Travel photography….for real this year

It’s a year since my last post on travel photography and, let’s face it, The Canaries, although off the coast of Africa, don’t really cut it as an exotic and mysterious subject. So, this year I ramped up my Intrepid-ness and plumped for Ethiopia, one of the four great powers of the ancient world (with Persia, China and Rome). Not only that, but I decided to go over Timket, the festival of Epiphany for the Ethiopian Orthodox church.

Although not religious, it was a powerful experience. As I wrote to a friend at the time:

“Only two days in and already have had my mind blown! It has been the festival of Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany). Yesterday saw   the procession(s) of the replica(s) Ark of the Covenant(s) from churches all over Addis to Jan Meda – we were there at the start of the celebrations, got carried along with the procession (literally – the crush was so great!), and followed the whole parade to Jan Meda, dodging red-carpet carriers (they roll up the one behind and race to the front – should do this for premieres!) and police horses (well, they probably weren’t police, all of them but….).

Today was the baptism and blessing (to commemorate the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist) from the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to everyone who came to Jan Meda. A Cardinal and loads of other interdenominational church representatives (Ethiopian church isn’t Catholic and is a rich mix of Judaism onwards) were there too plus priests, deacons and congregants from various churches, kids from Sunday schools, as well as ordinary people from all over the world. Talking of ordinary people, it was weird and nice to meet with other press photographers from everywhere – same conversations, it seems, the world over! We just recognise each other by kit and bearing from a mile off – first time I’ve encountered this out of the UK.

The Patriarch welcomed everyone from all over the globe and asked us to tell the world about the festival and Ethiopia – a more press-and-photography-friendly culture I have not experienced! Non-Ethiopians were very much in the minority so to be welcomed like this was amazing (not just by him, but by everyone I’ve met so far).

We were lucky enough (with a savvy local guide, tourist passes and a little extra leverage from my press pass!) to get into the inner compound. Felt undeservedly privileged to be there, with really close access to the Patriarch, literally feet away (press would never be allowed so close to the Pope, or even the Arch-Bish of Canterbury!) so was happy to help the people kept outside the compound by fetching and carrying holy water from the holy water pool for the people to take home to their friends and family who couldn’t be there! (Priests in golden robes were standing on the perimeter fence and spraying the faithful with the Holy Hosepipes!)

Although I’m not religious, it was hugely life-affirming – a wonderful thing to be part of. Not having been to a large music festival either, I’d imagine the feelings invoked by the two would be similar! However, what do I know! Anyway, felt uplifted, emotional, happy and fortunate. Hope the feeling stays with me!”

If you would like to see the photostory of Timket, follow this link to vimeo.

After Timket, the travels started in earnest: Bahir Dar (by Lake Tana), Lalibela, Axum, Gonder, Simien Mountains and back to Addis. Here’s a selection of my favourite photographs from these places (for fuller sets, go to www.janehobson.com )

Watching football for free, Bahir Dar.

On the road to Lalibela - two young girls

Two deacons at the cave church of Yemrehane Christos.

A girl and her siblings outside her home - Yemrehane Christos.

The stelae field, Axum.

Gondarene castles.

The highest lodge in Africa - unfortunately, I had altitude sickness!

The whole experience has whetted my appetite for more travel (and more travel photography) and I have four possible projects/stories to research to go back to various parts of Ethiopia, as well as other destinations to contemplate. Now just to work out how to fund them all!

I love it when a plan comes together

There are certain days that make the hard slog of this business worthwhile. Like today. Today I did the production photography for “Howl’s Moving Castle” at Southwark Playhouse. It’s an astonishing adaptation from book to stage by a hugely talented team.

I witnessed the production in its nascent stages, as I also did the rehearsal photography. It is hugely satisfying (and always like some sort of alchemical process) to see a production from early doors to full blown production, to see it develop, grow and bloom in all its potential glory. This one particularly so, as the use of projection and original music are fantastic (in its true sense) and are devices which imbue the play with true magick. The set-and-projection combo is a genius solution to (hush, don’t tell anyone) not really having a castle that flies (think of the hydraulics!) and it truly does transport you with it.

Having been blown away by the model box, I was doubly so by the upscaled version. It just has to be seen to be believed. Imagine a giant had taken a fancy to doing intricate paper cutouts…..

