Imagine waking up to this view at sunrise every morning. The crystal blue water, vibrant pink sky at sunrise and sunset, the tranquil overwater jetty leading out to your own private villa (or in the case above, the entrance to the island’s underwater spa). It’s all just “wow” and a memory I’ll always keep with me. Sadly, the web version of these 80mp images don’t really do them justice – but I can assure you […]
I got it! The shot I wanted of Australia’s Sydney Opera House at sunrise – and luck (while not wanting to give me an easy ride this time) was on my side. “Solo” – print available to buy now Standing on the Grand Harbour wall at 4:30am wasn’t exactly the best use of the room we had at the Shangri-La for the weekend – but this was an image of the Sydney Opera House that […]
What happens when you mix an award-winning artist, the world’s first underwater spa, the world’s first underwater nightclub, the luxury of the Maldives and the creativity of the Per Aquum brand? Simple – a unique underwater exhibition titled “Phantasy Fairytale” – a collaboration between two amazing hotels and Andreas Franke, the artist responsible for previous underwater galleries such as his work on “The Sinking World”. Looking back at my blog, in part I feel sad […]
A few miles south of the town of Rotorua, on the north island of New Zealand, lies a very special place. Of course, New Zealand itself is home to many volcanoes and much of its stunning scenery has its origins in volcanoes, glaciers and all manner of activity deep within the Earth – but this is one of the few places I’ve visited where you really can get up close and personal with nature… …and […]
Hong Kong. The city where East truly meets West, and what an amazing recipe it has for a burst of culture and style. “Reach” – print available to buy now As a result of living in Shanghai, Hong Kong becomes easily accessible and such a Mecca for photography it simply can’t be ignored (and the tax free purchases can’t be sniffed at either 😉 ). Having spent some decent amounts of time in the city, […]
As always, the most frustrating images to capture are also the most rewarding. At 7pm on New Year’s Eve, this is the night shot I was taking from a nearby rooftop looking out over Shanghai’s “Nanpu Bridge”. “Over The Rainbow” – print available to buy now The bridge is one of two spans which link the two sides of the city – PuDong and PuXi. Not only is the HangPu river one of the busiest […]
Wow – what a morning it turned out to be! Preparing for the worst, having checked the weather forecast the week before I arrived back home to England, I wasn’t expecting anywhere near this shot when I arrived at Dorset’s Jurassic Coast – getting ready to (hopefully) capture Durdle Door at sunrise. There’s a small window in the year when the sun rises just perfectly through the arch. It’s south enough to allow you to […]
Featured in issue 141 of “Digital Photographer” magazine – my long exposure shots from the Northern Lights above Tromso in Norway during 2012. The feature focuses on the techniques required to capture different situations with long-exposure settings in-camera. From firework shows at 20 seconds to lightning captures to sports scenes, the whole spectrum is covered. My visit to view the aurora borealis didn’t go without the odd hiccup or two – as I wrote at […]
“Circular Motion” – print available to buy now Who remembers being told as a kid to make sure to look both ways before crossing a road, and that cars are dangerous? Yeah… I do. Sadly, when I drove through Lujiazui on the way home the other night last week, I saw a sight that made me cast that very wise advice aside and resolve to get the shot I pictured in my mind, no matter […]
Shanghai’s Pudong skyline – once the home to two of the tallest skyscrapers in the world is soon to be the home of 3. The neon lights of the boats running up and down the river all night circle the peninsular in electric blue while the city behind entertains passers by with its iconic light show. To give Shanghai its true credit, this is a view that really doesn’t need an expensive camera to be […]
So this is the latest publication to feature the shot I took of Horseshoe Bend, AZ, last year – What Digital Camera Magazine. 🙂 This follows press coverage in the Times, the Daily Mail, The Guardian, Metro and many others who over the past month have picked up on the images which were submitted to the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photography’s panel earlier this year. Sadly, being in China (and hearing about this double-page […]
Can a £50 compact digital camera really hold its own against a full-frame DSLR? I was contacted somewhat “out of the blue” a few weeks ago by Lucy at MoneySupermarket.com, the UK-based financial comparison and advice site, asking if I’d be willing to take on one of their challenges: to use a £50 camera (which they would provide) and write a comparison between that and my own (slightly) more expensive gear. How could I say […]
