A Photo a Week Challenge – White

December 8, 20165 Comments

Nancy Merrill’s Photography’s weekly challenge is White. Rather than be boring and post snow pictures, because we all get too sick of the stuff by the time winter’s over and I would rather not think of what’s to come, I’m posting other white-themed pictures from my travels!

White linen, Arnhem Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum), The Netherlands

Hotel Le Guilleret, Old Montreal

Window of a restaurant in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen

The building below is in London on the Thames Southbank and sports a plaque that says Christopher Wren and Katherine of Aragon both stayed here, but apparently that’s actually not true. The house dates to 1710. That passes Katherine by 200 years but apparently Wren did stay a few doors down while rebuilding St. Paul’s Cathedal. More on the history of the building here.

Building is called Cardinal’s Wharf and is on the southbank of the Thames in London near the Tate Modern and Globe Theatre.

Tomcat cockpit. Intrepid Air, Sea and Space museum, New York City

A Photo a Week : One

October 27, 20161 Comment

Nancy Merrill Photography asks us this week to show a photo with a single subject.. Here are a few I like from the archives.

On the old set of Coronation Street, Manchester.

Sculpture in the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester

Resident in the Trentham Monkey Forest, near Stoke-on-Trent, England, a sancturary for macaques. He looks a bit lonely.

A Photo A Week Challenge – Horizon

October 6, 20167 Comments

Nancy Merrill Photography offers a weekly photo challenge, this week’s is Horizon. From the travel archive:

This first photo was taken on the whale watching cruise we recently took, at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.

Sea and Big Sky – Bay of Fundy near Brier Island

This is another view of the Bay of Fundy, this time near the end of it by Cape Blomidon. Interestingly enough, I just started reading The Birth House by Ami McKay which takes place in Scots Bay around the time of WWI.

Scots Bay, Annapolis Valley

An ubiquitous horizon. New York City looking northeast to Queens.

North east Manhattan

And a view over Bassenthwaite, in the norther part of the Lake District, England.

Bassenthwaite, Lake District

A Photo a Week: Waterfront

July 29, 2016July 29, 20164 Comments

Nancy Merrill’s weekly challenge is “Water” or “Waterfront”. I could post dozens and dozens of photos taken along Halifax’s lovely waterfront but I think I’ll leave that for another day. Here’s a few from the archives.

Seahouses Harbour, Northumberland, UK

St. Ives, Cornwall at low tide

Salem, Massachussetts

Georgetown, Prince Edward Island

Pier 57, New York City

A Photo a Week – Hands

July 9, 2016July 9, 20164 Comments

Over at A Photo A Week, the weekly challenge is Hands. I must say, random body parts are not something I tend to photograph while on my travels mostly or otherwise but there are a few in my archives, two from travels, two taken locally.

Brian May of Queen. Montreal, 2014

Playing the spoons.

My niece’s wedding

Liliput Lane artist, painting the cottages by hand. Penrith, the Lake District, UK

A Photo a Week Challenge: Clocks

June 24, 20161 Comment

Clocks are everywhere and in many forms. When I travel, I often visit churches, cathedrals and castles, many of which have clock towers. Clocks are imperative when trying to make sure you’re on time for a plane or train and town halls and squares often have a clock in them, too. Here in Halifax, we have a well known clock on the side of Citadel Hill, built in the early 1800s. It still has living quarters in it today though there isn’t an in-residence clock keeper anymore. (photo from the N.S. tourism site)

Halifax Town Clock on Citadel Hill

Here are some more clocks from my travels:

York, U.K.

Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, U.K.

St. Nikolas church, Brussels

Brussels Central Station

Floppy Clock by Dali, in the Dali museum, Montmartre, Paris

Niewkirk (New Church) clock, Dam Square, Amsterdam

From the A Word A Week Challenge.

A Photo A Week Challenge – Rain Drops

May 22, 2016May 22, 20161 Comment

This week’s challenge at Nancy Merrill Photography is Rain Drops. Here are a few I’ve taken while on my travels where the sun doesn’t always shine. In fact, on many of our trips away from home base we have had far more rain than sun. I think the only exception was the trip to Rome, five days of clear blue skies and warm, sunny weather. Often we’ll get a nice day on the first or the last day. We’re hoping to add on a trip to Hawaii when we go to B.C. and I’m almost afraid to say that out loud for fear the weather gods hear and we’ll get the only rainy days in Hawaii all year!

Rainy Manchester, UK

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Rainy New York here and below.

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Another shot from Manchester, the faded November rose bushe after the rain.

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WordPress challenge: Face

May 19, 2016May 18, 2016Leave a comment

This week, the WordPress weekly challenge is “Face”. This was the first photo that came to mind from those in my archives. It’s a little out of focus, taken through an exhibit glass case. We were touring through the Tower of London in the main White Tower where the armory is. It’s really chock full of interesting things, beautifully detailed and decorative armour for knights, kings and horses, too. You’ll also see weapons, a big sculpture of a dragon made of various weapons and shields, cannon, and other items gleaned from centuries of the iconic fortress.

This was a particularly creepy item. It’s an executioner’s mask. I don’t know if all of them wore masks, but one of them certainly did and I can’t imagine seeing that looming over you as you were about to hang or have your head removed. That’s even worse than seeing a man with a hood over his face!

Executioner’s Mask. Seen at the Tower of London

Ancient and Abandoned

February 28, 2014March 1, 201417 Comments

Where’s My Backpack’s theme this week is Ancient and WordPress’s challenge theme is Abandoned. What better way to combine them into one post than to feature some photos from Rome!

Yes, it’s the Colosseum but it’s a different view than you usually see. This is the “hypogeum”, the tunnels and rooms that were below the floor of the stadium where they would keep the props, the animals, and the gladiators (and probably the slaves they set up against the lions!). There’s a photo from above and a photo from the ground level in the hypogeum. You can book a tour in the Colosseum now that will take you down there though it’s not open to the general public to just wander about. There are loose stones and areas where it isn’t safe to go.