Belgium Bound

Very excited to be heading off on a 3-day shoot to Antwerp at the end of this week as I loved visiting it as part of my Rough Guides book commission last year to traverse the whole of Belgium. So, as a warm up to the trip I sifted through some of the images I shot last year to share on my blog.

Below, is the wonderful Rubenshuis in Antwerp

After navigating various train changes, the last being only once every 3hrs, and a 2.5km march along country lanes it was completely worth it to finally arrive at the very opulent Chateaux Attre, with its fading hand printed wall papers, and dark richly oil-painted portraits.

A relatively short distance away was the wonderfully laid out Zoo Pairi Daiza, Cambron, Brugelette. Fell in love with the giraffes…

Below: Pink Flamingos Bar, Ghent

Below: St Baafskathedraal, Ghent, Belgium

Below: Outside Portal details, Cathedrale Notre-Dame, Tournai, Belgium

Below: The Burg, Bruges

Below: Palace of Justice, Brussels, Belgium

Below: Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, Belgium

Below: Cake shop, Brussels, Belgium

THIS WEEK…

Looking forward to my assignment in Antwerp hoping the autumn sun will shine to bring out the best of what the city offers – Art, local food, Cityscapes, interiors and their details.

#visitflanders #Belgium #Roughguides

 

A taste of Istanbul…

Last month I had the great commission from Rough Guides to shoot their new Pocket guide to Istanbul. I was very excited to be going to photograph a city I had never been before. Arrived at my five star bunk bed in my very own hostel room, and off I went for 13 days traversing the different neighborhoods by antique red tram, the tunnel, electric T1 and ferries of various shapes, sizes and quality. Here are a handful of images to share the wonderful delights and food! of Istanbul: Click on thumbnails to view larger size.

Travel photography is seen by some as a glamours job… but the days are long, carrying
a tripod for hours, passing tourists sipping tea in their best holiday clothes. Then at the end of the day downloading, captioning, and editing into the night. But heck! I can not complain – the highs are getting lost in the back streets, eating the food you photograph, and the interesting encounters with other travelers on ferry crossings, hearing their tales of where they have just arrived from and their hopes to where they plan their travels will take them; swapping tips on good places to check out. Another late afternoon after getting my final shot of the day, I got to watch the sun set over the mosques and the Maiden’s tower from the Asian shore of Istanbul, whilst sipping my own sweet tea. Getting on a VERY local bus that would wind its way up through the hills to drop me off with a 20 minute vertical walk to a view of where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea. As the sun was dropping fast zig zagging back down the Bosphorus missing and catching wrong ferries to eventually arrive back to my Hostel to edit with a nice cold bottle of beer… or two.

The best bit is once home home, working through all your images, smiling and appreciating the opportunity you where given, and sharing my pictures and stories with my son.