CBBH Photo Challenge: LOOKING DOWN

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Marianne under CBBH Photo Challenge, Photo challenges, Places

We often look forward, left and right, lively or on the bright side – but how about trying a new perspective?

The theme for this month’s CBBH Photo Challenge is LOOKING DOWN. Tell me what you see.

Don’t forget that the CBBH Photo Challenge is a little different from some other challenges, in two ways. First, it’s only once a month – giving you lots of time to consider your entry before the end of the calendar month. Second, and most important, this is a BLOG HOP (after all, it is the CBBH – Conejo Blanco Blog Hop, meaning white rabbit in Spanish), so DON’T FORGET that in your post you need to add links to two blogs that you have visited and commented on during the past month. That way, when we visit each other, we can HOP OVER to your links, connect with others and share a little blog love around!

SPOILER: SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS OF HOW TO GET MY $25 THANK YOU GIFT – FOR EACH ONE OF YOU!

I’ve just returned home after spending ten days in Portugal, split between the cities of Porto and Lisbon, so my photos for this month’s CBBH Challenge are all from this trip. The first photo was taken from the top of the Torre Dos Clérigos in Porto. The views across the city are spectacular and here you can see the famous Sandeman Port Cellars on the other side of the River Douro.

This was my view looking down from the iconic Dom Luis I bridge, spanning the River Douro. Here you can see one of the rabelo boats – traditional Portugese cargo boats used for transporting goods and people along the river. These boats do not not exist in any other place of the world and their history is closely linked to the production and trade of port wine.

During my stay, I was fortunate to take a train ride into the Douro Valley wine region. The Douro river route is surely one of the great European journeys, as well as being one of the most scenic – a 200 kilometre ride or stately cruise from Porto all the way to the Spanish border. This was my view looking down the river. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

After riding to the top, I got the chance to capture the view looking down the 45 metre shaft of the Elevador de Santa Justa, the only remaining vertical, urban lift in the city of Lisbon. At one time steam-powered, the lift connects the lower streets of the Baixa district with the higher Largo do Carmo.

The Christ the King statue is a Catholic monument and shrine looking down over the city of Lisbon. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cristo-Rei was erected to symbolize gratitude that the Portuguese were spared the effects of World War II.

On my journey to northern Portugal, I was invited to stay with fellow expat blogger, Sue, of The Hidden Spain at her home in Alange, Extremadura. Sue posts wonderful photos every day on her Twitter account, not only of the spectacular view from her home, but also of Mr. Moon looking down on us all. My camera is nowhere near as good as Sue’s, and all of my previous attempts to capture this kind of image have failed. However, she let me use her camera! Just look at those craters on the moon! Thanks Sue xx

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

*** Sandra Danby is a writer and journalist living in a secret valley in the heart of the Spanish countryside. Her blog, Notes on a Spanish Valley, paints a vivid picture with tales of her daily feast of nature, wildlife and food, surrounded by wild land, olive groves and forests of encima oak trees grazed by Iberian black pigs. I love Sandra’s recipes including Spanish “bruschetta” for tea and sweet, home-grown stewed plums for breakfast.

Another great feature of each of the posts on Notes on a Spanish Valley is the “5 to remember” – five useful Spanish words associated with the post. It’s always good to learn new Spanish words. Why not hop over and say HOLA?!

*** I make no excuse for once again featuring Kiva, a non-profit organization close to my heart, with a mission to connect people through lending, to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Learn more about how it works.

Kiva gives you the chance to make small loans to borrowers working to start businesses and improve their lives. I’m already a Kiva lender and as a way of saying thank you for your support of my blog, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A $25 FREE TRIAL.

To redeem your Free Trial all you have to do is CLICK THIS LINK and choose who to lend your money to – BUT HURRY – THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF FREE TRIALS. IT WON’T COST YOU A PENNY – I PROMISE! Kiva will notify me if any of my readers take up a Free Trial, but I’d love you to still let me know in the Comment section, below.

TOGETHER, LET’S TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS MONTH!

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for November, everyone!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month, tag your entry ‘CBBH Photo Challenge’, link back to this blog and, most importantly, don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look. Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month’s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite! I´m looking forward to seeing your interpretations.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

CBBH Photo Challenge: PAIRS

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Marianne under CBBH Photo Challenge

The common meaning of the word pair, (derived from the Latin par meaning’equal’) refers to two of something.

A pair is a set of two things used together or regarded as a unit.

