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Photos - Mine

I like photography as something of a pseudo-hobby. I don't especially know much about it, but sometimes I get lucky anyway. Here are some.

Originally I only included photos here if I especially liked them. However, these days I often include photos in the diary. Different selection criteria apply. For the diary, I might include a photo that isn't especially impressive, if I especially want to include a photo of the subject to accompany the diary text. But that means I have all these photos already available on the site. I've therefore started including them here, because I might as well; it doesn't take any more work or space on the site.

Perhaps later, I will include a separate category for photos I have especially liked...

• UK Day Trips
• Dad's Visit (August 2002)
• Ironbridge Weekend (May 2002)
• Peak District (March 2002)
• Rhine Valley, Germany (February 2002)
• Scotland Trip (July/August 2001)
• Yorkshire (May 2001)
• York (May 2001)
• UK Trip (May/June 2000)
• Various other photos

Or, you can...

• See them all (HUGE download)

Rhine Valley, Germany (February 2002) The castle density on the Rhine Valley is astonishing. I thought this country had a lot of castles. Once we got home, we had to put a name to all these castles we took pictures of. A web search quickly turned up maps, descriptions, etc. Among the material I found was the claim that the stretch of the Rhine we visited has more castles than anywhere else in the world. Wow. We were at the castle capital of the planet and I didn't even know it at the time. Still, it does go some way toward explaining how, by the end of the second day, we could have our reactions blunted to the point where seeing yet another castle didn't get much more reaction than "Oh. Another castle. Huh."
	Östrich (108 KB). Östrich, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. A charming jumble of half-timbered houses. Doesn't look like a real place, does it?
	Dormers (83 KB). Östrich, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. I like the way it looks like snake-skin. The rounded shape doesn't hurt either.
	Eyelid window (183 KB). Östrich, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. One roof had these wonderful eyelid-shaped windows. I like the red tiles as well.
	Rüdesheim in the morning (78 KB). Rüdesheim, Germany; 2 Feb 2002.
	Rüdesheim steeple (194 KB). Rüdesheim, Germany; 2 Feb 2002.
	Burg Ehrenfels (139 KB). Near Aßmanshausen, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. Just up the river from Rüdesheim, we rounded a promontory and were struck dumb by the ruins of Burg Ehrenfels. As ruins go, it's wonderfully picturesque.
	Mausturm (Mouse Tower) (116 KB). Near Aßmanshausen, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. Ehrenfels' picturesque setting is not hurt by having this toy-like castle on an island in the middle of the Rhine directly across from it. Just up the river on the opposite bank is yet a third castle.
	Weathervane (66 KB). Aßmanshausen, Germany; 2 Feb 2002. In Aßmanshausen, we quite liked this weathervane.
	St Goar (214 KB). St Goar, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. The town of St Goar sports a ruined castle (Burg Rheinfels) looming over it, now with a hotel built into and alongside it. The town centre is built on the bank of the Rhine on the flat, but the valley sides are steep, so most of the houses are perched precariously above.
	Marksburg (132 KB). Near Rhens, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. We drive around a bend, and...
	Marksburg zoomed (93 KB). Near Rhens, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. Who could ask for a more perfect fairy-tale castle? Yet its Disney-esque appearance belies its age; it is apparently about a thousand years old and is the only castle along this stretch of the Rhine never to have been damaged in an attack. Undamaged it certainly looks!
	Schönburg (63 KB). Oberwesel, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. As the sun was setting, we walked the city wall in Oberwesel and took some pictures of its resident castle glowing in the evening light.
	Crooked buildings in Bacharach (136 KB). Bacharach, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. Sadly, it was only when sunset had well and truly happened that we stopped in the town of Bacharach, which turned out to be picturesque beyond belief. Here's a shot, much cleaned up but still suffering from the lack of light. The town centre was all wibbly buildings and narrow lanes and generally lacking in straight lines. Imagine how it would look drenched in morning sunlight. Must go back sometime and get this one right.
	St Goar panorama (530 KB). St Goar, Germany; 3 Feb 2002. See note about viewing panoramas. Come stand with me on the parapet of Burg Rheinfels in St Goar, looking out over the Rhine at sunset. Across the river you can see the town of St Goarshausen; it strings out along the river valley like a snake. You can see vineyards on the hills, waiting for spring to come. Turn to the left and you can see a castle on the other side of the river off in the distance; it's Burg Maus. Turn to the right and you can see another one; it's Burg Katz. (Tee hee, Katz and Maus. Oh, never mind.) Before you on the river you can see the shadow of Burg Rheinfels, the castle you're standing on. It's amazing to me that I can stand on one castle and have two others within sight. This valley must be even more blood-soaked than Scotland.

^* Note about viewing panoramas: I recommend opening panoramas full-size in whatever your viewer is, then scrolling slowly to the other end. This creates the sense of standing there and turning your head.