Of course, wonderful as design, music, and light are so the actors must also be. And, naturally, they ARE! (To be upstaged by the staging would be unthinkable, dear). Daniel Ings is a Very Dashing Howl (move over Mr Darcy!), Kristin McGuire a beautiful and lithe Young Sophie/Witch of the Waste and Susan Sheridan a wonderful, mischievous, Old Sophie.

All in all, it was a hugely fun and satisfying day at the office. Thank you to all concerned.

Can’t wait for press night! Roll on Friday!

Here’s a taster:

Kristin McGuire as Young Sophie.

Daniel Ings as Howl

Susan Sheridan as Old Sophie

Kristin McGuire as the Witch of Waste

See the full gallery here: www.janehobson.com

Credits: Cast (in order of appearance):

Young Sophie/Witch of the Waste – Kristin McGuire

Narrator – Stephen Fry

Old Sophie – Susan Sheridan

Calcifer – James Wilkes

Howl – Daniel Ings

Creative Team:

Directors & Designers – Davy & Kristin McGuire

Writer – Mike Sizemore

Sound Designer – Jerry Ibbotson

Lighting Designer – Tim Bray

Composer – Fyfe Dangerfield (of the Guillemots!)

Associate Director – Jack Lowe

Associate Producer – Katherine Jewkes

Press Representative – Susie Safavi

Programme Designer – Rebecca Pitt

Rehearsal & Production Photographer – Jane Hobson (i.e. me!)

Stage Manager – Peta Dyce

Production Manager – Richard Seary

Programmer – Richard Williamson

Assistant Animator – Sophie Cheshire

Set construction – RK Resources

Draw My Story…..Now!

The amazing, wonderful, talented, and beautiful (inside and out), Lizzie Mary Cullen, is drawing & painting, live, on a wall, in an Islington web design agency, Base Creative, from Tweets sent to #drawmystory from today (Wednesday 23rd November) until Friday lunchtime (25th November)! It’s along the lines of the party game ‘Consequences’, but taking the verbal and making it visual. As ever, it is sheer brilliance from the multi award-winning designer, tapping into social media to make this a truly interactive piece of artwork. Follow her on Twitter @drawmystory (videostreaming) and Tweet her the next line with the hashtag #drawmystory

Lizzie Mary Cullen, at the start of 'Draw My Story', 48-hour endurance illustration project.

Stop Press!

Stop Press!

My November cover for FSM magazine is now live  http://www.fsmmagazine.co.uk/

For tech-heads, this was the first outing (having only used them in my studio until now) of my portable Ranger Quadras, which are a joy to use in the field, having their own battery packs and being small yet powerful. They were swift to set up and, let’s face it, determining where you are going to shoot in an environment where you have not had the opportunity to recce the setting first, well, timing is of the essence! Given that speed was important, I chose to use two reflector brollies, though I do have softboxes which would have been an option if I had the time to set up earlier.

Tim Hammond, new MD of Elior, the contract catering company, was interviewed by Jane Renton, Group Editor, from FSM magazine, for the November issue.  It is a fascinating interview, covering the recent re-brand, his strategic vision for the company, and providing insight into what drives the man behind the company. For all marketing/consultancy/adheads, it is a worthwhile read and, I am guessing, not your usual trade title to peruse.

As a brand and advertising strategist (I’m not only a photographer, you know! In Adland I was a Planning Director and Strategy Partner for advertising and marcomms agencies) it was a thoroughly interesting assignment, over and above Tim’s being a delightful subject to photograph.

Further photographs of Mr Hammond, shot during the interview using available light, appear inside the magazine, accompanying the article.

Grin Up North

After a slow start to the photographic week (a 10 minute photocall, after half an hour of crew pulling curtains to make them longer, most of the action being lit in orange and involving the dancers lying on the floor a lot) it got decidedly better, and funnier, with my now-regular trip to Harrogate to shoot Tom Taylor’s “Sitting Room” comedy club.

Tom Taylor, MC.

The bums-on-seats count exceeded even the opening night which, at 150 posteriors, was astonishing. At the last count, it was around 170 people this time, aged 15 to 87 again (yes, the same extremes reappeared. Already we have regulars!). And again, there were a lot of comedy virgins, judging by the looks of shock and sneaky grins (as if they were thinking “I’m finding this highly mirthsome but should I really be laughing at this? What if the vicar sees me?”) which may (or may not) have precipitated rather a lot of delightful swearing from Tony Burgess  in a “don’t mention the war” kindofaway. That’s my theory anyway.

