A fairground ride in Bournemouth, England.

I have a number of ‘play’ lenses which are fun to use and produce interesting (if a little unpredictable) results.  One of those lenses is called a Lensbaby and is completely manual – no electronics at all.  I found myself in Bournemouth with it and decided I should try out a night shot.  One of the brightest things was a local fairground ride so I aimed at that, pushing and pulling the plastic lens to get focus.  Try as I might I was unable to get a well focused shot.  I had fun trying though and actually liked the results – they give a sense of movement that can never be obtained from a sharp well focussed shot.  I went home that day satisfied with the results.

Skiers enjoying a leisurely decent at the Avoriaz ski resort, France.

This was taken from a ski lift with the smallest camera I own (a Canon XT/350D), during my first ever ski trip.  I was completely new to skis and of how the ski lift operated.  On the first few tries I wondered if I could safely hold on to the ski lift, the ski poles, my ski gloves and operate the camera at the same time.  Luckily, I can hold the camera, zoom and press the shutter all with one hand.

Every now and then I look into smaller cameras and come to the conclusion that I prefer the images that come from my DSLRs.  Technology always seems to improve though so maybe I’ll look again this coming summer.

Workers making candles for sale in Rajasthan, India.

To get this shot I climbed up a fragile looking wooden ladder to reach the top of a building overlooking the group.
I then simply leaned over the side and shot straight down and was glad to have rugged footwear with a decent grip.

I bought the Lonely Planet guide to Bhutan and Hidden Bhutan.
Have decided that I shall go in September to attend the Thimphu Tsechu (Festival) and spend 8 days out there.

After asking around a bit it seems that no one can make September except for me – so it’s going to be a solo adventure this time.

I have no idea how it’s going to turn out and I’m finding it quite exciting indeed!

Monkeys enjoying a hot spring during winter in Yudanaka, Japan.

I was given instructions to avoid looking straight at the monkeys in case they took it as a sign of aggression.
I decided to point the camera forward and pretend to look downwards, glancing up momentarily, to take this shot.

I’m planning a trip to Bhutan!
Details are still to be worked out and I need to get a plane ticket to Bangkok first.