Flexibility

This is a personal favourite photo from my Oman trip. Perhaps even the best photo from the trip. Taken at the wonderful Jabrin Fort this charming local was sitting crosslegged on a ledge by the entrance ticket desk. As I came in he asked me if I was German and when I replied that I was Australian he was delighted, shaking my hand and laughing and smiling. He explained that they had many German and Italian visitors but few Australians. He had excellent English so I was able to ask him how he managed to sit crosslegged at such an advanced age and he responded that he had done it every day of his life since he was a baby but he thought I may have left it too late to start now.
Photo taken with my Leica Q. 

Happy Australia Day

It's January 26th-Australia Day-Australia's national day. Yesterday I was up at my usual early hour taking my walk without my camera when I saw quite a few people going into the very calm sea and with the light and the sea fog it would have made a great photo. This morning it was a different story. The sea was not flat and surprisingly there were few people on the beach at the same time and the light was not quite as good.  I took the scene as I found it anyway. Australia Day at Terrigal.

Omani Landscapes/Seascapes

Oman-the desert, mountains and the coast-all wonderful.

Faces of Oman

 I found people in Oman both photogenic and very helpful when I asked if I could photograph them. I never asked any women as this is a definite "no,no" but otherwise a broad smile and a wave of the camera or if they spoke English-which many do-a short "photo?" and they were fine. I even had people approach me in the street asking me to take their photo. You don't get people more friendly than that.
Here's a selection of some of the people photos from the trip. The first-above-was taken atthe back of the wonderful Muttrah Souk. There was a small square with groups of men sitting around in groups watching the world go by. This group watched me photo a nearby group and when I raised my camera and waved it at them the guy in the centre gave me a thumbs up.

These four photos were all taken in the same area as the top photo on my first afternoon in Muscat. My wife was still feeling jetlagged so I took a taxi for the 20 minute drive to the port of Muttrah and wandered through the maze of alleys of the souk with camera in hand. The two smiling guys in the bottom photo saw me taking the top photo and asked me if I would photograph them. I was happy to oblige. The guy in the shot above them is a barber . His shop was still shut mid afternoon and he was sitting outside playing with his smartphone. Something which many Omanis do much of the time.

A lucky shot

This photo was taken as we were driving through the small desert fringe village of Bidiyah in Oman two weeks ago. A small group of children were waving to us so we pulled over and I took some not special photos of them. Then as we pulled away the two smallest children in the group ran beside the Toyota shouting and laughing. Luckily my window was still down but I did not have time to lift the camera to my eye or look at the LCD screen so I just held the camera out and  pressed the shutter release hoping for the best.
It would have ideal not to have caught the edge of the window in shot but it is great that the camera auto focussed on the children so quickly. The sheer delight on the children's faces makes the shot for me. And don't the children look fit and healthy? It must be all that Vitamin D from the sunshine and eating that camel meat.

Amazing Oman

Back in Australia last Wednesday after a wonderful albeit short trip to Oman over Christmas. It definitely qualifies as one of the most interesting countries I have ever visited.
The people are very friendly and polite. The infrastructure, particularly the airports, is very impressive. The roads are great, the driving standards are high and the drivers are patient. The cities are very clean and litter free-not a sign of graffitti- and the floral displays and topiary in the cities and big towns are wonderful. The mountains are harsh and high. The desert well it's sandy.
It is a very conservative muslim country but also moderate and tasteful. No blingy Bentleys -well maybe one-and no black Lambos or Porsche GT3s although plenty of Porsche Cayennes and Range Rovers.
Photos and story to follow.

The olive grove

Back in May we were staying in the charming village of Estoi inland from Faro in the Algarve, Portugal.  On an early morning walk down the back lane to my hotel I spotted this abandoned olive groves through a locked gate. It was part of the grounds of a once imposing but now abandoned house. The sun was in the wrong place for a photo but I came back in early eveing to take this photo. You can see abandoned gardens and olive groves beside abandoned farms and houses throughout the Mediterranean region. I usually see them when I am driving and when the sun is in the wrong place but this time I was lucky.