The lovely Madhu over at http://theurgetowander.com/ chose me for the http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/7-super-shots/  and gosh was it difficult. I have 20-25 thousand photos to choose from, how do you decide which are good and which you just like? So mine are possibly a mix of both.

The first was in India a few years ago when I had a point and shoot, to date it is the only photo of mine I have framed. It takes me right back to how I felt that day. It was taken close to the top of Ratnagiri hill in Pushkar which has a temple to the goddess Savitri at the summit. We got up before dawn to climb up for the sunrise as suggested by our driver the venerable Magan Singh. What he didn’t know – until now maybe – was that we didn’t actually quite reach the top, but didn’t have the heart to tell him as he was so sure that we would love it! The problem was that we had been so ill for a few days before and were still incredibly weak. He was right, the view was beautiful. I remember every moment, every laboured step, and most of all, the tiny, bent old ladies climbing to the temple as they do each day for prayer. This one literally took my breath away, I couldn’t breathe as I struggled upwards!

Next, a little closer to home, this is close to the finishing line of last October’s Commando Challenge on Yettington common in East Devon.  I love this photo because it shows the determination of these women to complete a really gruelling and hideously muddy course. They ran 10 kilometres through water and mud filled tunnels and tracks that is part of a marines endurance training course. This particular group were so supportive of each other, and it makes me think, isn’t it wonderful what can be achieved when you work together? 

Over in Malaysian Borneo this time, at Kota Kinabalu. There had to be at least one sunset! These are two of the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman park taken from Jesselton Point. This the photo that makes me dream!

At the village of Baobeng-Fiema the story goes that the monkeys are considered special. The locals give them all names and they are buried in a graves when they die. It wasn’t the monkeys that I found special in this Ghanaian village, it was the children. This is the shot that makes me smile

This young woman’s backpack must have weighed as much as she did. I couldn’t help wondering where she was headed, I suspect a local youth hostel. More interesting still, where had she been? For me, this photo tells a story.

In Western Anatolia breakfast was early one day last June. We had a lot of miles to cover that day so we had to skip the hotel meal but were promised a treat instead. Delicious local yoghurt and honey, sprinkled with poppy seeds, it worked for me and made my mouth water, I’m not sure about the carnivores though. 

Now, I don’t know if anyone else will ‘get’ this photo, what I see in it. Again its a shot that conjures up atmosphere for me. I love the quality of light, I love the activity, the between time. It was taken in Marrakech from a rooftop cafe at a time when the work of the day was ending, and the evening’s entertainment and culinary delights had not yet begun. So this is my photo that I am most proud of , aka my worth of National Geographic shot. 

So there we are, all seven, I hope you like them. Is there one in particular that you think is good? or terrible?

As always there are rules! I have to nomnate five bloggers to take part, but only if you want to. My five are,

http://sophomorejinx.wordpress.com/

http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/

http://catbirdinoman.wordpress.com/

http://adinparadise.wordpress.com/

http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/