travel – Page 2 – p a u l p e r t o n d o t c o m

Travelling – the London Leg

October 9, 2017/6 Comments/in Blog /by Paul Perton

Photo giant, Pete Turner’s death a couple of weeks ago both reminded and encouraged me to look at what I was/am shooting a bit differently. I’m no lover of super saturated colours, but a little tweaking never hurt anyone. Right?

Plus, I find the Fuji cameras I prefer when travelling produce spectacular colour, especially when pushed a little.

So, a week in London en famille, celebrating a milestone birthday with little else in the way of social commitments beyond a daily family lunch or evening meal, I got lots of time to wander, explore and play.

For the photographically minded, all these images were shot with either the tiny Fuji X100F or X-Pro2 and 56mm f1.2. I can’t possibly imagine why I told myself I needed to pack and carry four other lenses 🙁

Tokyo colour

November 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

Hotel-bound. Crocked.

I’m not feeling too sharp today, so I’m contenting myself with a feet-up (literally) day off, some editing and watching South Africa and Australia battle it out in Perth, via Cricinfo’s ball-by-ball coverage.

I’ve been shooting lots of Tokyo-ites in black and white since arriving, but this morning, with time on my hands, started experimenting with colour too – some serious colour hacking.

I don’t think they’re meant to be taken too seriously. Or are they?

Any thoughts? Use the comments section at the bottom of the page please.

Route 66 – 1

October 12, 2016/1 Comment/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

Dick’s, Joliet

If it’s Wednesday, this must be Tulsa. A down day after around 700 miles (1150km) on Route 66. Not a huge distance for anyone living in South Africa, Australia, or the US and used to driving long distances, but quite a challenge on the single lane, less well maintained 66, where every few minutes there is something to stop, look at and photograph.

So much so that the 200-odd mile (appx. 350km) daily itinerary is proving to be quite a lot more taxing than I’d initially imagined. What I’d envisaged as a gentle 4+ hour daily drive is proving to be much more a six or seven hour journey, punctuated with sights, meal and coffee stops and the inevitable comfort breaks.

And, it’s been brilliant, we’ve loved every inch of it. Except getting lost in some pretty bad spots in St Louis. That wasn’t fun. To be fair, EZ66 does warn of how difficult it can be to negotiate the roads around the city, but we had no clue and are much wiser now.

Near Plano’s Ghost Village

Abandoned

And, a few words from my navigator: We’re on our way along Route 66: yesterday Springfield, Illinois, today Cuba Missouri. Although it’s lovely and we’ve passed through dozens of pretty little villages, many are not much more than living museums. I’m all in favour of progress and I realise that the Interstate has given far more than it’s taken away, but it’s still sad to see these towns and villages marginalised, and relying only on memories (apparently).

You can relax as I won’t be detailing every nook and cranny along the way. Too many people have done it already, infinitely better than I ever could. I also don’t expect you to wade through a succession of we did this, then we did thats.

I will share some Route 66 observations though, those thoughts that pop up as the miles roll by.

Near Carthage

Munger Moss motel, Lebanon

River at Devil’s Elbow

First up; don’t imagine you can arrive from outside the US and expect your driving experience and common sense will help you to make sense of the road numbering, signs and driving habits.

Next; make sure you have a good guide book (Jerry McClanahan’s EZ66 is fantastic) and a satnav and if possible a map as well. EZ66 is incredibly granular and has taken us to many spots we might otherwise have missed. It’s also taken us onto some odd stretches of tarmac, most a few hundred metres long, left to deteriorate after a new Interstate is in use, bypassing these tiny strips of tarmac.

You’ll also need the satnav when (to quote my fab navigator) the guide goes “off piste”, leading us into a strange dead end, or simply fails to provide guidance in the middle of nowhere. The excellent Route 66 signage is everywhere and helps enormously, but when the guide book goes temporarily AWOL, the certainty of heading in the right direction is a great confidence restorer.

Asses forming(?), Carthage

Coffee bar, Carthage

Make sure you have something to listen to. American FM radio is pretty good if you can find a station that delivers music, or talk you enjoy. We do that, but prefer an iPhone which is already in the car for its satnav capabilities, loaded with good content. We’re both fans of BBC Radio 6 Radcliffe and Maconie show – a three hour double hander, with news, chat and a seriously good selection of music. I download these shows from the BBC – they’re ideal for this kind of travel. Bored with the BBC? There is also a large library of music on my phone which can be set up to random play, giving us hours and hours of additional aural content.

Electrical adaptors are your friend. We have two small adaptors (flat twin pins for the US to round two pin Euro-style), but with a computer, iPhones, an iPad, camera batteries and a Kindle to charge, we could really use a third, but have failed to find one yet. We’ll keep looking.

Derelict

Cuba

Trailer park, Cuba

More insights(?) next time.

Photographically, I’ve used the X-Pro2 and new 23mm f1.4 almost exclusively. It’s a fantastic combination that fits my requirements perfectly.

NB! photographs are not shown in any specific order. The preference for black and white? To me, Route 66 just cries out for this treatment. Colour just doesn’t hack it.

And our progress?

Saturday – Chicago to Springfield IL

Sunday – Springfield to Cuba

Monday – Cuba to Springfield MO

Tuesday – Springfield MO to Tulsa

Wednesday – down day in Tulsa

Carterville

Devil’s Elbow

Sunrise near Cuba

Luna Café Mitchell

Greenway Motel, Mitchell

Shell service station, Mount Olive

Lichfield’s drive in

Filling station, Odell

Farmland

Road trippin’

October 3, 2016/2 Comments/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

It wasn’t planned like this. It just happened; one minute I was doing something or other and the next moment, I realised the absolute alignment of two entirely different facts.

Huh?

