Cycle Path. I guess this image would be defined as a pattern picture, if it has to be defined at all. Certainly a mix of textures, from the hatched lines of the terraced planting to the intersecting circles of the red paving. A strong diagonal from bottom right to top left, crossing a 'curved diagonal' from the cyclist round the top of the image to the top right corner. The photo was taken from a footpath beside a railway bridge over the river, near the huge cathedral in Cologne [Köln], Germany, as I set out on my Grand Tour in 2008. I think the two people in the background are important in blocking off that corner of the image. A small but careful crop. [posted 6 February 2010] / more...

Berlin: Remains of the Wall. Not all of the Wall came down, 20 years ago. Preserving a section of it as a reminder of man's inhumanity to man is so important. I took this photo on my only visit to Berlin, in 2008, from the 'Western' side. An exhibition below it here, Topography of Terror, documents the course of 'official terrorism' from the 30s till the fall of the wall; it's very moving and thought provoking. Along the road is the Checkpoint Charlie Haus; nearby are boards with many quotes and comments and photos, including the well-known picture of the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich – 'Slava' – playing Bach suites a day or so after the fall of the wall. [posted 9 November 2009] / more...

Cornered. Placing the head quite tight in the corner of the image – behind the silhouettes of the bars – gives it a feeling of being imprisoned. Which, in a sense, it is. The sculpted head is let into the wall of the Heldendenkmal [the Heroes' Monument] in Vienna. It overlooks a stairway to the roofless 'hall of honour' on top of the memorial, and this image is shot through the gates at the bottom of the stairway. It's essentially a straight shot, with not much adjustment apart from the normal fine tuning; and there was some strong sun on the wall, so the top-left needed to be brought under control. The monument was designed by Rudolf Wondracek, a student of Otto Wagner. [posted October 2009] / more...

The Japanese Camera Dance. A wet day in Vienna, in front of the Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg palace. A small group of Japanese tourists were taking photos of each other with the Neue Burg in the background, and here in front of the statue of Archduke Karl on his prancing horse (out of the picture to the left). Like me they were fighting with umbrellas in the strong wind, and probably feeling as fed up with the weather as I was. This couple had a practiced routine and were clearly looking for perfection. I liked their co-ordinated colours. Just time for a couple of grab shots. [taken on my Grand Tour, and posted March 2009] / more...

Leaving. The wonderfully restored St Pancras International station in London – built originally by William Henry Barlow in 1868 – with Paul Day's new statue The Meeting Place. On one of several brief visits to the station since it reopened in November 2007 I had the Nikon D300 and 12-24mm lens with me. Perhaps because I had departure on my mind (St Pancras was soon to be the starting point for my first Eurostar trip and the beginning of the Grand Tour) I had more of a feeling of leaving than of meeting. Luckily I caught a passing commuter as he walked away out of the picture, to make the point and give the statue some scale. [posted August 2008] / more...

The New World Trade Center. In May 1972 I travelled with a colleague to visit a customer in Connecticut, USA. In a moment of uncharacteristic generosity our boss had agreed that we could fly into New York and stay a couple of nights before moving on to New England. So after arriving late we awoke to a dull Sunday morning to go sightseeing. But by the end of the morning the sun was shining. Late in the afternoon we took the ferry to Liberty Island. On the journey back to Manhatten everyone was excited by the view of the New York skyline, and the two huge towers that were just being completed... For obvious reasons I've steered clear of using these images on the Web in recent years. [posted April 2008] / more...

Highly Strung. Looking up at the supporting wires of the Hungerford footbridge, crossing the river Thames from Charing Cross station to the Royal Festival Hall, in London. Just a pattern picture, with the clouds conveniently behind the fan of the lower wires. Sky darkened a bit and the saturation somewhat increased. [posted March 2008] / more...

