Archive for Egypt
My 10 Top Travel Photos of 2011
Posted by: | Comments2011 has again been a good year for me to discover wonderful new places in the world. Rather than bore you with a very brief and inadequate description, I thought I’d rely on the old saying of “a picture paints a thousand words” or rather in this case a photo. Here are my favourite photos I took during the last year.
Kronborg Castle
My first trip of the year was to the Danish capital of Copenhagen. I’ve been there many times and decided to head up the coast to Helsingor and the famous Kronborg Castle. It is said to be the setting for Shakespeare’s famous play “Hamlet”.
Kronborg Castle - One of Northern Europe's finest Renaissance castles
Sveti Stefan
I spent a couple of days on the Montenegro coast at Sveti Stefan overlooking this iconic iselt.
Sveti Stefan - Famous visitors here include Elizabeth Taylor and Sophie Loren.
Mandarin Fish
My first diving trip to Manado was extremely rewarding. On a night dive I managed to capture a couple of pictures of the elusive Mandarin Fish on a night dive.
The elusive Mandarin Fish on Bunaken Island, Manado, Indonesia
Queens Colours 1/24th Regiment
The Battle of Isandlwana in 1879 was the greatest defeat a British force ever suffered at the hands of a native army. On that fateful January day, the Queens Colours of 1/24th Regiment were lost in the Buffalo River. Two weeks later, against all odds they were recovered. Queen Victoria added a wreath of immortals around the crown as reminder of what happened to those colours at Isandlwana. Today, they are hanging in the Havard side chapel in Brecon Cathedral, Wales.
Queens COlours of 1/24th Regiment that were lost and later found after the Battle of Isandlwana in January 1879.
Burning Bush / Fire Extinguisher
High in the Sinai Mountains in St Catherine’s Monastery. It is a hugely significant religious site and this picture is of the Burning Bush. I found it slightly amusing that there is a fire extinguisher next to it…just in case.
In 2011, the Burning Bush is less of a safety risk that back in the days when it was described in the book of Exodus thanks to a fire extinguisher.
Soldier on guard, Hall of Valour
The Battle of Stalingrad was an horrendous fight to the death for hundreds of thousands of Russian and German soldiers. Today at the Hall of Valour at Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, there is a permanent guard.
A soldier stands guard in the Hall of Valour, Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd
Petra through the Siq
The Siq at Petra is a long passage all visitors have to travel through to reach the famous Red City. As you approach the end, you get your first glimpse of the Treasury in Petra.
Nearing the end of the Siq and catching a first sight of the Treasury at Petra.
Kotor – cruise ship
The old walled town of Kotor in Montenegro is a popular cruise destination.
A cruise ship docked at Kotor, Montenegro
Pufferfish
This photo isn’t so much a favourite, I just want to highlight a problem (excuse the blurriness). When threatened, Pufferfish expand their bodies. Its a rare sight and is incredibly stressful for them. On this night dive in Aqaba, the guide annoyed this Pufferfish enough for it to puff out it’s body. I was really annoyed that someone meant to educate and protect the marine environment could do this. It was at a 5* PADI centre in a marine park.
This poor Pufferfish was annoyed by our dive guide and felt it had to expand it's body to defend itself.
Ma’In Hotsprings
If you want to visit a fantastic spa resort in a stunning setting, the Ma’In Hotsprings 260m below sea level in Jordan will not disappoint.
The main waterfall at the fabulous Ma'In Hotsprings in Jordan.
I regularly update my Flickr account with my latest photos which you can find here:
http://www.flickr.com/bbmexplorer
Please feel free to add me as a contact.
Thats all from me for 2011, now I’m looking forward to 2012 which will take me to more new places and the Euro 2012 Championships in Ukraine.
Learning to Identify Marine Life
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When I was learning to scuba dive many years ago, I remember getting back on the boat after one of the training dives and my instructor was all excited.
“Did you see the Guitar Shark?”
“The what??”
I had never heard of a Guitar Shark. Since then, I’ve logged more than 200 dives and haven’t seen another one so I guess they are pretty rare. Today, I take a camera with me on every single dive and I love nothing more than spending the entire dive trying to take that perfect picture of a little marine creature I haven’t seen before. The display of colours on the coral reefs are spectacular but unless I know the names of what I’ve seen, the experience isn’t complete. Imagine going on safari and telling people you saw a massive grey thing with big ears and a long nose or a big cat with black dots. It wouldn’t seem right, would it?
Massive Grey Things With Big Ears
Back on land, I download the images to my lapt0p and start editing the best pictures. I normally just delete about 60-80% for any number of reasons such as being blurred, bad colours or missing the shot. The best ones are filed away and then I start tracking down the names of the fish in various books. That itself is no mean feat. On my last trip to Bunaken Island, the instructor was also a marine biologist so we spent hours trawling through books to identify more than 250 images but we got there in the end.
I like to think some of my pictures aren’t too bad and I do receive a few compliments. Identifying exactly what I have taken a picture of is sometimes as much of a challenge as getting the shot in the first place. Underwater a reef may seem vast but certain types of fish can usually be found in the same place. If you want to see an Anemonefish (aka Clownfish), you need to find an Anemone. Moray eels are often found hidden in holes in the reef with just their head sticking out. Larger fish such as Tuna will be ‘out in the blue.
Spinecheek Anemonefish
Generally, I take as many pictures as possible. If I know a particular reef, I may well trying to find a specific type of fish. On my next trip to Sharm el Sheikh, I hope to find a Long Nose Hawkfish on one of the large Gorgonian Fans in the Straits of Tiran. They are beautiful little fish but very hard to photograph.
I upload my better pictures to Flickr. I normally create different sets for each trip but I’ve also finally got round to grouping my underwater photos into sets. Hopefully, that will help both myself and others in trying to identifying marine life. I’ve got plenty more pictures to add and with more trips to come. I may even get to see a Guitar Shark.
If you want to browse my underwater photos on Flickr, you’ll find them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbmexplorer/collections/72157628128068434/