Tony Burgess

Warmed up to the idea of the F word by the first interval, Carly ‘Charming But Filthy’ Smallman went one further and got away with the introduction of the C word! And incest! And lots of other fabulously funny stuff. She had the whole audience charmed. I shall definitely be following her career with interest – only two years in and already this darn good! You’re awesome, Carly!

Carly Smallman

Paul Foot had swollen numbers with his hardcore fans, or should I say Connoisseurs, who loved every minute of his surreal ramblings, as did the entire rest of the room, with the exception of one ‘man’ who made the mistake of telling Paul “you’re shit”. Paul then handled this lame heckle in such a truly masterful stylee which, in my 27 years of live comedy watching, I have never witnessed before. Dissecting this and subjecting the idiot to at least 5 minutes of extemporising on how comedy appreciation was subjective and therefore the statement could not be possibly be true, whilst having the rest of the audience in stitches, was pure comedy genius. I tip my hat to you, Sir Paul of Foot.

Paul Foot

In addition to photographing the show, I decided that it would be a great record of the club, from almost the beginning, if we could also make portraits of every comedian playing the club, in a Sitting Room Stylee. I wish I’d had the idea before the opening night, in July, but hey, there’s only so much kicking yourself you can do before you decide your shins hurt. Having hunted, fruitlessly, amongst Harrogate’s plethorous (is that a word? It is now) charity shops for sitting room-type props, I kept the set simple, dragging an armchair into the Green Room from the lobby and placing it in front of a picture. Wish I’d thought of that earlier too as I could have had a one hour reflexology treatment at the wonderful Chinese herbalist’s shop (Herbal Inn, Beulah Street – they don’t appear to have a website to link to) instead of the half hour I squeezed in! Oooh but my feet thanked me anyway.

Unfortunately, Tony Burgess left before I could put the proposal to him but Carly Smallman and Paul Foot were happy to pose in my portable studio and we had fun making the most of the minimal set.

Carly Smallman

Paul Foot

Job done, we retired to the bar for chatting, laughing, supping and sketching. Paul drew Tom, Carly drew Paul and I photographed them all drawing each other. Perhaps there’s another idea for Sitting Room…..a gallery of sketches from all the acts of all the other acts…..

Carly Smallman's Manga sketch of Paul Foot.

Oh, and in another first, Paul Foot was good enough to write a review of the show for the local press. (The reviewer who would have come was on a walking holiday in Scotland!) This could start a trend, the headline act writing their own review. Needless to say, it was very funny. Will link to any published versions in future posts.

The full gallery of September’s Sitting Room comedy night is on my website, www.janehobson.photoshelter.com.

Back in London yesterday, and straight off the train, I made my (short) way to The Place, where Daniel Proietto and Andrew Wale are appearing in “Avenida Corrientes“. Daniel had been generous and kind enough to invite me to photograph their dress rehearsal. What an utter delight! It is a beautiful, funny and moving piece of work, blending theatre and dance, in a fabulous space from a photographer’s (and audience’s) perspective. A decent sized stage, clear sight lines, and proximity to the performers that makes you feel even more involved in the action.

Last night is tonight so book quickly!

The full gallery of “Avenida Corrientes” is on my website, www.janehobson.photoshelter.com.

 

Let’s Get Physical!

Even before I went up to Edinburgh last week, my awareness of crossover/multi-disciplinary physical theatre had grown considerably over the last few months. I am unsure whether this is a real growth or just a growth in my, or even the public’s, general awareness of what companies are creating in these areas. Certainly, for me, this is hugely exciting, as it provides so much scope for the performing arts photographer as well as for the enthusiastic, decidedly non-physical, punter in me.

Having long been fascinated by comedy, mime, puppetry, contemporary circus, and dance, it is fabulous to see boundaries being crossed, dropped and merged in the creation of work that transcends disciplines and often defies description, except in relation to its narrative or just sheer beauty.

Photographing the wonderful Jackson’s Lane Postcards Festival in July was really the catalyst for me in noticing this growing trend, or at least putting some sort of label on it, however vague. Not one of the single descriptions for the performances was really adequate to pigeon-hole them (and, let’s face it, only pigeons really like pigeon-holes, and even then, I suspect they probably would rather mix a little more). From clowning to cabaret, performance art to Commedia dell’Arte and all sorts of beauty and delightful silliness in between, I (and my camera) was captivated.

