemporary Architecture at Changi Airport in Singapore

Local eateries on corner of Florence Street in Singapore

Local eateries on corner of Florence Street in Singapore

Queue of locals in Singapore at  Pongol Nasi Lemak Centre in Singapore

Queue of locals in Singapore at Pongol Nasi Lemak Centre in Singapore

Very popular eating place in Singapore

Very popular eating place in Singapore, where the locals queue patiently to be served.

Plate of Oriental Vegitarian food

Plate of Oriental Vegetarian food in Singapore

DuriansDurians

Durians on sale in Singapore. They taste like sweet roasted onions with a very similar soft texture, but absolutely reek!

Durian - fruit cut open to expose its soft flesh

Durian - fruit cut open to expose its soft flesh

travel pictures of boats in Killybegs taken after wedding in Republic of Ireland

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

the colours are almost surreal on this sunny evening in Killybegs

red boat with thick reflections in Killybegs, Co Donegal, Irish Republic

red boat in Killybegs with dangling orange ball and treacle-like reflection

so many delicious bright colours on this boat against the deep blue sky, it feels like I painted it myself

abstract composition of red, white and blue found like this in Killybegs harbour, Donegal, Irish Republic

Love the simple red and blue with the yellow swirls in the sea below this boat.

towering blocks of white against the bluer than blue sky at Killybegs in Co. Donegal, Irish Republic

this feels like an old cannon lying on the harbour jetty at Killybegs. Not sure what it really is though, but I took it for the curving shapes.

Blue and red - oh it makes me go quite gooey!

orange tips to these crash barriers are magnificent in the evening sunlight at Killybegs. A tiny splash of orange paint also marks the ground below!

Just a simple fishing net, blue boat and yellow floats

colourful trio of huge hulls and their reflections in the sea below

Contact Elaine via Reel Life Photos page on Facebook or our website

travel pictures from unspoilt Greek Island of Chios

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

We recently returned from a trip to the unspoilt Greek Island so have many colourful images to show you.  Most are already online under Whole weddings and Travel Pictures, but have decided to highlight a few here.  As with our wedding photography, these images are also for sale (and can be purchased online from the Travel section of our site).  On 8 May we have a wedding in Donegal, Northern Ireland so look out for those pics appearing online (under Whole weddings) the week after that.

Greek Orthodox priest and very long serving Nun in Chios at 1000 year old Monastery

Elaine recently won a Gold award for Contemporary Portraiture with the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers with a portrait of an interesting old man in Cuba, and often combines her love of weddings with travel and images of people and places she chances upon during those overseas visits.

Gold Award for Contemporary Portraiture with SWPP March 2009

Boat in Takis boatyard near the airport in Greek Island of Chios

Boats in Takis boatyard near the airport in Greek Island of Chios

Colourful boats in Takis boatyard near the airport in Greek Island of Chios

Detail of boat in Takis boatyard near the airport in Greek Island of Chios

Detail of prow boat in Takis boatyard near the airport in Greek Island of Chios

Will try and add some more special pics from Chios here later … xx Elaine