Photography

Prague Rugby Tour 2017

I’ve been in a writing rut recently and haven’t posted anything new for a while. Travel has been put on the backseat for a time, and I’ve been enjoying some downtime living in Exeter near to my family.

I’ve been given the opportunity to teach abroad again in January, but am still cautious about Covid measures overseas. My plans are to wait until May at the earliest before going anywhere outside the UK for an extended time.

In the meantime, I’ve been going through pictures of past holidays. Some of my favourite pictures of an epic holiday are the ones taken in Prague, Czech Republic, as part of a rugby tour with my university team. We had a great time exploring this beautiful city, and seeing all that the local bars and restaurants had to offer.

In the evenings, bats would fly through the town square where there is lots of gothic architecture. There are plenty of old buildings and churches dotted around the city to discover in the daytime. In the evening, live music isn’t hard to find and the hostel we stayed in organised a bar crawl to some of the popular bars.

Greenwich Park in Early Spring

To contrast the buildings, skyscrapers and monuments of the city centre, London has a surprisingly vast amount of green space.

Roughly 47% of Greater London is considered ‘green space’, and you will never find yourself far from a park, woodland or common. Greenwich Park is often busy at weekends, but during the week when it’s a little more quiet, you will find lots of small woodland animals and birds.

The park is home to Red and Fallow Deer in an area called ‘The Wilderness’. I didn’t get to capture these on camera, but I did see two grazing together in the distance from the enclosure viewpoint.

I did get to capture some pictures of the squirrels, ducks, robin, magpie and other birds, as well as some pictures of the flowers.

I still haven’t got over my feeling of self-consciousness when taking pictures in public places, I don’t like to feel like I’m watched or drawing attention to myself (the hypocrisy of a photographer, hey?!). The squirrel seemed to have similar feelings and was difficult to photograph, although his curiosity got the better of him and I managed to get a few close-ups. The birds were the best, standing still while I took some shots, although the magpie was certainly the shyest of the whole lot.

I’ve been to the park most weeks since moving to Greenwich in January, and it’s been a great way to get out and about during lockdown. I’ll certainly miss the area once I return to Devon at Easter time.

I took a photo tour through my favourite city, London. Here’s what I saw…

London never fails to surprise me. Just when you think you have experienced everything there is to discover, you learn something new.

I lived here for five years through university, and recently returned after a year in Vietnam.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the roads are so quiet compared to the usual traffic and congestion. I passed a few other cyclists and pedestrians, with a steady stream of cars here and there. In the city centre, the roads are mostly clear excepting a handful of commuters and Police vehicles.

I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph London’s streets at this unusual time, and at the same time aware of the horrifying reasons for their barrenness.

The images may look calm or grand, but there is an ominous presence in the city. At times I felt like I was trespassing into a conflict zone, or somewhere deserted after an apocalyptic war.

As I made my way from the City back into the suburbs, the sign of other residents was reassuring and welcome. London sure is a beautiful place to live, but at times like this we can find value in the comfort and simplicity of our homes, wherever they may be.

More photos and reflections from my London tour and other London excursions coming up soon! 🙂

Prague Rugby Tour 2017

Greenwich Park in Early Spring

I took a photo tour through my favourite city, London. Here’s what I saw…

Share this: