Europe
One day, while on holiday in Spain I spotted a helicopter which was recording a high speed boat race (for Sky I think). Just got a couple of photos with the camera set to action. Photos were taken in 2006 on the first real outing for my new camera at the time. Unfortunately due to a CF card failure I lost a lot of pictures (but did recover about 70% using a nifty program).
Birmingham
During March 2013 I visited Chasewater with my family. Chasewater is a reservoir, over 200 years old – originally used to fill and maintain the water levels in the local canal system.
On this visit, for the first time in three years, the reservoir was at or near capacity. It had been drained so that maintenance work could be done on the main dam wall.
Chasewater itself is now a major attraction, with water sports, a marina, an innovation centre all available for use. In addition children can play in the playground, training / fitness course, model boats in the boating pond, a mock “castle” that goes out into the shallow waters of the reservoir and a go-kart track. Mini-golf is always available for all the family.
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Birmingham
Visiting the NEC in winter 2012 through to spring 2013 meant you got to have an out of this world experience.
Designed to inspire engineers, scientists, mathematicians and members of the public to keep pushing the boundaries of science, this life-size replica of the Virgin Galactic almost space-ship was a treat to see.
On the day that I took this picture it was overcast and I only had a smart-phone. However even so I like the image in general, and it was quite a thrill to get this close to something so new and innovative (even if it is just a replica).
Europe
Several years ago I had the opportunity to go to Spain. During the trip I spent a day in Almeria. Pictures from the trip are below. Note; on the day it there was a lot of haze which led to some interesting pictures (and challenges). Dominating the town is the Moorish castle, the Alcazaba of Almeria. The view of the castle is hard to see unfortunately due to the high buildings and narrow streets leading up to it (not to mention the winding roads). However the view from the castle is impressive. Below is the picture from the walls, dominated by the harbour.
The buildings in Almeria are often coloured in vivid colours, the picture above shows you the depth of colour used in many of the buildings in the region. The light was particularly striking when the haze lifted briefly giving the buildings a glowing look.
Within the old fort walls are some wonderful gardens within the ground, by looking a little closer you can see the terraced gardens facing the city. These descend from the inner walls towards the outer walls, the green colours standout against the stonework of the fort.
The terracing doesn’t stop inside the walls, as the edge of the fort are steep embankments, these usually are not as well tended, but nonetheless break up the colour of the walls and town nicely.
See the next part for pictures inside the fort and of the hills backing onto the town.