Posts from 2022

  • May is a funny month for me. The countryside is green and lush, with lots of flowers in the meadows and a pleasant mix of cooling rain and warming sunshine, but I often feel a little frustration because the higher mountains are often still covered with slushy snow. This year, I’ve been spending a lot…

  • It’s been a while since I thought of sharing anything on my website. Things have been very busy, both with work, trips here and there and with getting our balcony ready for summer. Instead of waffling on, I thought I’d try a new approach for a change: a brief visual review of what I got…

  • As the previous post for April went down well, I thought I’d work backwards and start adding a few new little galleries of photos to show what I’ve been up to each month. Here’s March 2022 in pictures.

  • We travelled to western Switzerland last weekend, primarily to visit the small British supermarket in Gland and the tulip festival in Morges. Although the festival has been advertised and the tents and visitor facilities were already set up, the tulips were lamentably still a way from flowering, so I made do with photographing the daffodils…

  • I was keen to do more winter hiking this year, and although winter seems to have flown by, I did manage to get out into the snow more often than in previous years. Most recently, we got the big cable-car up from Grindelwald to Eigergletscher with the intention of then getting the short train connection…

  • Urban nature

    Walking by the river in Bern, where the views and scenes are more interesting than beautiful. (At least, at this time of year and under uninspiring weather conditions.)

  • Age catching up

    I had a busy week. Two work projects are due for completion soon and because I felt that I was behind on them both, I decided to go back to the computer after dinner and work on them. I used to work late into the night when I was first establishing my career here, and…

  • You can tell that I’ve enjoyed myself when I come home from a walk or a day out with a set of photos. Here are four from a chilly but lovely winter sunset on the shores of Lac Léman last weekend. I’ve loved square-format images since I started taking photos with a medium-format film camera…

  • Île de Peilz

    I like unusual things and the tiny natural island around 500 metres from the lake shore at Villeneuve, on Lac Léman, certainly fits that bill.

  • Cable car passing the woods, Mürren

    Mainly speaking, the month of February is a cold one, when my thoughts start turning to days out and summer temperatures. That being said, I still managed to get out on some trips, with the main goal of getting some exercise.

  • Nail-polish applied to the roots of a tree. Sure. Why not?

  • The Belt of Venus

    Before dawn in autumn and winter on a clear day, where there is moisture or minutely-fine dust in the air, early risers get to see the Belt of Venus. The pink colouration at around 10°-20° above the horizon is caused by the scattered, reflected light of the sun hitting minute dust particles in the west,…

  • In most places in the mountains, even heavily-touristed spots like Creux-du-Van, visitors are left to their own common sense when it comes to health and safety. Fences and walkways seem to only be installed where it’s really necessary, although I can’t quite fathom when the decision is made. This allows one the chance to experience…

  • Triptych

    I’ve never really been one for creating “fine art” from my photographs, but I have always loved producing prints. There’s something deeply nostalgic and satisfying about spending time creating a really good photographic print, then selecting the best paper (a lustre-effect one by my preference) and creating a proper photographic print to pore over. In…

  • Hiking roulette

    Walking on a snow-shoe path without snow-shoes is usually OK, as long as the snow has been well-compacted by plenty of feet. But sometimes, your foot finds a soft bit and you suddenly find yourself knee-deep.

  • Instagram is where the audience is, but not every photo is suitable for Instagram. Highly-detailed images get lost amongst the pouting girls and gaudy sunsets. These photos deserve to be viewed larger.

  • Fail

    Half-an-hour later, the only thing which had changed was the number of Swiss men standing looking at it.

  • Some panoramic views of the Isle of Skye, shot way back in 2005.

  • Being interesting

    Taking good, “nice” photographs of beautiful surroundings is like shooting fish in a barrel when you live somewhere as beautiful as Switzerland. Even going for a lunchtime constitutional with an iPhone in your pocket, you can take a couple of snaps of the magnificent lake view. Share them on social media, where they get lost…

  • WordPress expert Mark Howells-Mead

    How to ensure that you don’t lose content or functionality when switching to a new WordPress Theme.

  • It seems to stick in my mind that by the time we get to January, we’re well into winter. But the snow and ice often doesn’t arrive where I live until January or February, although that doesn’t preclude it being pretty damned cold from time to time. January this year marked the arrival of my…