With that experience burned in my brain, I set out to document other productions which similarly fired my imagination and took it yet further.

Four cases in point from my trip to Edinburgh last week (from which I am still recovering, on so many levels).

“Zanniskinheads and the Quest for the Holy Balls” by Slingshot Theatre is a laugh-out-loud, splendidly silly, Commedia dell’(f)Arte-with-a-makeover delight. Peenut and Ribbon, two loveable hooligans without a common language, or braincell, go on a quest to retrieve the Holy Grail of the Zanniskinheads, The Holy Balls. A joyful jumble of slapstick, buffoonery, hooliganism and rude noises, it was also a delight to photograph.

www.slingshot-theatre.com

“The Table” by the intelligent and accomplished puppet company, Blind Summit, needed no conscious suspension of disbelief for their show, or should I say Moses’ show at is was he, the puppet, who I am sure was working the three blokes in black behind him. The grumpy, old, cardboard-boxhead man both railed against, and made the most of, his inability to get off said table. His observation that the underside of the table was hardly a dwelling, more of a structure, and the self-referential gags about puppetry and the difference between ‘psychologicals’ of acting and the ‘reality’ of puppets was both intelligent and hilarious. For a cardboard box (that is his ‘backstory’) he is remarkably photogenic, which is down to the fabulous modelling skills of Nick Barnes, who also won an unofficial Ironman award, from the Observer, for crouching down, attached to Moses’ feet for the duration. http://bit.ly/odbP2d

Scotsman Fringe First Winners and The Guardian’s Pick of the Festival 2011.

www.blindsummit.com

“Translunar Paradise”, by Theatre Ad Infinitum, had me both weeping and laughing. A beautiful love story of two young lovers, growing old together until William is left, bereft, by the death of Rose, told via flashbacks, is both moving and beautiful. The use of masks, mime and music is a joy to behold, the fluidity of transitions between the snapshots of the couple’s lives being closer to dance than what would normally think of as mask work. Kim Heron, musician, also won the Observer’s unofficial Ironman distinction for her multitasking.

Winner of the Holden St Theatre Award.

Deborah Pugh, as Rose, and George Mann, as William, (also Director).

www.theatredinfinitum.co.uk

“The Games”, by Spike Theatre, had me laughing so hard I thought I would need to use Tena Ladies. Barely holding the camera steady against the fits of giggles, guffaws and, I am ashamed to say, snorts, this is a highly topical production, the subject of which is the Olympic Games, the audience being taken back to Ancient Greece and bets and fights between gods and mortals. Again, this was a wonderful, high energy, blend of theatre, puppetry, clowning and music.

www.spiketheatre.com

Roll Up! Roll Up!

I love circus. No, I mean REALLY love circus. I even have a penchant for jugglers’ forearms. But I digress. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been delighted to bear photographic witness to heaps and heaps of circus (and a musical with a circus set!). Hippo in mud! (No, there weren’t any actual hippos in mud, just me in seventh heaven).

First up was the opening night for the fabulous Jackson’s Lane’s “Postcards Festival”. This was a veritable smorgasbord of circus and cabaret, ranging from Marawa the Amazing (what she can’t do with hoops, nobody can) and Juicy de Jour (Carly Halse performing very funny, very different burlesque-with-a-twist) to aerial acts Mettatheatre and Collectif and Then, and professional drunk, Bryony Kimmings. Too much to mention individually and at length so suffice it to say that it provided a wonderful taster of the whole festival, which is still running, so do check out the remaining performances at http://www.jacksonslane.org.uk/

Marawa the Amazing

Mettatheatre

Bryony Kimmings

This was the first time I’d had chance to explore this venue (which is shameful, as it’s my nearest theatre!) and it truly is a wonderful venue. The Postcards opening night was held throughout the building, in the foyer, the theatre, the upstairs (mahoosive!) space, which is flanked by the stained glass windows of the old church building, and two other rooms. The audience moved between spaces to witness the performances, being instructed to do so by The Queen for the evening, compere Francesca Martello, who charmingly referred to us as “pheasants” and “objects”, upholding as she did, the very British tradition of having foreign royalty (and the funny  consequences of having English as a second language).

