Travels Past

Spectators on Lake Mono road A giant inflatable Claude!

Weird sights on hikes

- In the first picture, six Richard Turners have seen something photo-worthy in the distance. This is the road south of Lake Mono, California, Summer 1999. In the second picture, my father and I have stumbled across a giant inflatable Claude. Aberdeenshire, Spring 2000. These and all pictures are of dimensions appropriate for desktop wallpaper.

One of these Tufa is not like the others Eastern edge of Yosemite National Park

Lake Mono

- an beautiful lake east of Yosemite National Park, California. Calcium-rich water bubbles up from under the lake floor. It reacts with the carbonates in the lake-water to form tufa towers - pillars of limestone. The water has receeded, leaving these tufa stranded. The second picture shows the edge of Yosemite National Park.

Orange berries in winter Iron bars frosted Snow, Tree, Sky

Cambridge in the seasons

- Orange berries grow on a wall in Queens' College in the middle of winter. Iron bars to Midsummer Common, frosted. A tree with snow, but I can't figure out which way round this photo should go. Also see these seasons' trees in Midsummer Common.

Gross Squashes Lucian In Circle

Netherlands

- A display of gross squashes in an Amsterdam shop window, August 1999. Lucian in a circle at a lovely park in Eindhoven.

Stockholm archipelago Auto-running camera

Stockholm archipelago

- around twenty-four thousand islands, skerries and rocks to the east of Stockholm. There are frequent boats, and it seems as though every island has some sort of house on it. (Also see the official tourism website). The second picture illustrates the difficulties in travelling on one's own, and using an auto-timer to take photos.

Bizarre creature in Stockholm park Being one with the rigging

Stockholm

- On one of the islands that make up Stockholm there is a museum of architecture. Its park, nearby, is populated with giant and grotesque creatures. This yellow and red thing is one of them. The same island is home to the AF Chapman, a ship that doubles as a youth hostel. Here I am trying to become one with the rigging.

Camel Camel Features

Camels in Thar Desert

- On the border between India and Pakistan is a large desert. Drug smugglers get their camels addicted to marijuhana so that the camels will want to make their own way to the destination, without the need for a human rider. That way no one gets caught by the police. A friend and I went on a three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The ugly camel was rebellious and would spew forth green bile.

Lucian and Devon in the Great Thar Desert The Great Thar Desert Desert Photography

Thar Desert

- In the first photo, Devon and I ran at top speed to reach the next dune in the twelve seconds allowed by the camera auto-timer. The dunes were very photogenic!

Walled City of Jaisalmir School outside Jaisalmir Lake Palace at Udaipur

Jaisalmir and Udaipur

- The Walled City of Jaisalmir lies at the heart of the Great Thar Desert. It was from here that I set off on my three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The middle picture shows a school just outside the city walls. The Lake Palace Hotel was where the Bond film Octopussy was filmed. Unfortunately there were no scantily-clad ninja assasins when we visited at Christmas!

Toilet Boy Boy in Tree

City and Country Children

- We stayed in a hostel by the side of Udaipur Lake, Christmas 1992. During the day this young boy waited at the hostel's cafe and cleaned the toilet. At night, he slept in the toilet. The second picture is from a hike through the foothills of the Himalayas. The drop behind the tree is a good thousand feet.

Woodstock School Rice Paddies

Woodstock School

- Balanced on the edge of the Himalayas is the hill-town of Mussorie, and in it Woodstock School. I taught here for nine months. Pictured here are the mists and clouds of the monsoon season, July 1992. The rice paddies in the surrounding countryside are stepped because of the steepness of the hills.

Sky Earth

Rice Paddies

- Earth, Sky and Water.

Prostheletyzing in the Village of the Devil Worshippers Cactus

Devil Worshippers

- One day I joined a school christian hike prostheletyzing in the remote villages. "Beware" we were warned by the leader of the hike. "We are entering into the heart of devil-worshipping country. Be strong in your hearts and pray constantly in your mind." As we approached the heavy, slow drum beat got louder and more ominous...

Mountain Monastery of Computer Science Sherpas

Gangotri

- This mountain formation looks so striking, I want to found a computer science monastery at its summit. It is on a walk near Gangotri, six thousand meters high in the himalayas, where people like me suffer from altitude sickness. The Indian porters had no such trouble.

Young Drug-Pusher in Delhi Agra Metalhead

Dheli and Agra

- "Hello friend, you want hashish?" This young boy was the youngest drug-pusher I met in India. The second picture shows a bearer-ji carrying bus engine parts on his head. This was how most loads were carried. Pictures taken in Dheli and Agra, India, 1992.

Basilica of St Francis Xavier Fish Drying

Goa

- The first photo shows the Basilica of St Francis Xavier in the distance, with the ruins of a church to St Augustine in the foreground. This is in Goa, India, early 1993. The fish are left out to dry in the sun.

Sunset in Kerala Map of Andaman Islands

Kerala and Andamans

- South of Goa is the water-filled state of Kerala, full of fishermen. Where the river is narrower than here, children run along the banks of the river hoping the tourists in the boats will throw them pens. Early 1993. The Andamans are three days cruise from the souther tip of India. It is a protected zone because of the primitive natives, and world heritage site, and maps are hard to come by.

Light and Shadows at Saddle Castle Claude and the Sausage

Saddle Castle

- On the west coast of Scotland, on the Mull of Kintyre, is Saddle Castle. We stayed at the castle for two holidays. Paul McCartney filmed one of his videos on the castle's beach. At the far end of the beach is a two-storey stone picnic house, where my father burnt this sausage. The castle grounds are large and full of ferns, streams and deer.

Fern Leaves and Light

Saddle Fauna

- Here are two pictures of light and leaves in the grounds of Saddle Castle.

Swan on Beach Before and After

Saddle Swans

- A swan on the beach, created by my friend Gilli. The waves came and washed it away.

Indian Embassy Instructions in Kathmandu A Hole by a River

Indian Embassy, Kathmandu

- India is the worlds biggest beurocracy. If somehow you manage to fulfil these instructions they reward you with a visa. November 1992. The second picture is from somewhere in India. Does anyone have any idea what they're doing?

Oded's Tyre It's This Big

Boston and Prague

- Oded, a school friend, lugs a tyre across a disused Boston railway line. Julien, whom I met in Prague, explains something expansive.

Ampleforth Lake Victim of a Nuclear Holocaust

Family at Ampleforth

- Four fifths of my family on a jetty in Ampleforth Lake, where my younger brother went to school. The second picture shows a woodcut from Poland. I like to think of it as depicting a victim of a nuclear holocaust.