The Rolling Road

4 Jun 2026

The 9000 alleyways of Fes

9000. That’s how many alleyways there are in the Medina in Fes, Morocco according to the tourist guidebooks.

The Leica Akademie Australia photo tour to Morocco which I went on last October which included a visit to the city of Fes. I spent a full day there exploring the Medina . A Medina means the old city, usually the historical, walled part of a city. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the count but the Fes Medina is an extraordinary jumble of alleyways and lanes in which it is very easy to become totally disorientated.

If you are lost Google maps won’t be any help because Google have not mapped the Medina accurately and anyway satellite signals cannot penetrate deep into the chasms of the Medina.

Probably the best thing about the Fes Medina, apart from its complexity, is that it is still very much a working city filled with houses, cafes, even tanneries and hundreds of vendors selling the necessities of every day living. Of course there are stalls catering for the tourists but when I was there the locals far outnumbered the tourists although I’m sure it’s different story in the peak tourist season.

The Medina threw up plenty of photo opportunities-and I was really pleased with my efforts. Below is a selection of my photos from that day wandering some of the 9000 alleyways.

I was happy with my decision to take just my Leica Q3 43 with me to Morocco I have no hesitation in saying that the Q3 43 with its 43mm lens is my firm favourite. With its considerable heft it is not everyone’s idea of the perfect travel camera but it comes close for me.

31 May 2026

We're back-sort of!

It's been a lengthy absence for the blog because I've been moving house, and most inconveniently, my problem with my right knee has turned out to more serious than I'd hoped.

Firstly moving house was stressful but that's normal. We've moved from our townhouse in a quiet street in the heart of Terrigal to an apartment a little further from the heart of the town but with views over the Haven and the ocean.

We were very lucky to sell the townhouse as the local property market has almost ground to a halt in the last few months. We moved because the two sets of stairs in the townhouse were steep and so was the driveway. The apartment is flat and has lift from the basement car park.

It was just as well we moved when we did as the diagnosis on the serious pain in my knee is that the knee was totally worn out and needs replacing. No ifs and no buts. The operation is scheduled for 29th July so two months of pain to endure.

Photography has been off the agenda for the past two months but I picked up the Q3 43 this morning for the picture of Smudge sunning herself-a study in monochrome of a black and white cat on a white chair.

25 Apr 2026

Up close

We are moving in 10 days.The house is full of boxes and crates and much has been discarded-to the charity shops and to the tip -with more to come.

There has been no time for photography. In fact most of my cameras have been crated up although this afternoon I felt my shutter finger itching and pulled out the SL2 with the Summicron 50mm and took this close up of Smudge half asleep/half awake on Rosie's lap.

That close focus on a black cat at F2 was difficult but after 10 attempts I nailed this one at 1/100th sec 2500 ISO.

13 Apr 2026

SOLD!

After a 15 weeks of trying in a very soft property market my townhouse was sold on Friday. The sale was to a buyer who had sold his own property and who had to move by the 5th May. After a few weeks of procrastination he bit on the bullet on Friday morning and I had the signed sale contract in my hand at 1.30pm. Now it's full speed ahead to move on 5th May.

5 Apr 2026

Two panoramas

I have a superb 16mm to 35mm Lumix Pro lens for my SL2 camera. However I rarely use it. The problem is that for me the SL2 body with a lens is just too heavy to be a travel camera and invairably the best panoramas I see are when travelling.

Here are two faux panoramas which were taken with firstly (top) my X1 with its 35mm (equivalent) focal length Elmarit lens. It was a stunning morning and we were out early driving into the mountains from Salzburg in Austria when I saw this chocolate box view of the lakeside village of St Gillgen.

The second view was again taken early in the morning, this time in Istanbul, as I was walking across the Galata Bridge. I used my Q2 with its 28mm Summilux lens.

1 Apr 2026

Wet day in Hanoi

An oldie which popped up whilst I was looking for another photo. A wet day in Hanoi.Taken on film back in 2004 with my Leica M6 using an Elmar 28mm lens.

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