Whether this is something joined, like scissors or pants, or separate as with socks or earrings – there’s a definite connection.

Of course, the word pair can also used in the context of pairing off, up or with – but while you’re having a think about what it means to you, here are a few of my examples.

My first photo shows a pair of door knobs and their shadows, taken in the pretty, white mountain village of Frigiliana. This blue door is in the top part of the village, only accessible on foot, up a series of stone steps cut into the streets. There is no motor vehicle access up the steep streets to this part of the village, which remains largely how it must have looked hundreds of years ago, when the village was occupied by the Moors.

I spotted these earrings for sale in the old silk market, whilst we were visiting Granada earlier in the summer. I particularly like the fact that amongst all the silver coloured pairs, there is just one pair that is different.

July 2013 was the tenth anniversary of the Andalucian town of Baeza being granted UNESCO World Heritage status. The lovely Renaissance-styled town is a fascinating place to visit and here you can see two arches through the old city walls, beautifully lit to enhance their features.

In a festival that dates back several hundred years, many coastal towns and fishing villages in Spain celebrate the Fiesta del Día de Virgen del Carmen as the protector of mariners and fishermen. Of the many fiestas and festivals celebrated around here, this is one of my favourites, as the statue of the Virgen del Carmen is paraded through the streets before being loaded onto one of the decorated fishing boats and taken out to sea to bless the fishing grounds. In this photograph you can see the pair of bells situated above the village church from where the statue emerges, used to call the faithful to prayer.

And finally, especially for you ladies, how could I resist taking a quick snap of this postcard for sale displayed on a stand outside a local shop showing a cheeky pair of buttocks belonging to a bullfighter?!

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

** Nicole at thirdeyemom.com is a blogger and social-good advocate living in Minnesota, USA who travels and experiences the world using her “third-eye”, meaning with an open heart and mind. She works hard to build awareness on some of the biggest social issues in the world and has written about global health, poverty, education, safe water and sanitation, human rights, and most of all, how all of these issues have especially impacted women and girls in the developing world. Nicole takes the most amazing photographs and maybe you can learn about some of the tips she picked up recently from National Geographic photographer, Kelley Miller.

** Red Hen Run follows the Adventures of an Irish Mother of three teenagers, who is a half marathon and marathon finisher. Always preferring to be on the go – she runs, but also pecks at photography, cooking, reading and history. As I am not a runner, I particularly liked the look of her Prawn and Leek Fricasee, but if running is your thing, you can find lots of useful information about training, sports bras, the use of earphones or just the plain old wisdom of running.

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for October, everyone!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

CBBH Photo Challenge: PINK

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Marianne under CBBH Photo Challenge, Photo challenges

Did you enter the “Capture the Colour” photoblogging contest last year? I did – along with thousands of others, and you can see my entry here. The idea was simple – publish a blog post showcasing five of your favourite travel photographs which best capture the colour of the five categories: red, blue, green, yellow and white.

The Capture the Colour Contest proved so popular that it’s back again for 2013 and this is my invitation to each of you to search through your photo libraries and see what you can come up with.

To get you in the mood, whilst you are searching for your multi-coloured photographs, I thought you might like to pluck out one or two PINK photographs for this month’s CBBH Photo Challenge.

Don’t forget that the CBBH Photo Challenge is a little different from some other challenges, in two ways. First, it’s only once a month – giving you lots of time to consider your entry before the end of the calendar month. Second, and most important, this is a BLOG HOP (after all, it is the CBBH – Conejo Blanco Blog Hop, meaning white rabbit in Spanish), so DON’T FORGET that in your post you need to add links to two blogs that you have visited and commented on, during the past month. That way, when we visit each other, we can HOP OVER to your links, connect with others and share a little blog love around!

I’ve written about some of the wildflowers of Andalucía before, but of the many different colours, the pink blooms are my favourite! The photo above is of one of the wild orchids growing on our land. Their colour is so vivid, and the markings on the petals are very distinct.

Here is one of the delicate dusky-pink wild poppies, whose blooms disappear after just one day. I love to see both orchids and the poppies as they herald the coming of the summer months, here in Andalucía.

This little lady in her bright pink flamenco dress was cautiously eyeing up some of the beautiful birds of prey at the Medieval Market in Torrox pueblo last year.

Love it or hate it, bullfighting is a long standing tradition in Spain. This is one of the auxiliary toreros (bullfighter or matador) in his elaborate embroidered costume, assisting the featured torero. As evidenced here, it’s a myth to think that bulls are attracted by the colour red. Cattle are colour-blind, and it is the movement of the cape (capote) that attracts them. During the first phase of a bullfight, the bull is tested for it’s strength and aggressiveness by toreros using magenta and yellow capes.

