San Sebastien

Pentax K5, Tamron 18-250mm, 1/1250, f4, ISO160

This was taken in San Sebastien in Spain, down one of the main streets through the newer part of town.  What a beautiful city, the streets were so clean and tidy, the architecture is amazing and the people are friendly & passionate.

Pentax K5, Tamron 18-250mm, 1/10, f8, ISO160

This is a view (sans tourists) of the signage & architecture down one of the smaller cobble-stoned streets in the older, central part of the original  ancient city.  This area is full of smaller shops, cafe's & bars - a fantastic place to explore & savour the Spanish way of life.

St. Jean-de-Luz

Pentax K5, Tamron 18-250mm, 1/160, f5.6, ISO160

Due to the tremendous Atlantic storms, St. Jean-de-Luz harbour in the south of France has immense ancient walls to protect the town & bay from harm.  On the far right in the distance you can see Spain, and on the left the distant Pyrenees mountains.

Guggenheim - Bilbao

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/100, f7.1, ISO80

  

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/50, f7.1, ISO80

We recently spent a few weeks in the south of France on the Atlantic coast, St. Jean de Luz to be precise, and what a wonderful holiday it was.  Situated on the French & Spanish border, we were only 15 minutes away from Spain.  So we made a day trip of Bilbao and I finally had an amazing opportunity to photograph the acclaimed Guggenheim Museum.  Built in the 90's, and covered with a skin of titanium, this is claimed to be one of the finest structures on the planet and I don't believe many would dispute that. I was in my element and spent hours photographing while our hosts' good humour slowly dwindled with each shutter release.  I don't blame them since I did get carried away, but it was a dream come true and I'm very grateful.  Now I just need to print them onto canvas.......

Honeymoon Days

Barging down Canal du Midi in the south of France..........drifting quietly through rolling hills & forests, vineyards & villages, with plenty of time and love on your side.

Black & White

 This was taken at Aquila Game Reserve with my K7 and a Tamron 18-250mm zoom which, for the price of the lens and the zoom range covered, I think it did a fantastic job.

Key

The key to our home.

Chilling in Amsterdam

Here are two variations of the same photograph - which do you prefer?  This dog was chilling out in Amsterdam, clearly having inhaled too much smoke which comes billowing out of the cafés.

Beach Hut

Here is another shot of the Beach Hut at Pringle Bay.
I used multiple exposures with my K7 mounted on a Gitzo tripod to achieve the wind movement in the grass.

Water's Edge

I can see the bright future these unused cottages will have in the tourism industry one day, right on the water's edge of the Misverstand Dam.

Dutch Bicycle

And here is the obligatory Dutch bicycle, the silent killer that attacks the unsuspecting South African pedestrian from the wrong side when crossing the street.

Misunderstanding

This is the Misverstand Dam near Piketberg in the Cape, it forms part of the Berg River and is a great spot for Carp & Barbel fishing.  Apparently, there are bass here too.........but judging from our weekend of hard fishing & the fact that we caught no bass, plus the poor quality of the water, I doubt it.

Lazy Days

I caught this family enjoying a lazy day in Arniston.

Popcorn

Ready for the harvester...

Vintage

Finally something more vintage than our Rusticus wine cellar - this old Ford was caught sunbathing at Arniston a few months ago.

The Louvre

Perhaps a not often seen view of the Louvre in Paris.

On the beach

I'll be taking next week off for a few days, so my posting will hopefully be missed my somebody.  We are however going to the West Coast and I'm sure to return with plenty of new images ...

Padlock

An ancient padlock used at a railway siding in Porterville - do you think anyone still has the key?

Under the Bridge

Under the railway bridge in Wilderness.

African Elephant

An unfamiliar site, African Elephant grazing on natural fynbos in the Western Cape like they used to hundreds of years ago, courtesy of Aquila.

Giant Feet

Standing under the foot of a giant, this I think is a unique perspective of the Eiffel Tower.