07.28.07

Wedding, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Posted in People, Travel, Wedding at 3:00 pm by Warren Williams

Was a guest at a wedding for family friends, and was asked to take the camera along to get a few snaps. Stratford Manor was a fine wedding venue, and the weather turned out great.

07.27.07

Birds of Prey, Warwick Castle

Posted in Animals, Travel at 3:30 pm by Warren Williams

My favourite display at Warwick Castle, was the Birds of Prey flying demonstrations. Featuring sea eagles, golden eagles, buzzards, an owl and a couple of vultures, made for an exciting show.


Air brakes


Bag of Fluff

Warwick Castle

Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 2:00 pm by Warren Williams

Warwick Castle is one of Englands’ finest. Built in 1068, by order of King William, it features some live shows, exhibits and birds of prey flying demonstrations during summer.


Madame Tussauds Wax Sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II


View from the tower over Warwick Castle


View of Warwick township, from Warwick Castle tower


Panoramic

07.26.07

Shakespeare Country, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Posted in General at 9:30 pm by Warren Williams

Nestled along the River Avon, Stratford-Upon-Avon in Warwickshire, is the birthplace of William Shakespeare – the greatest writer of the English language.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair some time declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.


William Shakespeare’s birthplace


William Shakespeare’s home in the evening light


Just a few days prior, severe flooding had causd these boats to come onto the land, still most of the front shops, pubs and houses were closed off due to repairs.

07.20.07

Rye, East Sussex

Posted in General, Travel at 2:00 pm by Warren Williams

Rye is a small quaint, hill top village, less than 20 miles East of Hastings. Narrow cobbled streets are an attraction, with plenty of freehouse pubs serving warm meals.


Mermaid Street, Rye

07.19.07

Hastings, Backyard Sunset

Posted in Landscape, Travel at 9:00 pm by Warren Williams

07.14.07

Hastings, East Sussex

Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 7:00 pm by Warren Williams

Hastings is famous for the battle of 1066, between Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror), and King Harold II. It’s fairly obvious to say who won, with William being crowned king at Westminster Abbey, on Christmas Day, 1066. The current Queen Elizabeth II is a direct descendant of King William.


East Hill, Hastings


From West Hill, looking back towards East Hill


Rock formations on West Hill, Hastings, with jet contrails across the sky


More rock formations under West Hill, and Hastings Castle. The pier can also be seen, which was recently been closed down due to being unsafe


The pigeon hunter!

07.09.07

Danson Park, Kent

Posted in Animals, General, Landscape, Travel at 1:00 pm by Warren Williams

My first day in England, was a slow one, after recovering from a 12 day rush of sights, attractions and travel.

I’m now living next to Danson Park, Welling, Kent (South East London). This was my childhood park, when I used to live here two score ago.

07.08.07

Rough Landing

Posted in Aviation, General, Travel at 9:00 pm by Warren Williams

Flying back from Krabi to Suvarnabhumi International, Bangkok, 2nd largest airport terminal in the world (after HK), and also boasting the tallest control tower.

Shortly after this photo taken from the Air Asia, Airbus A320 flight, we entered some thunder cloud, causing incredible turbulence, and near black conditions. The worst I’ve ever flown in.

A few hours back in the city, before my connecting flights with Emirates to London Gatwick, via Dubai. Sleep was much rewarded, after 45 hours.

07.06.07

Smooth Farewell

Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 10:00 pm by Warren Williams

The final dawn arose of my final day in the tropics of Southern Thailand.

What better way to start it off, at the Reggae bar on the sands of Loh Dalam Bay, sipping a smooth banana flavoured liqueur.

I was planning to do a couple of activities, including scuba diving, and wake-boarding, however I was nursing a nicely bruised toe, which was difficult to walk on. (thanks to that invisible rock on Maya Bay!)

A walk Eastward along Loh Dalam Bay, revealed the disturbing past of the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami, 2004. This side of the bay was worst affected, as two simultaneous waves crashed through the land, from both sides. Only 850 bodies were ever recovered, however up to 4000 could have been killed, leaving thousands missing.

It was evident of the continual rebuilding on the Northern bay of Loh Dalam. Glass, building material and clothing still litter the beach, which was surprising the locals haven’t cleaned up this beach!

The final sunset, never arrived. Rain has just passed through, so took out the tripod, for the beach shots, whilst a few tourists were enjoying their warm beach swim.


