SEE IT, SHOOT IT, PRINT IT

A Storm Over Sidi Bou Said Ends Up on CD Cover

2010-09-10T21:13:00.008+01:00

Who would have thought it? On a very stormy and overcast day in April 2009, I ventured up to Sidi Bou Said from Sousse via Tunis. The purpose of the visit was to see and photograph the distinctive blue doors and window structures that had made the village a mecca for photographers and tourists alike. I took this shot from a superb vantage point in a cafe towards the top of the town that is famous for having been a haunt of the famous artistPaul Klee. The sky was dark and menacing, the blues of the window saturated with skylight breaking through the clouds.

Barely two months later, this photograph was picked up by a CD production company in France and purchased for use on a CD cover that is dedicated to Tunisian music - WINDS FROM THE DESERT. This CD can be purchased online from the company website at http://www.playasound.com.

Competition Winners

2010-09-09T14:34:00.016+01:00

At South Manchester Camera Club last monday night we held our monthly competition to vote for our favourite pictures submitted by members. There were three competitions.

In the open competition, John Fryar won with an excellent photograph of a cricketer (see opposite). Well composed, pin-sharp and full of dramatic presence. It was a worthy and popular winner.

Phil Portus won the print competition with his image of Loch Eil in Scotland. Superbly rendered and presented on fine art paper, it was a clear winner. Louise Croak won the themed competition 'Gravity' for her excellent image of a snowboarder mid-flight.

Congratulations to all three winners.

Images of Snowdonia

2010-09-07T21:12:00.004+01:00

As an avid walker and hiker in Snowdonia, I take every opportunity to use my camera to get new shots of the region for my website http://www.northwaleslandscapes.com. I have now completed 13 of the 14 Welsh 3000er's with only Crib Goch left to do on a full traverse. With autumn and winter approaching, I am not altogether sure whether I will get the chance now but it is nagging away at me and I need to complete it before moving on to conquer the peaks of the Lake District and Scotland.

Paragliding in Oludeniz

2008-10-21T20:11:00.015+01:00

One of the 'must-do' things on any holiday in Oludeniz is paragliding. Having witnessed the braver holidaymakers having a go from the comfort of my hotel balcony, I was prepared to forego any trepidation in favour of the 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to sail the thermals from the top of Babadag Mountain down to the beach at Oludeniz.

So...I booked it and spent the next two days trying to remain focused on the unique opportunity ahead rather than succumb to the horror stories about dodgy take-offs, crash landings and the well-worn tale of 'my brother's friend's girlfiriend's parachute failed to open and she fell into the sea to be eaten by a creature lurking in the Blue Lagoon'.

I had also heard from another holidaymaker that the journey up there was more frightening than jumping off the mountain. I barfed at this suggestion but spent some time trying to assess the steepness of the mountain through my canon zoom lens....neeedless to say....it looked perilous even though I was way too far off to get a serious look. The morning came, I was picked up early and made to wait an interminable amount of time for the instructors to wake up, grab a cigarette, soft drink, macho gear and a couple of paraglides each. The truck was open at the back and sides with tarpaulin stretched over an MDF roof and bars to hold in the paraglides. There were 8 novices loaded into the truck, plus an instructor each, and a driver. That makes 17 people and we are all on board the truck as it made it's way out of Oludeniz and on towards the imposing Babadag Mountain.

The instructors spoke very little English and seemed more concerned with their own images and looking cool to be bothered with the punters. The journey up was hair-raising. The driver took no prsioners. Still I was comforted by the thought that he must make this journey several times every day and knew where the larger 'pot-holes' were. Not content with being bounced around on the floor in the back of the truck, three of the instructors climbed out of the truck and onto the roof to spend the uphill journey bouncing around amongst the paraglides on top. About two-thirds of the way into the journey, the instructors all began to prepare their camcorders, holding them outside the truck and filming in, taking 10 second panoramic shots of the beautiful scenery...all to our bewilderment. We later worked out that the videos were for our benefit as the tour operator attempted to sell us a DVD of our experience almost as soon as we landed.

Arriving on top of Babadag Mountain was a relief...so much so that I took the opportunity to shake the driver's hand and thank him for the white-knuckle ride. The instructor's then chose their novices to pair up with and strap themselves to. I got an instructor who only seemed to know a handful of English words...all of them interspersed with a thumbs up...presumably to ensure I was in tune with him. As we waited for the right thermals as the trigger to take-off, a cavalcade of other trucks arrived, all laden with instructors and novice paragliders. At one stage there must have been close to 100 people on top of the mountain and the pressure was building upon our instructors to get going. The instructors began talking loudly, arguing, gesticulating and then diving onto paraglides as a mini tornado swirled across the mountain and whipped up some paraglides. The term tornado is not really indicative of the situation but the effect on laid-out paraglides and instructors was very real.

Eventually, my time arrived. I was told (in poor English) to run. Strapped to my instructor I began running only to be hauled back as the paraglide inflated and then told to furiously run again as it settled. Two, three, four steps and off rising and soaring above the mountain, dipping, diving, rising to catch the thermal for what seemed like an eternity..or at least that is how my stomach recalls it. On several occasions I had to close my eyes, even though the view was breathtaking. We eventually settled into a thermal and began the descent down towards the beach at Oludeniz and the Blue Lagoon. I later found out that we had jumped off from 6500 feet. The view takes your breath away and with the adrenalin running high, I was able to take photographs. There is a selection of them below to illustrate the beauty of the place and there are many more on Flickr, and in another earlier blog post 'Oludeniz and the Blue Lagoon'.

Landing was a breeze...or at least i though it was. Two or three steps and down onto the beach. My instructor was furious...not with me...he seemed to be taking it out on the helper who had run out onto the beach. I later worked out that we were supposed to land on the concrete strips off the beach and not into sand but it didn't dampen my experience one bit.

It was an experience not to be missed and I was ready to go all the way back up and jump off again. I had spent about 25 minutes in the air with some of the most outstanding views I have ever seen. I was trembling at the end...not from fear or fright...but from sheer enjoyment. I would thoroughly recommend it...so too would both of my daughters, who also experienced the whole thing with me.

Simit in Turkey

2008-10-19T20:58:00.007+01:00

The simit (by its Turkish name), which is also known as a koulouri (κουλουρι) throughout the Greek speaking world, is a popular quick snack, sold nowadays from glass covered carts by ubiquitous street vendors. It is made from a circular ring of bread abundantly topped with sesame seeds and the simit seller has long been a common sight in the city streets of both Turkey and Greece. I photographed this one walking down a street in Fethiye on his way to stock up his street stall. Istanbul claims to be the home of the finest simit in the world, countless simit bakeries having established themselves there over some hundreds of years.

The traditional ingredients for simit commonly include flour, butter, eggs, olive oil, milk and, naturally, sesame seeds to go on top and their preparation is relatively quick and simple. There are variations on the recipe including the Armenian simit and other menus that merely take their inspiration from the sesame seed and bread combination. The simit differs significantly from the bagel, which it resembles, in its firm texture, thinner bread and larger central space.The Armenian simit is known in Izmir simply as gevrek which means crisp. Simit, as this name suggests, is at its best when the bread is fresh and crispy.

Oludeniz and the Blue Lagoon

2008-10-08T12:31:00.011+01:00

The Blue Lagoon is actually turquoise, formed by a curve white strip of sand that reaches far out to sea, nearly touching the other side. It is a protected area of 'outstanding natural beauty', where unsightly developments are strictly taboo. It is the ideal place to be if all you want to do is relax and soak up the sun, watch the sunset, and plan your next lazy day

Sometimes described as 'the Eden bestowed by God to the World', the Blue Lagoon is the most photographed resort in the Southern Mediterranean region of Turkey. Water sports and Paragliding are popular pastimes here.

Mud Woman

2008-10-07T17:48:00.013+01:00

The mud baths of Ilica are situated along the Dalyan River. The mud baths and hot springs are reputed to be good for the skin and your general health and well being.

Take a boat trip from Dalyan and wallow, hippopotamus style, in the warm, sticky mud swamp. It not only claims to have therapeutic properties (curing all manner of ills from skin problems to gastric conditions) but also claims to make you look ten years younger!

The mud bath is always colourful and crowded but provides a fantastic photo opportunity. You can immortalise this moment by posing for the camera before and after getting into the mud.

Once you have covered yourself in the mud then simply wait for it to dry in the sun. The sulphur pool in which you clean yourself after your mudbath registers a temperature of 40 degrees......so take your swimming costume and a towel.

Trek Saklikent Gorge

2008-10-05T15:38:00.009+01:00

Saklikent Gorge is a 17km-long canyon, with walls so steep that the sun never reaches the floor. If you can brave wading through the icy cold water at the start it is a pleasant walk through the canyon. Enterprising locals have set up a series of wooden platforms suspended just a foot or two above the bubbling snow-melt of the Xanthos River. Decked out with Turkish rugs and comfy cushions and shaded by fig trees, they serve freshly-caught trout, turkish pancakes and beer cooled by the ice-cold waters.

Saklikent (Hidden City) Gorge is the second-largest gorge in Europe and the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey, close to Olu Deniz. It is a spectacular place, with sculpted walls soaring high above. Four km. of the gorge is walkable after April when most of the snow from the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through the gorge on its way to the Xanthos River. Summer is the best time to visit as the canyon is deliciously cool and shady with cold water. The gorge is open from the April 1 to September 30. Be sure to wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet or sports sandals as the rubber shoes available for rent at the river bar are not very comfortable. You may also want to bring a change of clothes with you in case you get wet.

The entrance to the gorge is under the bridge over a large stream. A narrow walkway suspended from the rock wall will take you into the gorge. Once inside, you reach the Ulupinar springs where water bubbles up under great force from the base of the cliffs and you wade across the stream into the gorge proper to begin your walk.