Francesca Martello

Then to the musical with the fabulous circus set design by Tim Goodchild – “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd” at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre. The first time this musical has been performed in London, it has had great reviews and is selling out so you’d better get in quick before it ends its run! Details here http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/ Looked fabulous fun from the photocall!

L to R: Oliver Beamish (as Sir), Lucy Watts (as the Kid), and Matthew Ashforde as (Cocky).

Louisa Maxwell (as The Girl) and Matthew Ashforde (as Cocky) with The Urchins (Jennifer Done, Beth Morrissey, Elizabeth Rowden, Tanya Shields, Charotte Silver and Hannah Wilding).

And to (temporarily) finish off the circus theme (temporarily, as there’s still more Postcards Festival to come) last night saw the hilarious, debauched and downright filthy Wau Wau Sisters’ “Last Supper” at Jacksons Lane. They were fabulously funny and superbly  inventive.

Wau Wau Sisters

Dance for Everyone!

I get to witness a lot of world-renowned dancers, at the peak of their game and physical perfection, making beautiful, if transitory, works of art. People with a level of fitness I never had, bending in ways I never could.

I love this.

I also love to dance myself, on the rare occasion I do it, whether round the bedroom to the radio in the morning, whilst pushing the Dyson round the living room or, rarer still, at a Christmas party. This is not breath-takingly beautiful but it makes me happy!

There are few people who are not tempted to move by music, so why is the general view that one needs to be classically trained, young, beautiful, fit and bendy to be able to produce something that other people want to see you perform?

This week was proof that this is not the case and not only that, but that dance is, and should be, accessible for all. On Bank Holiday Monday, “Cakewalk Revival” was held at Alexandra Palace, in the Palm Court, hosted by Sally Wood AKA The People’s Palace.

http://thepeoplespalace.org.uk/

This was a fabulous event, with participants ranging from Baby Daisy in her pram to people who I’m guessing were in their 8th decade or so. A swing band and a swing DJ provided the music, Gaia hosted a pre-dance swing lesson and people had a go, whatever their level of experience. To see a variety of people, of all ages and wearing a fabulous variety of costumes, from everyday wear to 20s, 30s and predominantly 1940s clothing, clearly having a fabulous time, by the big grins on faces, was wonderful!

“Sum of Parts” was the next highlight of the dance week on Tuesday. It is a new work from Sadler’s Wells Creative Learning department, Connect. Bringing together the illustrations of Betsy Dadd, the choreographic skills of Sadler’s Wells Associate Companies, the music of Nitin Sawhney and a cast of 130, the whole truly was greater than the sum of parts! All ages were present, from 9 to 90, professionals, amateurs, able-bodied, people with physical and learning difficulties, in short a truly diverse, inclusive and community corps. If the audience entered with an impression that this was not going to be up to the Wells’ usual high standards this was quickly dispelled. The work was professional, compelling, moving and uplifting! Not words I’ve heard bandied about for the later event in the week at that venue, involving naked people, in long blond wigs, crawling all over the audience!

Next up, “The Merchants of Bollywood”, an adrenalin-fuelled and fuelling blaze of bhangra and bling at the Peacock Theatre! I could barely keep still whilst shooting, my feet were dying to dance and my hands just wanted to twist that lightbulb! Another uplifting and motivating production, and completely different again to the two prior events. I wouldn’t be surprised if the audience was dancing in the aisles for this one!

To round off the week of accessible dance, it was back up to Ally Pally, this time for a picnic, where entertainment was provided by an Electro Morris Dancing duo and a 1940s-attired lady with a gramophone. And yes, they were playing together! The Electro Rhythm Sticks picking up the beat from the swing tunes. Wonderfully anachronistic and full of fun, smiles and laughter. They were also generous enough to let people have a go with their sticks!

What a great week!

Electro Morris - their usual, performing attire is a neon twist on the standard Morris Dancing costume!

To round off, just for The Wire fans, but nothing to do with dance (unless you count verbal dexterity as a form of dance?), here’s Dominic West in the role of “Butley” at The Duchess Theatre.

Dominic West as Butley and Martin Hutson as Joseph Keyston.