I’ll finish with one of the beautiful sunsets, featuring shades of pink and yellow, developing into reds and purple that we regularly experience around the Axarquía region – east of Málaga.

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

** Village Life in Andalucía reveals some of the secrets of living in a small inland village, deep in the heart of Andalucía. John, sometimes referred to as “Pueblo Man” writes with a very easy style, and his latest offering, The Not-so-Common Chameleon, reminds us that this beautiful little creature is on the endangered list. I discovered the Village Life in Andalucía blog whilst I was trying to find out more about one of my favourite Spanish fish dishes – Rosada. Fortunately, John answered my question, “What is Rosada?” by informing me that it’s not even a Spanish fish at all! Sure is tasty though!

** Loren over at Cemetery Travel: Adventures in Graveyards Around the World describes herself as a “cemetery enthusiast devoted to cemeteries“. Her latest “Cemetery of the Week” features Drummond Hill Cemetery at Niagra Falls in Canada, but if you are interested in interment in Italy, France, China, India, England or around the USA, there’s something here for you. So, if like me you are a taphophile, a tombstone tourist or a cemetery hunter, why not pop over to Loren’s blog, and tell them Marianne sent you!?

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for September, guys!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month, tag your entry ‘CBBH Photo Challenge’, link back to this blog and, most importantly, don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look. Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month´s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

CBBH Photo Challenge: Ancient and Modern

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Marianne under Axarquía, CBBH Photo Challenge

Believe it or not, it’s one year to the day since I published my first CBBH Photo Challenge. How time flies when you are taking photographs!

Anyway, for this month’s challenge, if I were to I say “Ancient and Modern” – what would you think of? Would it be hymns, languages, history, art, the Olympics or maybe architecture? Within one photograph, I want you to show me your interpretation of Ancient and Modern.

Don’t forget that the CBBH Photo Challenge is a little different from some other challenges, in two ways. First, it’s only once a month – giving you lots of time to consider your entry before the end of the calendar month. Second, and most important, this is a BLOG HOP (after all, it is the CBBH – Conejo Blanco Blog Hop, meaning white rabbit in Spanish), so DON’T FORGET that in your post you need to add links to two blogs that you have visited and commented on, during the past month. That way, when we visit each other, we can HOP OVER to your links, connect with others and share a little blog love around!

I’ve blogged before about El Paseo de las Tradiciones in the white village of Cómpeta, but it’s a perfect example of the beautiful modern ceramic murals celebrating the lives of generations of the working people of the village, annexed to the 500 year old Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción).

Here you can see the 15th century Cathedral in Seville, with its famous Giralda Bell Tower, as viewed from the very modern Metropol Parasol. More popularly known as Las Setas (the mushrooms), this huge wooden structure was built between 2005 and 2011 in the heart of the city. It seems people either love it, or hate it. I LOVE it!

Back in May, I visited the city of Granada and, whilst we were having lunch in one of the wisteria-covered restaurants in Paseo de los Tristes, in the shadow of the Alhambra, I grabbed my camera when I saw a jet appear above the turrets of the ancient monument. It was this shot that first gave me the idea of this month’s theme.

And finally, this modern stone architectural structure (known in Spain as a mirador – or look-out point) is sited to take advantage of a the scenic view over the UNESCO World Heritage Cazorla National Park in Jaén province. The Parque Natural de las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and La Villas, to give its complete name, is Spain’s largest national park and the second largest in Europe. It’s marvellous to just gaze out and wonder at who has looked across these same mountains in days gone by.

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

** Spain for pleasure follows the adventures, misadventures and quiet musings of an earnest (British) expat living “la vida loca” in Granada. I was amazed (and envious) to read Josh’s tale of when he played a part in the best EVER water-fight in Lanjaron, but one of my favourite posts is his “Piste 2 Playa Project” when he took the ultimate day trip from Granada to ski in the morning in the Sierra Nevada mountains and sunbathe on a Mediterranean beach in the afternoon. Quite why he had to do it dressed in a giraffe onesie (especially on a nudist beach) is beyond me – but that’s Josh for you!! When he’s not having such interesting adventures, Josh earns his keep teaching English as a foreign language, so if this is something you might be interested in, head over and take a look at his blog. You’re sure to find something of interest – I always do!

