Travel update

Travelling is a tough business! OK I'll be honest, it's more a case of trying to work while travelling is a tough business. There has been so much to see, to photograph, to explore - people to meet and places to go. It means that any down time is spent hastily catching up on emails, keeping in touch with friends and family and processing the best of the last few weeks images.

You can probably see what I'm getting at here; finding time to tell the rest of the world how much of an incredible time I am having is dam near impossible. So, after three months on the road, here is a super quick update!

JAPAN

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo

Japan is a country of extremes. The cities are huge, electric and adrenaline packed while at the other end of the scale the historic temples, shrines and gardens of Japan are some of the most tranquil places you'll ever visit. In just two weeks I managed to pack in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and loved every minute of it. I have two firm favourites; Kyoto with its mix of old vs new and Nagasaki which is chilled out and of a 'managable' size.


Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki

CHINA

Pudong, Shanghai

If ever there was a county that represented 'progress' then this is it. China is developing on a massive scale, with whole cities being constructed from scratch and the old being bulldozed to make way for the new. The environmental and economic strains and delights were all evident in my month long journey through Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin, Yuangshuo and Hong Kong. I went in with an 'idea' of what China may be like and came out with a completely transformed perception of the place. It is a country of massive proportions in terms of size, population, ambitions and natural beauty which is struggling to keep up with itself. I know now that we'll all be affected by the course China takes over the next decade or so.


The Great Wall of China, Beijing


Giant Panda, Chengdu Panda Base

THAILAND

Koh Tao, Thailand

For several reasons my travels through Thailand didn't go quite as planned. As I arrived in Bangkok the government ordered its troops to storm the Red Shirts camps in Bangkok, killing and injuring many people. This prompted a quick flight out of the area and down to the tropical islands of the south. The islands are very popular with backpackers and are awash with westerners, but it is easy to see why. Pristine beaches, crystal clear waters, superb diving and the best in Thai cuisine make the south of Thailand a very easy place to fall in love with.


Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

MALAYSIA

Twin Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur

I've yet to complete my full journey through Malaysia (currently in Sabah) but this country has already left a strong impression. The mix of Chinese, Thai, Indian, Indonesian and local peoples ensures a rich cultural experience. The Malay people are also some of the friendliest I've come across on the travels so far. In the past few weeks I have visited Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands, Perhentians and Sabah, enjoying the sights and excellent cuisine along the way.


Orangutan, Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, Sabah

There will be more updates to come as I process the backlog of images from my travels and settle down to some serious work in the next few months. All of the images will be available to view and download via the Escape Images website soon. In the meantime if you'd like to see more please feel free to drop me an email via danny@escapeimages.com

The Guardian feature

Was nice to be included in the Guardian's Signs of spring 2010 feature which includes an online gallery and two page spread in the newspaper. Spring must certainly be on the way as it is currently chucking it down outside! Not long now before I'm back in the sun.

What are you on about?

I just thought I'd share a pretty impressive web application with you called Wordle. Within a few seconds you can convert all of the most commonly used words in any blog feed or document into a nice graphic like the one above. Right away I can see that I've spent way too much time in Stirling; standing on a rather impressive mountain route! Give it a go here: www.wordle.net

Spoke too soon!

All notions of Spring were completely drowned in snow yesterday as about 3 inches of the stuff fell over night. Even more has followed today which has pleased some people but enraged anyone who has to commute to work. Luckily I can count myself out of that group! Not a great photo, but thought I should get something showing snow up on here. And yes of course it has been photoshopped! For those who are remotely interested in the technical aspects of creating this effect here is a super condensed crash course...

1) Use Polygonal Lasso Tool to draw around the subject (in this case the handsome Goldfinch)
2) Add a slight feather of a few pixels
3) Select 'inverse'
4) Use Hue and Saturation to remove all colour
5) Create a new layer on which we apply a black radial gradient (with reverse applied so it's light at the centre)
6) In the layer options dropdown select 'Multiply' and set Opacity to about 40%
7) Well done, you've made a not so good image into a fairly interesting image!

After the frost and ice of the last few days I thought I'd go in hunt for some new life. So what better symbol of regrowth is there than the first Snowdrops of the year? These images were taken in the Stirling University grounds where there are an abundance of flowers carpeting the forest floor. The challenge in this situation is always what to select for a photograph. I've gone for two approaches here; shooting through clumps of flowers (above) and showing the island cluster below surrounded by dead leaves.Which do you prefer?

Feeling the cold

Glorious sunshine made staying indoors a crime today despite the bitter cold. I was really glad I made the effort as I was met by some stunning landscapes, the local reservoirs all completely frozen over and some really heavy frost. I have to be honest and admit that I've done my fair share of hibernating this winter and haven't been out in the cold nearly enough. Still, the winter's not over yet and the sun certainly makes a difference.