Stanage Edge Millstones
Photo of the Day
These abandoned millstones sit at the base of Stanage Edge in Derbyshire near the village of Hathersage. Stanage Edge makes for a good walk with nice views of moors on one side and hills on the other, but these millstones are what captivated me.
Millstone manufacturing was a burgeoning industry in the Peak District in the 19th century and these stones are most likely a leftover from one of the factories in the area, long since shut down.
For me, there was something wonderfully mysterious about them. There was no evidence of any other structure around them – just the stones – so you naturally ask the question of how they got there.
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Hong Kong Island Skyline Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s one of the many place in Asia I hope to revisit someday. This shot of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island is a few years old, so, with how quickly things change there, I imagine the view is a little bit different today. I’ll have to go back and compare…
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Ely Cathedral Window
Photo of the Day
This west-facing window on the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral caught the light of the descending sun in an extraordinary way. The whole window seemed to be set ablaze for a few moments as the sun neared the horizon. I’ve tried to capture just how bright the light looked, but I’m not sure a photograph can show just how brilliant it was.
Click to see the image on a black background:
Calgary Skyline Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s another HDR panorama, this time from my hometown of Calgary. On a recent visit, I made a point of getting a few shots of the skyline. Since moving to Manchester, I hadn’t shot Calgary’s skyline and my catalogue of images was in need of a bit of updating. That Encana building changes the view in a big way.
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Evening in Diocletian’s Palace
Photo of the Day
A couple of men enjoy a warm September evening in the narrow alleys of Diocletian’s Palace in Split Croatia.
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Motsuji Gardens Panorama
Photo of the Day
This is one of the few panoramic images I shot while living in Japan. It’s the gardens surrounding the Motsuji Temple in Hiraizumi, a historic town just north of Ichinoseki which was my home while in Japan.
A bike ride to Hiraizumi made for a great day out with places like Motsuji and the nearby Chusonji as destinations. I miss Motsuji’s tranquil gardens surrounding the lake and I wish I could just hop on a bike and jaunt over there for an afternoon again.
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Dades Gorge in Morocco
Photo of the Day
Looking down onto this winding course full of hairpin turns, I can almost see Jeremy Clarkson and friends getting giddy at the prospect of charging some high-powered supercar down through these roads in the Dades Gorge in Morocco.
This shot ended up being more difficult to take than it should have been. The battery that powers my little remote-trigger camera attachment failed and without it, I couldn’t do an exposure of longer than 30 seconds without keeping my finger on the shutter. Fortunately, my hand was steady enough for five minutes that everything in the photo was sharp. It was a pleasant surprise considering I don’t consider myself to have the steadiest hand in the business.
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Latin Bridge in Sarajevo
Photo of the Day
The infamous Latin Bridge in Sarajevo was the scene of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event that served as a catalyst for World War I.
That violent history isn’t evident on the bridge anymore. It’s only the buildings around it that still have scars from more recent conflicts, but even those are slowly being wiped away in preparation for a brighter future for Bosnia.
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Castle Drogo Panorama
Photo of the Day
On travels in the south of England, Drogo Castle’s fortified exterior and fascinating interior (no photos allowed, unfortunately) made for an enticing stop.
This image is of the front entrance to the castle. It was a bit of a tricky shot to put together as it’s a panoramic HDR shot. I shot five bracketed exposures for each segment of the panorama, put together the HDR images then stitched the panorama. It’s all rather time consuming, but the results can be worthwhile.
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Trinity Lane in Cambridge
Photo of the Day
On a recent trip to Cambridge, the late-afternoon light was providing a brilliant backlight to the pedestrians passing through Trinity Lane. It would have been a nice enough shot without anyone in the scene, but I was sure that if I could wait for the right person to pass, the image would have a lot more interest to it.
Fortunately for me, before the light shifted and faded, the right person did indeed come along and the photo below is the result.
Click for the image on black:
Tatton Park Japanese Garden Panorama
Photo of the Day
Nope, it’s not Japan. Not even in Asia. This panoramic photo comes to us from the tranquil Japanese garden nestled within the greenery of Tatton Park. Visiting it made me pine for some more travels in Japan.
