Brissago
The Brissago Islands (Italian: Isole di Brissago) consist of two islands located in the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore, close to Locarno and Ascona. The larger island is famous for its botanical garden. This garden features subtropical species from around the world and enjoys a unique climate due to its location on the island. We approached the larger island by ferry from Locarno, passing the smart adjacent town of Ascona. I spent most of the time at Brissago enjoying the garden and its flowers and insects - especially the Black/Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa Violacea)
Valle Verzasca
The Verzasca Valley is a beautiful valley in the Italian Ticino canton of Switzerland. The fast flowing waters of the Verzasca River flow over smooth polished rocks and under the famous Ponte dei Salti bridge before flowing into the Lago di Vogorno, held back by the famous Verzasca Dam – famous from the James Bond film Golden Eye.
Sherborne Close Up
A visit to Sherbourne Castle and Gardens yesterday was a delight. A magnificent house and beautiful landscaped garden with lake. I couldn’t help but do some close up and macro…
Monte Tamaro
Monte Tamaro is a mountain located in the Swiss canton of Ticino, situated in the triangle between Lugano, Bellinzona, and Locarno. Monte Tamaro offers breathtaking views of the surrounding region, reaching a height of 1,962 meters (6,437 feet) above sea level.
Monte Tamaro has been developed as a mountain resort with adventure activities but for us a particular attraction was the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The church is an extraordinary piece of contemporary architecture by the renowned architect Mario Botta, on a spur of the mountain and offering panoramic views around.
Cardada Cimetta
Cardada Cimetta is a mountain area in southern Switzerland offering stunning views across Lake Maggiore, the towns of Locarno and Ascona and also the Monte Rosa massif, flanked by glaciers, is the highest mountains in the Swiss Alps. Depending on the method of counting, it has ten peaks higher than 4,000 m, and lies partly in Italy. The Dufourspitze (4,634 m, right, black rocky crest) in the Monte Rosa massif is Switzerland’s highest peak and often visible from the Cimetta peak (1671m).
Gotthard: ‘The King of Mountain Passes’
The Gotthard Pass lies at an elevation of 2106 metres and connects northern Switzerland with the south, an inviting pass to negotiate on our journey to Locarno in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. There was heavy snow in the winter…
Morning Light at Rheinfelden
Rheinfelden is a beautiful small Swiss town to the east of Basel on the banks of the Rhine with a stone bridge forming a border between Switzerland and Germany. Beautiful in the morning light and with the powerful sight and sounds of this mighty river.
Reims Cathedral
Even today, in an age that seems lost and confused between sacred and the secular, the great cathedrals of the world have the capacity to expand consciousness, opening the eyes of the heart to wonder, beauty, mystery, the infinite or the divine. The great cathedral at Reims, Notre-Dame de Reims, is no exception – a masterpiece of gothic architecture and, like our own Wells Cathedral, full of spiritual symbolism and sacred geometry. The cathedral once (like Chartres and Amiens) had a labyrinth installed in the floor of the nave, sadly destroyed by the cathedral priests in 1779.
If you like bees…
If you like bees...we came home from holiday to find the lavender in full flower and offering a feast to Western Honey Bees.
Labyrinth
An unusual phenomenon took place in front of Wells cathedral Sunday 23rd June: the building and walking of a labyrinth. This was led by master sacred geometrist Tom Bree (the writer of the remarkable book Cosmos in Stone, about the sacred geometry of Wells Cathedral). If you are not familiar with labyrinths, they have an ancient history in many cultures and offer the opportunity to walk a geometric path (in this case built with lights) which aids reflection, contemplation or prayer. The route takes you through four quadrants to the centre and then out again - there is only one way, you cannot get lost. For some it is simply a fun thing to do, for some an opportunity to seek help or guidance, for some a time of prayer as you face the twists and turns of life. It has been known for some to walk a labyrinth as part of a psychedelic or mystical experience - but perhaps not here in Wells!?
I have taken some creative liberty with some of the images, using intentional camera movement to add some dynamism.
Ebbor Insects
We had a walk in Ebbor Gorge - that stunning limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, a nature reserve managed by Natural England. To be honest we didn’t get far because we were looking for insects. If you stop and look it’s amazing what you see. And it was great to see the gorge bursting with life after the winter season.
Westhay Moor Nature Reserve with Zoom Telephoto Macro
Crane Fly
Macro lenses are great but on this occasion I wanted to see how the Nikon Z 70-200 F2.8 with a 2x TC would perform as macro (mostly). I was quite pleased and it had the advantage of more distance being possible from the subject.