Walking Away. This tall, elegant young man appears to be striding purposefully away, clasping his book, from the tittle-tattle of the wedding guests, and their interesting assortment of legs, footwear, stockings and kilts. A grab-shot outside the Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the end of a very chilly mid-September afternoon. The young man is Robert Fergusson, called "Scotia's Poet" by Robert Burns, who erected the statue in Fergusson's memory in 1787. The inscription is from Fergusson's poem Auld Reikie. [posted February 2008] / more...

December Mist. Taken just before 3:00pm on 23 December, in the fields near my home in north-east Herts. The mist had been down all day – the only time for ages that I can remember it like this – and the sun was trying hard to burn through. Great conditions for walking, and for photography! The task was to preserve a range of tonal planes, from the virtually black silhouetted grasses in the foreground to the almost burnt-out sun, while conveying the feeling of peace and silence that was there at the time. [posted January 2008] / more...

National Galleries. Another image from my Edinburgh trip in September, this time isolating two pillars of the splendid National Gallery of Scotland, the building set back from Prince's Street, behind the Royal Scottish Academy building. It had been raining most of the day – this was taken mid afternoon – and I was making the most of a very welcome break in the clouds and some brighter and warmer light. The water lying on the paving has darkened it nicely, and the contrast in the stonework of the walls and pillars is somewhat enhanced. On the face if it a straightforward shot, with a medium wideangle and a slowish shutter speed, aided by some convenient railings. [posted November 2007] / more...

Light on the Bridge. Some pretty heavy saturation in the image this month, with almost a quarter of the picture solid black. The subject is the North Bridge in Edinburgh, at the east end of Prince's Street, in some very welcome September evening sun at the end of a wet and miserable day. With the sun about to set, the light is burning hard onto the side of the bridge. Not much processing, other than adjusting levels in Photoshop. And a small adjustment to even up the brightness left to right. And a slight rotation. [posted October 2007] / more...

Albert Hall. A photo of the wonderful Royal Albert Hall, in London, seems appropriate as we reach the end of the 2007 Proms season. Actually taken last year, towards the end on a perfect Summer's day, from the steps of the Albert Memorial on the other side of Kensington Gore. The evening sun has really brought out the colour in the red brick of the Hall and the surrounding buildings. The lucky moment, of course, was when the two tourists obligingly paused to admire the building. [posted September 2007] / more...

Hot Water. Part of the huge exhibition of glass sculpture by the wonderful Dale Chihuly at Kew Gardens, taken in October 2005. This boat full of glass shapes was one of the more obvious exhibits, and it got my attention as soon as we arrived, but there were many more subtle pieces almost hidden in every part of the gardens. I was shooting into the sun, which really lit up both the colours of the glass and the water from the fountain in the middle of the lake. [posted July 2007] / more...

The Wedding Car. Outside a church in Warsaw on the last afternoon of an excellent two-week tour in eastern Poland. Lots of couples were getting married at other churches too, and they all seemed happy public occasions, with crowds gathering round in the street to watch. Suddenly everyone moved into position. The lady on the right holding up her flowers, the girl on the left in the fashionable skirt... No-one is paying any attention to the car, which is undoubtedly the star of the show at this moment. [posted June 2007] / more...

Wild Tree. I liked this delicately gnarled tree near the edge of Crummock Water (the lake just north of Buttermere), set against a lowering Lake District sky. The weather was horrid – damp and not far off freezing; the forecast said worse was to come. So everyone stayed low. But by the time I reached the end of the lake by a circuitous route at lunchtime, the sun was shining and I was roasting. Shot on a short visit to the Lakes in March 2006 on the Nikon D100 with 12-24mm lens, and converted to monochrome in Photoshop. [posted May 2006]

Two Jags. Boys' toys. These E-Type Jaguars are irresistable, especially for those of us old enough to remember when they were new! There was a row of half a dozen of them at our local Classic Car show, including these gorgeous red examples, all beautifully maintained. Taken with the Nikon D100 with 28-85 set to 66mm (100mm equivalent on 35mm film). [posted October 2005]