Here’s a clue:

Well if you ever plan to motor west
Just take my way that’s the highway that’s the best
Get your kicks on Route 66
Well it winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than 2000 miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66
Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri
Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty
You’ll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don’t forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino
Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri
Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty
You’ll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don’t forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino
Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66

That’s the first one. The second is easy if you’ve seen me any time in recent years. While those years have been unremittingly kind in terms of health, happiness and general comfort, I’ve definitely begun to look middle aged.

So there is was; a two part faux syzygy; 66 on 66.

Cheesy? Don’t care. It’s my party etc.

We leave for Chicago on Tuesday. That’s where it starts, not New York as so many people think.

Aided by the Interwebs, maps and the excellent EZ66 Guide for Travellers, we’ve plotted our course all the way to LA, with diversions to Page in Arizona, to see the Antelope Canyons (again) and the extraordinary landscapes of the great American South West. Then on to the Grand Canyon (missed it last time as we all felt a trip to Las Vegas was more culturally important), before heading back onto 66 for the final section into LA.

And no, we’re not doing this on a Harley, or in a Mustang. I don’t have much interest in bikes and prefer cars that don’t threaten the Earth’s climate and can go round corners when required. Instead, I’ve hired a small car – the picture suggested a Kia of some kind – just enough for the pair of us, two suitcases and our overnighters.

Along with the stops in Page and the Grand Canyon, we’ve planned multi-nights in Tulsa – I’m sure that there’s a song in there somewhere – Santa Fé and Flagstaff. Tulsa is just the extra night we build into every 7-10 days on most trips. A down day to catch our breath and park off for 24 hours.

Santa Fé is a must do – to gorge ourselves at Café Pasqual’s and the Coyote Café while enjoying the Georgia O’Keefe landscapes.

Why Flagstaff? It might just have something to do with the Downtown Diner’s Tex-Mex breakfasts.

After that, it’s a very quick overnight in Kingman and downhill into LA, which is a metropolis I’m not looking forward to very much. Still, a couple of nights in Marina del Rey will set us up for the next hop – more about that soon.

Meantimes, we’ve agreed that there’s to be no singing and not a single mention of per-taters or ter-may-ters, or worse “You’re doing fine Oklahoma, Oklahoma your OK”. Good plans generally only last until the first contact with the enemy however, so we’ll have to see about that one.

Summer in Scotland. Part1 – The North Coast 500

July 27, 2016/1 Comment/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

Sea Stacks and Cliffs, Duncansby Head. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Driech* is pretty much how the weather has been in the far north for the last few days. Just as well we’re used to the vagaries of Scotland’s summers and have learned to pack accordingly. The local outdoor and fleece shops have done well enough from us in past years, so now we’ve got lots of warm layers to peel off as the mercury rockets up to and occasionally past 12 degrees C.

This is the North Coast 500; 500 miles starting in Inverness, around Scotland’s extremities and back to our starting point – all in five days.

Loch Sheildaig. Leica M9. Paul Perton

Wild Flowers at Sangobeg looking out over Loch Eriboll towards Whiten Head. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Helmsdale harbour. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Photo buddy, Bob Hamilton and I planned this trip late last year, following a big write up and some spectacular photographs of the route in one of England’s daily newspapers. Bob lives here and made the necessary hotel bookings, setting our rendezvous and starting point as Beauly, just a short distance north of Inverness. Di came along as well, but opted for crosswords and reading in the car, while we jumped out and took many, many photographs.

Bob’s photographs are very different to mine, so you’ll find contributions from both of us here – all a part of letting you see just how spectacular this route is.

Stream at Torrish. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Kildonan Burn. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Kyle of Tongue. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Our route was to take us from an overnight in Beauly to Helmsdale, Bettyhill, Rhiconich and finally, two nights in Gairloch, before heading back to Inverness. 500 miles – 800km – in five and a bit days. Easy.

Well, not quite. It’s easy if you drive at a gentle pace and don’t stop every few metres to drag out tripods and cameras. Then you’ll cope well. If like us, every shadow and rain cloud held photographic promise, getting into the hotel du jour before dinner was always going to be a struggle.

Loch Maree. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Loch Gleann Dubh. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

This is high summer in Scotland. Bob was born here and you’ll already know that I’m married to a Scot, so we were all well prepared for the vagaries of the weather. We saw everything from brilliant sunshine to thick lowerin’ clouds, rain, high winds and at one stage, a promise of sleet. Still, it was brilliant and we both shot the big landscapes, mountains, lochs and tiny intimate views that this incredible route delivers at almost every turn.

From Beauly to Helmsdale, past the many famous distilleries on the way. A stop at Glenmorangie to stock up on some fine Scottish Communion Wine was followed by a brief visit to a (thankfully) clear John O’ Groats and a splendid view of the sea stacks at Duncanby Head.

Lonely bothy, Loch Loyal. Leica M9. Paul Perton

Beinn Spionnaidh, Cranstackie, Foinaven and Arkle across Loch Eriboll. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Summer in Scotland. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Early Morning Light – Barley Field and Logie Burn Farm, Muir of Ord. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Untitled. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Sunset over Torrisdale Bay. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Lodge Number 933, Helmsdale. Leica S2. Bob Hamilton

Untitled. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

Sunset at Rhiconich. Fuji X-Pro2. Paul Perton

From John O’ Groats, we motored past Thurso, the nuclear station at Douneray and on to Bettyhill. Day three took us through some pretty wild countryside to Rhiconich and then our final stop at Gairloch. Day 6 saw us heading back to Inverness, with Di and me going on to Farr for a couple of night’s R&R prior to driving south to Grantown-on-Spey. More of that in the next post…

* Urban dictionary: A combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich.

All the details of the North Coast 500 are here: North Coast 500