Outside and inside the gorge locals have set up small restaurants with seating areas on wooden platforms suspended just above the rushing waters. These are a great place to relax upon Turkish rugs and cushions with a beer under shady trees. Among other things on the menu, they offer delicious fresh trout. Outside the gorge you will also find treehouse accommodation, small relaxed bars and river tubing. River tubing rides last from 45 minutes to about two hours, depending on which ride you join.

Cruising the Dalyan River

2008-10-04T21:45:00.014+01:00

A cruise along the Dalyan River to Iztuzu Beach is an exciting way to see the region. There are numerous tour boats and water taxis to choose from at reasonable prices.

The boat trips take you past the Lycian Rock Tombs in the ancient city of Caunos and then onto Caretta Caretta (Turtle) beach.

See more photos on line

Ruins of Telmessos

2008-10-04T13:54:00.007+01:00

A trip to Turkey's south coast isn't complete without exploring ancient ruins and archaelogical sites. Fethiye is built upon the ruins of the ancient city of Telmessos and posesses, as remnants of its past, some impressive rock tombs and a recently excavated Hellenistic theatre. However, the majority of the ruins remain still buried under the quaint town.

The town got its name from Telmessos, the son of the god Apollo. Little is known about the origins of Telmessos except that originally it wasn't part of the Lycian Federation. In 4th century BC the Lycians fought against the Telmessians and finally subdued Telmessos and brought it into the Lycian federation. Later Telmessos was captured by Alexander, became part of the kingdom of Pergamum, and during the Roman imperial era the city was part of the Lycian Federation.

The city continued its existence into the Byzantine era, but gradually lost its significance due to the Arab raids. In the 8th century the city's name was changed to Anastasiopolis in honor of a Byzantine emperor and the following century it changed again to "Makri", meaning "Far (City)". Under Ottoman rule this was changed to "Megri" and finally, after the expulsion of the predominantly Greek population in the 1930's, it was named Fethiye after Tayyareci Fethi Bey, a local who was among Turkey's first pilots and also a war hero .

Fethiye suffered two immense earthquakes in 1857 and 1957 which toppled much of the town and completely destroyed the medieval town and the remains from antiquity. Throughout Fethiye, there are the scattered typical Lycian stone sarcophagi dating from around 450 BC. At the main quay at Liman Caddesi there is the the theatre that was excavated only since 1994. It had a capacity of 5,000 people and was built in the Early Roman period and renovated in the 2nd century AD.

XL.com Collapse

2008-10-02T16:44:00.019+01:00

What does the collapse of XL.com mean for the UK's on-line travel industry?

For portals and on-line travel companies it represents a shift in strategy. As the third largest tour operator in the UK and the most open in terms of on-line connectivity, XL.com and its subsidiary brands were aggressive in their on-line policy. They made XML service feeds available to a wide variety of portals and on-line travel agents throughout the country. Freedom Flights, selling XL.com seats, featured on every on-line component based travel website in the UK either directly or via portals. They have all been affected in a variety of different ways:- loss of commission on sales, loss of tariff charges for bookings made and loss of associated on-line traffic

Even sites like Travelsupermarket.com and Kelkoo.com can no longer rely on PPC revenues as they drove search traffic into deep-linked URL's on Freedom Flight's website.

Lycian Rock Tombs on Dalyan River

2008-10-02T16:33:00.003+01:00

Cruising down the Dalyan River is a travel experience not to be missed on board one of the many river boat cruises available from the village of Dalyan. The most memorable sight is the Lycian Rock Tombs, the resting places of the kings of Caunos.

There are two types of tomb to be found in Dalyan. Simple chambers are cut in to the rock face like a room and then there are also the more elaborate temple tombs.

Many tombs were built with false walls placing valuables behind them so as to fool robbers, eventually this was to no avail as all the tombs were emptied of their treasures.

Rock tombs can be seen all along the Lycian coast, but best examples of them are in Dalyan.

Kayakoy Village in Turkey

2008-10-02T11:49:00.013+01:00

I went to South Turkey in late August and took a couple of trips to a deserted village by dolmus. Kayakoy (Greek: Levissi) is a village 8 km south of Fethiye in south western Turkey where Anatolian Greeks lived until approximately 1923. The ghost town, now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds of rundown but still mostly intact Greek-style houses and churches which cover a small mountainside and serve as a stopping place for tourists visiting Fethiye and nearby Oludeniz.

It was built on the site of the ancient city of Carmylessus in the 1700s. It experienced a renewal after nearby Fethiye (known as Makri) was devastated by an earthquake in 1856 and a major fire in 1885. After the Greco-Turkish War, Kayaköy was largely abandoned after a population exchange agreement was signed by the Turkish and Greek governments in 1923.

Its population in 1900 was about 2,000, almost all Greek Christians; however, it is now empty except for tour groups and roadside vendors selling handmade goods and items scavenged from the former village.

Kayaköy is presumed to be the inspiration behind "Eskisehir", the imaginary village chosen by Louis de Bernières as the setting of his 2004 novel Birds Without Wings (novel).