James Shackleton's Blog

Frost on Grass - Tammisaari

Tammisaari, 2003

Once upon a time, I had a good friend in Finland – and was able to see her quite a few times.  She lived in a summer resort town called Tammisaari, which is on the Baltic. When she was a way at work, I would wander around taking pictures. Sometimes the weather cleared and for a few hours there was golden sunshine and it was almost warm – if you stayed out of the shadows.

At the time, I was using my second digital camera, a Canon G2 which was one of the best cameras I’ve ever owned. Incidentally, it managed the cold quite well (if you kept a spare battery in a warm pocket).

Venice

Venice, 1992

Has anyone – who has been to Venice – not taken this photo?

I quite like my version. I think there may be a “Venice” Photoshop plugin – which makes the photo look lovely, but identical to everyone else’s.

Leaves on Branch

2007

Most of the mountains and quite a few of the lakes in El Salvador are actually volcanoes. I remember sitting on a warm rock at the bottom of one such lake (Illyapango – if memory srves me) when I was learning to dive.

I took this picture halfway down another Salvadorian volcano – I’ve forgotten which.

In Vietnam, people celebrate Independence Day at the begining of the month. People go on holiday. Families get together and in my case last year, I got on a bus and headed to Mui Ne.

My memory of the weekend was that it was HOT. In the same way that my memory of the holidays this year, is that it was WET, in a wash-you-into-the-gullies sort of a way.

If you want to travel outside the cities in Vietnam, you have to accept that you will be spending time on buses.  Mui Ne is between 4 and 5 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City, which gives you plenty of time to kick back with old friends and maybe make some new ones. Or alternatively, be jammed into a seat that is far too small, so that everything that passes you, gives you a whack, like an errant cupboard door. Which can grate after a while.

I enjoyed my stay. The seaside breeze is a relief after the sweaty heat of Ho Chi Minh City.