** con jamón spain are a couple of Brits who have recently moved from London, England to live in Órgiva, in the popular Alpujarras region of Andalucía, for one year. Set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Órgiva is situated an hour and three quarters’ drive east from Málaga, and 45 minutes south from the city of Granada. Con jamon spain are a couple of carnivores who have totally changed how they live over the past few weeks, and have discovered how to make delicious vegetarian pizzas, using fresh produce bought from the local Thursday market. Their regular posts make me want to jump in the car and visit Órgiva, right away – especially if it involves watching goats eating sugar cane, right at the end of their road! I’d love you to pop over, say “HOLA” to them and follow their adventures – I’m sure you’ll have a great time 🙂

CBBH Blog Hop

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for August, folks!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

CBBH Photo Challenge: SAME SUBJECT, DIFFERENT TIME

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Marianne under Axarquía, CBBH Photo Challenge, Photo challenges

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

Henry David Thoreau

Among the Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s most notable work is a series of 25 canvases called Haystacks. The primary subjects of all of the paintings in the series are stacks of hay in a field, after the harvest season. Monet began painting the Haystacks at the end of the summer of 1890 and continued through to the following spring. The series is well known for the use of repetition to show differences in perception of light across various times of day, seasons, and types of weather.

And, we can do just the same thing with photography.

Returning to a place at a different time of day, in varying weather conditions, during another season or even many years later can result in vastly different photographic images, due to the changing conditions.

Irina Werning has captured some fascinating images at her Back to the Future project – why not take a look? I’m sure you will have a laugh at some of them!

For this month’s CBBH Photo Challenge I want you to show me at least two photos taken of the same subject (slightly different angles are allowed, but it has to be obviously the same subject matter) taken at different times.

Will it be a person, changing over time? Trees and flowers growing from newly planted to almost taking over your garden, or places you have travelled to that have changed dramatically since a previous visit? GO AHEAD, SURPRISE ME!

Want to see my interpretation?

Here is a view of the hills on one side of where I live. As you can see, in this photo it’s a bright sunny day.

This is the same view in an evening when the mist has rolled up the valley from the Mediterranean Sea. I love it when this happens as all I can see is cloud swirling below my castle in the sky!

….and here is a shot of the spectacular sunsets we are blessed with, over the same hillside.

Christchurch cathedral, NZ, taken January 2013

Christchurch cathedral, NZ taken February 2011

I first visited and photographed the Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, a few days before it was destroyed by the devastating earthquake on 22nd February 2011 (photo on right). When I returned to New Zealand at the beginning of 2013, I was able to take the photo on the left, as Cathedral Square was open for a few days over the Christmas and New Year period when the workmen took their holidays.

One of my favourite cities in Andalucía is Córdoba and here it is in all it’s glory with the Mezquita taking centre stage, as viewed from the other side of the city’s Roman bridge.

And here’s the same view at night. Lovely isn’t it?

Coming into land at Dublin airport, Ireland

Click on any of the smaller images to view a slideshow

In this series of photos, the subject is the aircraft wing of the Ryanair flight I was on, coming into land at Dublin airport in Ireland. As you can see, even though the subject remains the same, the background has changed considerably and we were greeted by the most amazing sunrays peeping through the clouds.

This month’s CBBH Featured Blogs:

** Lady of the Cakes lives in central Spain, in the beautiful city of Toledo and offers “vignettes from a multi-lingual, cake-eating freelance existence”. In a recent post, Simone shows us around some of Toledo’s Palacial Patios which are accessible once a year, and for one week only (during the Corpus Christi celebrations), when a number of private houses open their patios (inner courtyards) to the general public. Of course, this is Don Quixote country, so you might enjoy reading The Weekly Don Quixote Series. Simone always holds my interest with her posts, shares some fantastic photos and often has me in stitches at some of the antics she gets up to. I’d love you to pop along and say HOLA!

** Lynsey at La Rosilla – Lifestyle and Food like me, is a British expat who moved to the Axarquía region of southern Spain about eight years ago. A passionate home cook, and self-confessed “cook book whore”, Lyndsey celebrated World Sherry Day last Sunday with the opening day of this season’s Supper Club. This multi-talented and super-busy lady not only offers cooking classes to visitors, but also finds the time to deliver ready-prepared meals for special occasions. Check out Lynsey’s delicious delivery delights for a nearby villager on Mother’s Day, recently. Mmmm …. think I might have to book into La Rosilla for a Supper Club celebration soon!