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Mondoñedo cathedral
The small city of Mondoñedo is located in the province of Galicia in northwest Spain. It lies along the so-called Northern Pilgrim Way, of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) (1). Although, it is now a relatively small town of about 4,000 people – the population has been declining since the nineteenth century –…
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Afghanistan from the air
I have never been to Afghanistan, but from 36,000 feet or thereabouts, it certainly has a rugged beauty. Towering, snow-clad mountains are interspersed with deep, dark valleys where the sun sets early in the afternoon. Unfortunately – for those of us who like to gaze out of the window on the dramatic landscapes passing below…
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Wandering after Wallace: Gede-Pangrango National Park
I have to confess at the outset that, unlike Alfred Russel Wallace, I did not manage to reach the top of this imposing mountain! Although the upper section of the mountain was closed and off-limits in August 2015 – something to do with a national holiday – I could have got higher if my knees…
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Wandering after Wallace: Cibodas Botanical Gardens
Alfred Russel Wallace – the great Victorian naturalist and co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection – described his journeys in West Java in 1861 in his book The Malay Archipelago (1). He travelled from the capital Jakarta, down to the town of Bogor, where he stopped off to look at the Botanical Gardens planted by the Dutch…
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Wandering after Wallace: Bogor Botanical Gardens
Alfred Russel Wallace – co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection – spent three and a half months in Java, from 18th July to 31st Oct 1861 (1). After collecting birds and insects in East Java, he took a steamer from Surabaya to Jakarta, where he stayed about a week. Jakarta did not seem to make…
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Javan faces
I recently traveled to Java (Indonesia) to do some bird watching. I surprised by how friendly the people were. Wherever I went – outside of the capital – people, especially children, were eager to speak to me and have their photo taken. Students liked to ask my name and where I came from. In the…
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Scarborough harbour reflections
The small harbour in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, is a photographer’s delight, with a diverse collection of colourful fishing boats and pleasure craft. There are also lots of colourful shops and amusement arcades along the sea front. During the summer, the sun sets late in the evening and the so-called ‘magic hour’ – when colours are…
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Waves
The waves were crashing into the rocks on this day in early June. The spray rose high into the air and the water cascaded down the rocks back into the ocean. Few surfers were braving the elements on this day in early June. I stood on one side of the bay and pointed my lens…
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Selecting from Nature’s patterns
We humans can create ‘works of art’ in many ways. We might collect shells and drift wood and use them to make representational works like Picasso did so skilfully. Or we could grind up natural elements like soil or minerals and apply them to a canvas. Or we could rely on Nature to produce a…
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Galician ponies: an ancient breed adapted to life on the hills
Galician ponies are a hardy breed of short-bodied, semi-feral horses which live on the mountains of Galicia, in NW Spain. They are said to be derived from a mixture of Celtic horses, Roman horses and horses brought to Spain by ancient Germanic tribes (the Swabians), and subsequently cross-bred with other breeds. They are however, superbly adapted to…
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Ray Cannon's travel and photography blog 