Greece, Turkey and Amsterdam.

In between portraits and scouting around looking for seminar venues, We have had a little time to take a few shots for ourselves. Here are some of the images from various places:

Last year we made a quick trip to Mykonos to see if it would be suitable for one of our workshops and, lo and behold..... it was. So this year we took a few photographers and friends to Greece for a six-day workout! These are some of my shots of Mykonos, Santorini and Paros; the others will be putting theirs up on their own sites.

This poor old horse was worried by flies and was a bit worse for wear, but he was a friendly old thing and loved having his neck scratched and the flies brushed away, if only for a few minutes. We found the location on a drive out of the crowds at Mykonos to the country areas. The island is a web of stone walls and fences, which to us, is unusual and very photogenic. To the locals, its probably just home.

There are many unfinished houses in the most inaccessible places! I have heard a few different accounts of the reasons for the delay, but I really think it is just that no-one is in a great hurry to do anything!

 The island is a mass of these tough little poppies. They grow just about anywhere; they sprout from the tiniest crack at the edge of a footpath and in masses in the the open paddocks. Mix them with a liberal dose of yellow and purple and you have a spectacular landscape.

 The rock-wall-lined roads are really narrow. There is a rule, apparently; the one coming downhill should give way, but as with all the other road rules, no-one seemed to bother with it. There have been many door handles scraped and mirrors knocked while trying to maneuver around each other. and that also applies in the towns in Greece, not just the country.

On one of the high points of Mykons there is a lighthouse with spectacular views. This mist-enshrouded, widlflower covered area is fabulous for casual portraits as well as personal landscapes. 

The faces and places of Istanbul are many and varied. I was about to take a shot of this lady when a flock of pigeons darted across. I managed to catch one in just the right position.

The city is so totally different to anything we have at home. You only have to wait a few minutes and everything changes. I had been trying to get a good shot of the Aya Sofiya and they all tended to look like boring postcard shots. As the sun set on our second last day I managed this.  There you are Jacquie, beat that!