Confessions, births and weddings

Although not Catholic, I feel like I should be asking for forgiveness for the gap between posts. I can’t quite believe it’s been four months since my last confession, um, blog post. A lot of wonderful dance and theatre has been witnessed in that time, my portfolio has been added to, pictures published in the Telegraph, Independent, FT, Metro, Mail and broadwayworld.com  (see Tearsheets) and yet it’s a birth and a wedding that have prompted me to post this time. No, not personal life events but a short film and THAT wedding.

Firstly, the short. “Ouroboros” is the latest offering from Director Brothers David and Keith Lynch. Filmed over three days at Haringey Sixth Form College, masquerading as a financial institution in the City, it involved a birth, a terrorist plot and a rescue (or did it?). I am not going to give anything else away but, if you get the chance to see it, at a film festival near you soon, do. It’s an intriguing way of telling a story and will keep you guessing until the last minute and possibly beyond. I’m certainly looking forward to the cast and crew screening, when that happens – it’s in post at the moment so watch this space.

This film is being made via crowdfunding, so, if you would like to donate, and be in at the beginning of the major career of talented film-makers, please do so via this link: http://www.indiegogo.com/Ouroboros-2  There is a lot more information on the short and why they are making it if you follow the link too.

Meanwhile, here are a few of my publicity stills from the movie.

So then, THAT wedding. Well, given that it was rumoured to cost £10k per agency and £1k per individual for accreditation and that the submitted picture count was likely to be in the tens of thousands, my chances for getting shots of the wedding parade published were slim to none. So, I decided to take an alternative tack and shoot something of personal interest which related to the preparations for events surrounding the wedding.

I have followed the very talented Lily Vanilli ( http://www.lilyvanilli.com ) on Facebook and Twitter since buying one of her fabulous, anatomically correct, heart cakes for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. Cupcake Society is well and truly established in London and Lily is at the forefront of this, with her wares being stocked in Harrods Food Hall, no less. Her innovative underground cake and cocktail parties are also a big hit. Absinthe icecream anyone?!

So, to hear that Lily had been commissioned by the V&A to make a wedding cake for their Friday Late: “I Do” evening on the eve of the Royal Wedding itself was very exciting and I asked her if I could come and shoot her assembling the creation on site, the day before. The setting matched the aesthetics of the cake perfectly, though was not the first choice for the museum. Owing to the potential problems of wheeling a 5-tiered cake from the cafe to the gardens, it was decided to make the Morris room the setting for the cake and the cutting ceremony. What a fantastic backdrop! The room, decorated by William Morris in golds and deep greens and reds complemented the golden cake perfectly and lent a fairytale, Amelie-esque feel to the scene and to the photographs.

Lily carefully places the first two tiers on the pedestal and arranges the first set of supporting columns.

The inspired creation was of spiced chocolate cake, with Bucks Fizz curd, and grapefruit mousse buttercream, decorated with jewels of hard candy. The basic design of the cake makes reference to Victoria and Albert’s wedding cake, gold plated and bejewelled like a gaudy souvenir, which is intended as a comment on how the royals have been commercialised.

Lily puts the finishing touches to the regal cake.

The winners of a catwalk competition held at the Friday Live “I Do” event had the honour of cutting the delicious cake to round off the celebrations.  Sadly, I wasn’t there to have a slice, but can vouch for the deliciousness of Lily Vanilli cakes, having had a bit of heart and aorta from my boyfriend’s Valentine cake!

Travel photography?

Taking advantage of the downtime over the festive season, I went to Lanzarote for some winter sun. Not that I sit out in it much, but it’s nice to be warm for a change.  The only rule was, No Digital. So, along came two film cameras – one 35mm and one medium format rangefinder. What joy! Editing started before the shutter button was even pressed. With only 10 frames per medium format roll, being selective is a necessity.

Travelling between the major museums and galleries, up volcanoes, through villages, to the sea, gave a great variety of subject matter, but not what you would always suspect before visiting for the first time.

These are the kinds of shots I expected….

View from up a volcano, Lanzarote.

Lunar landscape at Timanfaya, Lanzarote.

These are the kind I hoped to get, as I prefer shooting people to landscapes, generally……

Old man, watching the goings-on in the market at Teguise, Lanzarote.

Two girls playing, Teguise, Lanzarote.

But my favourites of the week were completely unexpected…..

Artist's sculpture garden, Teguise, Lanzarote.

Close-up of Scary Dolly, artist's sculpture garden, Teguise, Lanzarote.

Freaky but fun!