Sydney Harbour

The view from Virgin Atlantic flight VS201 as it lifts-off from Sydney's Kingsford-Smith airport heading for Hong Kong.

MOTAT

This is an HDR image of NZ Railways WW class No.491 4-6-4T taken at the MOTAT museum in Auckland, New Zealand. The engine was built in 1914 at the NZGR Hillside Workshops. Wikipedia has more information here.

Cathedral Cove

The beautiful Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand has many golden beaches; perhaps the most famous of these is the beach at Cathedral Cove. Recent rock falls meant that access through the arch was closed - we took the risk and went through anyway. You may recognise this scene from the Narnia film 'Prince Caspian'. This is an HDR image - made up from three separate exposures in order to cope with the wide brightness variation in the scene.

The Church of the Good Shepherd

This is the view from the Church of the Good Shepherd at the edge of Lake Tekapo. The lake appears turquoise blue because of the rock particles suspended in the water; the rock is ground by the glaciers at the head of the lake.

This is an HDR image - made up from three separate exposures in order to cope with the wide brightness variation in the scene.

Aoraki (Mt Cook) from the Hooker Valley

At 3754m, Mt Cook is the highest peak in Australasia. The Maori name Aoraki means 'Cloud Piercer' - but the day we visited was almost cloudless and there were good views of the mountain. I set up my tripod on a boulder in the middle of the Hooker River to take the three exposures that make up this HDR image.

Aldham Church

Tucked away in a quiet location near Hadleigh is this church at Aldham. A fine place for a Saturday afternoon walk in the Autumn sunshine.

Golden Gate Bridge

Picture taken from an old fort above Baker Beach near the Presidio in San Francisco.

Shrek at 40,000 feet

Not just one Shrek - but four Shreks to keep you entertained; although only one is green. They really should do something to colour balance those old TVs.

Aira Force, Ullswater

Aira Force is perhaps the most famous of the Lake District waterfalls, it drops 70 feet from below a Victorian stone footbridge.

In the Lake District - forgot the Norwegian?

...then this is the place for you - in Keswick, Cumbria. A store
where you can buy Norwegians.

My Loo has a Control Panel

Nuff said.

Nissan HQ in Yokohama

I had the opportunity to visit the HQ of Nissan while visiting Yokohama recently. The showroom has the full range of Nissan vehicles, both for the Japanese domestic market and for export.

This is the Nissan GT-R - claimed to be the world's fastest road car.
And this is the new Nissan LEAF - a 'zero emissions' electric car that will be launched later this year. I rather liked the styling - but the lack of exhaust pipe was a tad strange.

From Alaska to Suffolk (over the North Pole)

A flight of four F-22A Raptor aircraft recently made the journey from Alaska to Suffolk by taking a short cut over the North Pole. The Raptor represents the latest in stealth fighter technology and has recently entered service with the US Air Force - but at a unit cost of $150M, it isn't cheap.

That's Some Pig - Maximus Minimus

A strange sight on the streets of Seattle - Maximus Minimus (reg 'SOMEPIG') - a mobile catering bus that serves up mainly pork. See here for more details.

Experience Music

The Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle - a fairly dull place overall, but they had a great collection of guitars showing the history of the instrument.

These four guitars were owned and played by (L-R): Bo Diddley (Gretsch Big B special), Joe Mascis of Dinosaur Jr (Fender Jazzmaster), Dave Davies of the Kinks (Fender Telecaster), Kurt Cobain of Nirvana (Fender Mustang).

Starbucks - #1

Starbucks started in Seattle back in the 70s - and the original store is still there at 1912 Pike Place, just across from Pike Market. I called in for an Iced Latte (it was a very hot evening - unusual for Seattle) - mainly ice and not much coffee. While I was there a couple of 'Starbucks groupies' stopped by and got very excited - dragged the staff outside for a group photo. I suppose they must be used to it!

Grunge City USA

View from the hotel down 1st Avenue to Kings Street Station. Apparently it is quite unusual for it to be clear enough to see the mountains in Mt Rainier National Park.

Pecan Toffee Apples - temptation resisted.

A view from Seattle across Puget Sound and Bainbridge Island to the Olympic Mountains.

Pike Street Market

Pike Street Market in downtown Seattle is a very interesting place - full of strange little shops and attractions.

Fogheads

They get a lot of fog in and around San Francisco - that's why the local radio station is called KFOG and listeners are nicknamed Fogheads. This photo was taken from an Alaskan Airways flight that had just taken off from the cross runway at SFO headed up to Seattle. A very hazy day - so colours are muted.

The Longest Day

If you live in East Anglia and want to watch the sunset over the sea - then the closest vantage point is The Wash in Norfolk. Hunstanton has the added interest of the multicoloured chalk cliffs.

The perspective of this close-up of the beach is compressed by the telephoto lens. It gives a very graphical image with strong colours and shapes.

It is mid-Summer and the firey Sun eventually sets over Lincolnshire on the far side of The Wash at 9.20pm. But the Sun sets even later from June 22 to 28 - one minute at 9.21pm !

Seaside - US Style

San Francisco Skyline

Wishful thinking from the team down under

This B747 was painted in special colours to carry the Aussie football team to South Africa for the World Cup 2010. Good luck - you'll need it! You can see a time-lapse film of the paint job here.

On a list of things you never expected to see

A Russian transport plane at a US military base.

Miss Dog

Out for a walk around Grenoble and what do you find - a dog boutique. I ask you!

Communism and Casinos - Macau

The Venetian Hotel and casino in Macau, a former Portuguese colony and now a special administrative area of China. A rather strange mixture of blatant capitalism and communism.

This hotel is an Asian replica of the version in Las Vegas. The US gets to export it's bizarre attempt at copying the Italian Renaissance.

The Sands casino viewed from the TurboJet TriCat as we headed back to Hong Kong airport for the long journey home. You can transfer from HKIA to Macau with ever having entered Hong Kong territory - they will even transfer your luggage onto the TurboJet.

Kew Gardens

The New Forest and the National Motor Museum

I was in the Winchester area with several hours to fill - so I decided to head down to the New Forest for the day. It's a place that I have always wanted to visit, but was quite different to what I was expecting - less forest and more open bracken. The ponies were wandering everywhere but seemed well used to the 40mph traffic.
Then on to Beaulieu for a visit to the National Motor Museum - which made a change from hanging around air museums. The purpose-built museum was excellent with everything ranging from horse-drawn carriages to F1 racing cars and penny-farthings to the latest racing bikes. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.