Welcome back to the W 🙂 That stunning view, above, was part of what prompted me to write about the W Retreat Koh Samui in February, after I returned from an amazing stay there. Realising that what made the place so special was in no small part down to the the talent of the staff at the retreat, Nick (the general manager) and I got talking… W Hotels pride themselves on being cool, hip, and […]
Well that was a nice surprise – I went to check the forecast and my images popped up in Yahoo!’s new Weather App for the iPhone (and yes, it’s also available for Android…) 🙂 Granted, it wasn’t a complete surprise as I knew they had been “tagged” by the Yahoo! team on my Flickr account with words such as “clear”, “night”, “cloudy” etc. but I had no idea of when they might appear. The app itself caught […]
Olloclip – as the website states – is “a quick-connect lens solution for the iPhone that includes fisheye, wide-angle and macro lenses in one small, convenient package that easily fits in your pocket”. Having seen something similar at CES 2012 – the iPro Lens – which seemed promising, I wasn’t too surprised to see something like this for sale in the Apple Store in Shanghai. So, I bought one (¥548 / £59) to try out […]
Now there’s something you don’t get to see every day – the top of what was once the tallest skyscraper in a country (the Jin Mao Tower), from above, at night 🙂 By day, it’s spiky architecture is a defining part of Shanghai’s Pudong skyline – indeed, it was the key focus for another shot I took from the same building (if a little lower down) – the SWFC. This image, however, was unplanned… I’d […]
THIS is the Shanghai I see. 🙂 “Shanghai Calling” – Print available to buy now Millions of images exist of the PuDong skyline taken from The Bund, the famous “Oriental Pearl Tower” now dwarfed by the presence of Jin Mao and the SWFC – indeed, I’ve even shot it myself (although granted, from a slightly different angle 😉 ) So, why would I want to shoot a road network? Well, for two reasons: 1) When […]
Many people said : “you’ll love the street photography opportunities in Shanghai” and from looking around the galleries here, I was always certain they were right. The challenge is, as someone who’s never really gotten into that genre, it’s tough to know what makes a good street photo or not. Walking around Xintiandi in downtown Shanghai, you’d be forgiven for thinking the opportunities for any good form of street photography would be limited to shooting […]
It’s been 7 months since I moved to Shanghai – and I’ve only just made it to the top of the world’s (current) highest observation deck, The Shanghai World Financial Center/SWFC (or as it’s locally known, “The Bottle Opener”) to see the skyline from above. A few miles from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I really have no excuse, but now I’ve been up there – wow, what a view 🙂 “View From The Top” – […]
Within a week of landing in Shanghai, I’d already heard from two people about “The Restaurant”. Owned by acclaimed French chef Paul Pairet and as a sister property to Mr & Mrs Bund, his latest project is known as “Ultraviolet“. The killer? It hosts 10 guests, on 1 table, for only 1 sitting each night. With as much technology involved as kitchen mastery, in an unknown location, and a nightmare wait-list for a fixed tasting menu which […]
That picture, again below, is of my hotel “room” from last week in Koh Samui at the “W Retreat” in Mae Nam. What’s a hotel room doing on Paul’s blog? I hear you ask – Well, there’s a bit of a back-story to this one and the place is stunning enough to warrant me actually putting fingers to keys and writing about it (yes, it’s that good). And for once, I’m posting an entire page of […]
“The Racetrack” – Print available to buy now In 2011, I managed to capture another shot of Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley. Having visited many times before, each time being stunned by the scenery this National Park has to offer (along with the 120 degree heat some days!), it dawned on me that there was one area that I’d never quite managed to reach : The Racetrack Playa. The place still remains as mysterious […]
“The Greatest Wall” – Print available to buy now Since moving to China, I’d looked at the best time to go and photograph the Great Wall (or the sections near Beijing, anyway) – and no time seemed perfect. Winter is VERY cold up there, summer is too hot (and covered with people sleeping on the wall) and while autumn is a great time for colour, the early sunrise along with massive crowds makes it difficult […]
That’s right – I’ve decided to provide a watermark free copy of my Horseshoe Bend sunset image for use as a desktop wallpaper*. The image was taken in July this year, just as the sun hit the tip of the desert horizon in Page, Arizona. From this amazing vantage point, you can see the Colorado River snake its way around the huge rock formation as it makes its way to the Grand Canyon National Park. […]