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Zadar from Above
Photos of the Day
After Zadar’s legendary sunset had finished on my all-too-short day there, I hustled up the steps of the bell tower of St. Anastasia Cathedral to catch the blue dusk descending on the the twinkling lights of the city. I managed to precariously perch a tripod on top of the tall parapet at the top to keep the camera steady and got decent results from my tiptoes.
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Zadar’s Greeting to the Sun
Photo of the Day
The shot from a while ago of the folks relaxing next to the sea organ in Zadar is complimented by this one of the Greeting to the Sun, an art project/giant outdoor disco floor created by architect Nikola Basic. This clever circle of solar panels captures the brilliant light of Zadar’s endlessly sunny days and stores the energy until night when it can release it in the form of an impressive, underfoot, ever-changing rainbow of lights. The panels also accumulate enough energy during the day to help power the lights along the boardwalk (no disco lights there though).
I had to wait a while for the crowds of curious onlookers to step off the circle before I could get this shot, but I could have stayed there for ages just being hypnotised…
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Zagreb Cathedral at Dusk Panorama
Photo of the Day
Today’s photo of the day comes from Croatia’s cosmopolitan capital, Zagreb. The spires of Zagreb Cathedral poke themselves into the dusky, blue evening sky.
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Relaxing by Zadar’s Sea Organ
Photo of the Day
This isn’t just your average seaside relaxation spot. Here in Zadar, Croatia, these folks are chilling out and not just enjoying the sounds of the waves lapping against the chore, they are also appreciating the unique music of the sea organ.
You see those small holes in the boardwalk? They lead down to the water where waves push air up to create random, entrancing harmonies.
The sea organ is the creation of architect Nikola Basic along with the nearby Greeting to the Sun installation (a series of solar panels that release their energy in a hypnotic light show in the evening). Together, they make for a magical little stretch of coastline.
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Zadar’s Cathedral of St. Anastasia
Photo of the Day
Just around the corner from the St. Donatus Church, Zadar Cathedral, a.k.a. the St. Anastasia Cathedral, is another of the old town’s incredibly old and charming buildings. That massive blue sky in this image is making me pine for some of Croatia’s near-perfect weather…
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Zadar’s Church of St. Donatus
Photo of the Day
Moving away from the Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes, Zadar is one of the must-stop cities on the way down Croatia’s coast and one of the building’s to admire there is the over-1000-year-old, pre Romanesque Church of St. Donatus. Here it is in the evening, flanked by the tower of the nearby Cathedral of St. Anastasia.
Peace Above the Plitvice Lakes
Photo of the Day
Okay, I know, I know. There’s some waterfalls visible in this shot of a happy couple enjoying the sun and sights of the Plitvice Lakes. I forgot those little cascades were visible down there. I didn’t lie, I just kind of messed up the truth. I hope you can forgive me.
Let’s just forget it ever happened and imagine we are sitting on that perch up there and feeling as content and blissful as that couple must have been feeling at that moment.
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Wall of Waterfalls
Photo of the Day
As promised, here’s the last of the waterfall shots from the Plitvice Lakes.
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Wispy Waterfalls
Photo of the Day
I hope you’re not sick of Plitvice’s waterfalls yet. I have one more after this to post and then, no more for a while. I promise.
Kozjak Lake in Plitvice
Photo of the Day
The azure waters of the Plitvice Lakes vary their colour depending on the time of day and the weather, but you don’t have to try too hard to see a brilliant blue like this one on Kozjak, the largest of the lakes.
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Another Plitvice Stream
Photo of the Day
This was one of the first shots I took in Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park. It was a good indication of all the magnificent sights to be seen in this area.
Located at the upper lakes, this little cascade went directly underneath the walkway I was standing on to get this shot.
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Plitvice Panorama
Photo of the Day
Happy 2011 everyone!
We finished 2010 with plenty of shots from Croatia’s wondrous Plitvice National Park and I have another batch of lovely waterfalls to share, so let’s get on with it.
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Another Plitvice Waterfall
Photo of the Day
As a last little photo of the day before Christmas, we’ll continue our walk through the magnificent Plitvice lakes and stop briefly and this babbling brook to admire the scenery and breathe in the fresh forest air. Breathe in deeply. Relax…
And now that you’re feeling nice and chilled out, I hope that feeling carries on for you through the holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy new year everyone!
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
