THE COLOSSEO

I went to the Roman Colosseum early in the morning before the horde of tourists flooded the site in order to find a good angle to shoot an HDR image. It was quite a long wait before the sun broke thru the clouds but I think it was well worth it as the final image shows.

FORBIDDEN CITY

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

This Cathedral is the final destination of the famous El Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), a pilgrimage undertaken from the Pyrenees mountains at the border of France to the northwestern part of Spain in the province of Galicia, a distance of roughly 700kms. People come walking, biking or on horseback either for religious reasons, sport or just for the love of hiking in a foreign land. One day, I plan to try this pilgrimage myself.

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

The Way of the Cross in Lourdes, France depicts the 15 stations of Christ's suffering through a meandering 2 km. pathway that has life-size, cast iron sculpted figures. This is the Twelfth station showing the Crucifixion which is located on a grassy hill that is the highest point on the route. It is absolutely moving and dramatic at the same time that one can almost hear the gnashing of teeth and wailing of the crowd below the three crosses.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

It was tiresome biking across San Francisco's iconic bridge but it was definitely worth it for a view like this atop the hilly promontory in Sausalito.

Location: San Francisco, USA

THREE RONDAVELS

In the Blyde River Canyon, one can find these rock formations called the "Three Rondavels" named after the traditional South African round house with a conical thatched roof. This is one of the "must-see" spots along the Panorama Route.

Location: South Africa

PILANESBERG

Th sun sets as we make our way out of Pilanesberg National Park which is located inside an extinct volcano. The low-lying hills in the background form the crater. We went on a self-drive safari inside this park which has Big Five game though we only saw 3 during the two days that we were there.

Location: South Africa

DENVER DOME

Interesting symmetry in the cupola of Denver's Capitol. I had to crane my neck to get this right in the middle of the frame. I think it was worth it!

Location: Denver, Colorado, USA

CRUISING TO THE BAHAMAS

Everybody's having fun on the sundeck as the "Sovereign of the Seas" enters the bay to dock in Nassau.

Location: Nassau, Bahamas

SITTING ON A BOBBING BANCA

My son (who's now taller than me), sits on a bobbing banca on our visit to Cebu a couple of years ago. We took a boat ride to some neighboring islands and all I could do was to only admire the fascinating corals at the bottom of the sea as the outrigger skimmed the waves. See, I can't swim! Should I develop an itch, though, for underwater photography, I have to learn. Hope that's not an itch that I have to scratch.

Location: Cebu, Philippines

CAGSAWA RUINS

This belfry is all what remains of a church during that fateful 1814 eruption when Mayon rained down death and destruction upon Bicolandia's fertile plain. 1,200 people perished.

Location: Albay, Philippines

CHOCOLATE HILLS

These protruding mounds remind me of ladies sunbathing in Cote d'Azur by the French Riviera! But these are limestone hillocks in Bohol Island. They're dubbed "Chocolate Hills" because, I think, during the dry summer - when the grass turns brown - they look like bonbons unwrapped.

Location: Bohol, Philippines

FINICKY HONGKONG WEATHER

The Hongkong harbor weather was quite finicky - bright and sunny one minute, dark and gloomy the next. As I set up the tripod, the sun disappeared only to reappear once again after I packed up. But I liked this shot which has a lot of "atmosphere". Gathering stormclouds that never disgorged their contents.

Location: Hongkong

BEAUTY OF AN AFRICAN SUNSET

I shot this at 5:17PM as the sun set behind these trees laid bare by winter at Thornybush game reserve, South Africa. Not a sound could be heard in the stillness of the jungle as light gave way to darkness.

Location: Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

TRACKING THE ELUSIVE LEOPARD

One early morning, we set off from our camp in GwalaGwala to hunt the elusive leopard with our cameras. We found her amidst the tall, swaying, golden grass taking a walk. Paying no heed to our 4x4 which crawled within 5 meters where she sat, she got up to stalk her prey.

Location: Mpumalanga province, South Africa

WHERE TWO OCEANS MEET

This is Capepoint, the furthest soutwestern part of the African continent where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. The next landmass beyond this horizon is the Antarctic. We stood on this rocky promontory with a lighthouse for hours just enjoying the view.

Location: Capetown, South Africa

HOW GREEN IS THIS VALLEY

The town of Franschoek (French Corner) is right smack in the middle of the beautiful "Wine Route" near Capetown. Here, lush vineyards flourish in the lower slopes of the Klein Karoo. The early settlers were French Huguenots who fled persecution in Europe in the 17th century and brought with them their expertise in winemaking. Hence the name.

Location: Franschoek, South Africa

THE COLOSSI AT ABU SIMBEL

For four millennia, these colossal statues of Rameses II have been sitting here in the Nubian desert of Abu Simbel.

Location: Abu Simbel, Egypt

DANCING FELUCCAS

These feluccas dance around in the light breeze as they make their way around the Nile's Elephantine Island.

Location: Aswan, Egypt