A lone kayaker, skips past Phi Phi Le, (The Beach movie, if you’ve already forgotten)

Monkey Beach, is directly under the middle peak on the right side mainland.


Whilst enjoying the final meal on the beach, was given a fire performance.

07.05.07

Koh Bida Nok & Nai, at Sunset

Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 9:00 pm by Warren Williams

Koh Bida Nok, and Koh Bida Nai are two islands further South of Phi Phi Le. It’s a well known diving site, with depths of 8-28metres, often frequented by Leopard Sharks.

The islands also provide a brilliant foreground against the sunset in the West.


Koh Bida Nok


Koh Bida Nai Sunset


Koh Bida Nok – with soft pastel colours in the sunset


Koh Bida Nai, and Phi Phi Le – Phi Phi Don can be seen in far distance

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Le, (The Beach movie)

Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 5:30 pm by Warren Williams

After visiting the monkeys, we skimmed past Viking Cave, which is generally closed to the public. Cave swifts live in here, producing edible bird nests, worth up to several thousand dollars per kilo. Further Southward, along the Eastern coast of Phi Phi Le, we went snorkelling under the towering limestone cliffs. Coral built up on the edge, before the water depth, disappeared into unknown hidden depths, straight down.


Sheer cliffs in every direction

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Le
Harsh lighting made it difficult to get any decent shots at Maya Bay. The cliffs are so large, you need about 10 frames just to cover it all. I can see why Leonardo DiCaprio enjoyed himself here!

Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Don, Thailand

Posted in Animals, General, Travel at 3:30 pm by Warren Williams

The following morning, left Railay Bay by ferry, to Ton Sai Bay, Phi Phi Don. I had booked in 2 nights at the Phi Phi Villa Resort feeling like a little splurge, after everything else had been relatively cheap.

A popular afternoon/evening excursion is the sunset cruise, departing at 3pm daily. It includes snorkelling, kayaking, seeing monkeys, a visit to Maya Bay (scenes from “The Beach” movie) on Phi Phi Le. Dinners, and drinks were included, so at 350 baht, (NZ$15) this was a bargain!

Monkey Beach, was the first destination. 2minutes from the pier. We dived into the deep water, and snorkelled up and over the shallow coral, onto the small golden sand beach. We were provided some fruit for feeding them, and watch the manic behaviour of them. One moment they’re timid, and a moment later they’ll go aggressive, especially around the young ones. The tour company also provided a waterproof bag for carrying everyones cameras to the shore…


Attack mode


Cute mode


I knew the lens cap would come in handy for something..


The cutest of them all – whilst mummy gets some fresh fruit

07.04.07

Railay Bay, Thailand

Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 8:00 pm by Warren Williams

Another long day of travelling, involving two flights (both with Air Asia), Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Bangkok, Thailand, followed by a 4 hour wait, before flying onto Krabi on the Southern coast. I decided to travel via Krabi, rather than Phuket, to avoid the high tourist numbers.

The 10km journey by Long Tail boat took 45min, through some rough seas. An umbrella was offered to provide some protection from the sea swells crashing over the bow, but I still ended up drenched once again.

I stayed at the Sand Sea Resort for around NZ$75, but the views were simply amazing, the swimming pool refreshing and the beach side dining relaxing.


Arriving to East Railay, with West Railay a short 200metre stroll through another resort


West Railay, whilst the clouds still loom


Tranquil Railay Bay


The epitome of Thailand’s beaches


Looking to the Southern end of West Railay Bay – Sand Sea Resort is 3/4s the way along


From within the water, at the cliff dominating the Northern end of Railay Bay

07.03.07

Ant & Tour Buses

Posted in Animals, General, Travel at 10:00 pm by Warren Williams

After a smal rest from Tonle Sap, paid US$10 for the “luxury” coach, for a faster trip. Fast it was, for 10km. Bang. The front right tyre blew out, and this is when a typical “not-sure-what-to-do” scenario came into effect. Took 45min of patient waiting on the bus, for them to say, please get off, we need to take off the wheel. Well the wheel was already off, and the bus sat precariously on a small jack. After almost three hours waiting, they finally decided to send another bus from the depot just down the road.

During the wait, I was left to photograph ants, and talk to a couple other travelling photographers.


20D + 24-105L

The bus rolled up into the darkness of Phnom Pheng around 9pm. After leaving at just after 12 midday, it was a long time to sit around on a bus! Tomorrow involves an early flight, wait at the airport, before another flight to Krabi around lunchtime.

« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »