SuperDan

Birmingham Nature Centre, UK

It was the day before BST (British Summer Time) began and the sun was out in force. I had planned to go to Charlecote Park in Warwick to shoot the Fallow Deer that I had wanted to photograph for about two+ months, however Royal Mail delivery put paid to that idea!

Note: If you’re British and reading this or have visited for any period of time, you’ll understand that we get about 14 days of all-day sunshine per year - so I HAD to get out in it! 

So after it hit 2.00pm, I decided I’d get the camera out and head to a trusty wildlife place of mine - Birmingham Nature Centre. I say ‘trusty’ because of the 10+ times I’ve been there, I always enjoy myself and there always seems to be something new going on. For only £4 for adults, £1.50 for children aged 5-15 and free to those under 5, you could feasibly take the whole family out for a few hours for around £10 - not bad in my book. I’d also like to add here that the Centre is adjacent to the wonderful Cannon Hill Park, which is a big green space and includes Tennis courts, a Crazy Golf course and Pedalos amongst other things. Food can be bought from either the on-site cafe or MAC Centre which is located in the park, although we took a picnic - which we had to rush down as we arrived later than expected. As you’d expect from any good wildlife facility, the Centre is split into a many different sections, such as the children’s area - Lilliput Garden, reptile and aquarium houses, birds, large mammals etc. Considering its proximity to the City Centre (around 2 miles) and urban location, they manage to fit an awful lot into 6 acres!

The Centre is home to a whole variety of animals from around the globe, from Boa Constrictors to Lynx, and Meerkats to Red Pandas. Here are some of my favourite pictures from my visit:

Rhea -  A lot like Ostrich’s in that they are flightless. I particularly like the second image as I can see some sort of heart shape in there, somewhere.

Pot-bellied Pig - Apparently domesticated? I can’t see it personally.

European Lynx - Without a doubt my favourite animals at the centre, although they were the only ones that I felt a sense of ‘I’m trapped’ from. Here they can be seen pacing their enclosure whilst waiting for their food.

Primates (what species? Please help, I was too busy taking photo’s to remember) - These little guys were interested in anything and everything, they literally put everything they picked up in their mouth. I can definitely see why they get the moniker ‘Cheeky Monkeys’.

Meerkats - So cute. Keeping watch. Sleeping. Eating.

Red Panda

Note: Most of the images were taken through glass / enclosures or pens:

Athens, Greece - 2008

I’m half Greek.

That was about the best start to this post I could think of – sorry.

Seriously though, I really want to add content to this blog at least once a week. I’d hoped that it would be about me doing new things so that I could also showcase my developing knowledge of photography. However, lack of time / money to do things etc. mean that I’m going ‘old school’ and for a few posts at least, will be writing about past trips I’ve been on.

As I was saying, I’m half Greek and although neither myself or my Mother (Greek side) have ever lived in Greece or even speak the language, I always feel a sense of ‘home’ whenever I’m in Greece (7 times and counting). Having been to Athens twice before – although I was quite young – I wasn’t overly excited. However all that changed when I got there. I ‘rediscovered’ Athens.

The majority of people were still rude and obnoxious (to tourists at least), the taxi drivers and the Athenians in general drive like they’ve stolen the car and there seems to be a general hurry about people. However I felt like Athens had grown up, matured – come into the 21st Century. I’m not sure if this is in part down to the Olympics, but for some reason, I loved it. I loved how the people seemed more open, more fashion conscious and more ‘cosmopolitan’ – a lot like London and Paris in my eyes.

It’s such a shame what’s happening in Athens and Greece in general now, what with the riots, protests and absolutely dire financial situation. I hear that the Government are considering hiring out ruins such as The Acropolis, I sincerely hope that Greece is not forced to sell its soul.

Whilst we were in Athens we visited the Acropolis, the Flea Market, Glyfada, Piraeus, Syntagma Square and Parliament Square – amongst other things. We also ate a lot of the local cuisine such as Moussaka, Kleftiko, Dolmades and the street kebabs – Souvlaki’s. I must stress at this point, I mean A LOT  .

Here are some of the highlights from my trip:

We had a lot of fun climbing the hill up to the Acropolis:

The Acropolis under construction:

The magnificent view from the top:

My new sport, bus surfing:

Relaxing in Glyfada:

Eating my favourite dish in the WHOLE world, calamari:

Disclaimer: None of these photos were taken by me.

My Bucket List

This is my travel / achievement bucket list. I’ve tried to avoid the everyday ‘touristy’ lists - but it’ll be quite difficult as they’re tourists hot-spots for a reason! I’ve started off with a list of 100 (in alphabetical order), and I expect as time goes by my ideals will change and I’ll drop some achievements / locations and more will be added.

This is a list of cities, countries, places and achievements I would like to complete before I ‘kick the bucket’. Enjoy.

1. Ayutthaya, Thailand
2. Abseil
3. Acropolis - Athens, Greece
4. Alaska - Alaska, USA
5. Amazon Rainforest - Brazil
6. Angkor Wat - Angkor, Cambodia
7. Antartica - Antartica
8. Attain a recognised professional qualification [ACCA or CIMA?]
9. Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) - Best seen from Finland
10. Auschwitz - Oswiecim, Poland
11. Australian Outback - Australia
12. Become a published writer (in a magazine, book or newspaper - I don’t care!)
13. Become a very good amateur photographer -> Get paid to do an assignment
14. Beijing, China
15. Berlin Wall - Berlin, Germany
16. Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain
17. Cape Town, South Africa
18. Chernobyl - Ukraine
19. Chichen Itza - Mayan City - Yucatan, Mexico
20. Christ Redeemer - Rio, Brazil
21. Climb Mt. Everest (or at least visit base camp) - Himalayas, Nepal
22. Colosseum - Rome, Italy
23. Corinth Canal - Greece
24. Dive The Great Barrier Reef - Queensland, Australia
25. Do a job that makes me a happy on daily basis - not sure what that is / will be yet
26. Drive a super car at top speed - Audi R8 would do it!
27. Dubai, UAE
28. Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
29. Empire State Building - New York, USA
30. Epheses - Izmir, Turkey
31. Fly a helicopter / airplane solo
32. Fukushima, Japan
33. Get a Degree [BA Business Management]
34. Get a handicap of 15 or under in Golf
35. Go on Safari - Masai Mara, Kenya
36. Grand Canyon - Arizona, USA
37. Ha Noi, Vietnam
38. Hiroshima, Japan
39. Hit the gym more often and become more ‘toned’
40. Hong Kong, China
41. Horseback ride on a beach -> have ridden a donkey on a beach!
42. Hunt with Eagles - Mongolia
43. Istanbul - Istanbul, Turkey
44. Johannesburg, South Africa
45. Lagos, Nigeria
46. Learn a foreign language to a proficient level Preferably a European language such as Spanish, French or German
47. Learn to play at least one song on a guitar
48. Learn to scuba dive
49. Live and work in a foreign speaking country: Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai? Who knows!
50. Live and work in London [KEY]
51. Live and work in New York [Ultimate Ambition]
52. Macau, China
53. Machu Picchu - Cusco, Paru
54. Madagascar
55. Make and eat Sushi in Japan
56. Meteora -  Kalambaka, Greece
57. Moscow, Russia
58. Mt. Athos - Macedonia, Greece
59. Mumbai, India
60. New Wembley Stadium - London, England
61. New World Trade Centre - New York, USA
62. Niagara Falls - Ontario, Canada
63. Old Wembley Stadium - London, England
64. Pamukkale - Denizli, Turkey
65. Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
66. Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
67. Photograph lions, tigers, elephants, mountain gorilla’s and the like in their natural habitat
68. Pompeii - Naples, Italy
69. Pyongyang, North Korea
70. Read more non-fiction literature
71. Route 66 - USA
72. Run a half-marathon (I HATE running)
73. See a big cat hunt and kill another animal
74. See England play in a World Cup Finals tournament
75. See my football team (Birmingham City Football Club) win a cup final at Wembley
76. Seoul, South Korea
77. Shanghai, China
78. St Petersburg - Russia
79. Statue of Liberty - New York, USA
80. Step foot on all 7 Continents
81. Taipei, Taiwan
82. Take a boat trip down the Amazon River - Brazil
83. Terracotta Army - Shaanxi, China
84. The Grand Palace - Bangkok, Thailand
85. The Great Pyramid of Giza - Giza, Egypt
86. The Great Wall - China
87. Tibetan Plateau - Tibet
88. Tokyo, Japan
89. Tour East Coast of Australia - Australia
90. Tour New Zealand - New Zealand
91. Vatican City - Vatican City (Rome), Italy
92. Visit a tribe in Papua New Guinea
93. Visit all 50 States - USA
94. Wake up at 6:00 AM on a hammock on a hot beach to see the sun rise
95. Walk on a glacier
96. Wat Pho - Bangkok, Thailand
97. Write a book / ebook
98. Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, USA
99. Yemen
100. Yosemite National Park - California, USA

Snowdonia Pt. II

I feel I have to start by saying that somewhat unfortunately (for us), a lot of the memories we gathered have a somewhat comedic twist to them.

So we begin, after filling up at the local service station, I entered the postcode of our hotel The Legacy Royal Victoria into my Sat Nav and off we went – or so I thought! After forgetting the ongoing problem with my car (I need a new battery), whilst stationary I plugged the Sat Nav charger into the 12v plug socket and it drained what little battery I had. Luckily, I had my Dad’s battery charger in my car from my previous failings, thus, our start was delayed by only 20 or so minutes! And off we went. After enjoying the next 2 2/12 hours of the drive through the English and Welsh countryside everything was going perfectly, until we stopped to check out this view (Mt. Snowdon is the central peak):

After turning the Sat Nav on again, it said we were approx. 10 miles from our destination, and as we turned the right it told us to, we thought we would get there within 20 minutes and could then relax for a while. But oh nooo. The Sat Nav (and local Welsh signs) took us on a wild goose chase around the cliffs and villages of Snowdonia National Park. We got to the hotel around an hour later, and I must admit, I was seething. Stupid *****y Sat Nav, I’m taking it back etc. etc. – you get the picture. After checking-in and unloading all of our luggage we headed for Caernarfon Castle.

After taking a walk round, we decided to go for something to eat as all things considered, the area surrounding the castle seemed somewhat unsafe (drunk locals, men in vans, and dark alleys didn’t help). We dined at The Black Boy Inn where I had the traditional Welsh Pie and a local ale – it was delicious!

The next morning, after a hearty continental breakfast at the hotel which included a selection of meat, fruit, cereals and bread, we got dressed to climb Snowdon. Again, or so we thought! As we headed into the lobby with our food and water, thermal under garments, walking sticks/boots and general warm clothing we thought we were all kitted out – not so. Some guys in the lobby asked us where we were going, and I replied “Climbing Snowdon for the first time, on the Pyg trail”. He then asked if he asked if we had a map and a compass, to which I replied ”no, we have the Snowdonia iPhone App” (which contains the trail map and directions). The look of utter confusion/worry on his face was quite unnerving. I then ended the conversation and we headed to my car to fill up our water bottles.

After filling up we started our walk to the bottom of the trail, which lasted all of 25 steps. As we were on our way we heard voices, and turned round and saw the same two guys literally running towards us. ”You’re not SERIOUSLY climbing Snowdon today, are you?!” – “Yes, why”?. It went something like this… ”Because you don’t have a compass or map, you’ve never climbed a mountain before and the weather up there is terrible” also, ”you have jeans on, which when you get wet, will give you hypothermia and then you’ll DIE! (I had waterproof trousers in my bag). After also telling us that an extremely experienced climber managed to die on Snowdon last year after falling through some snow, our fate was sealed – we weren’t going to climb Snowdon today. We felt a mixture of things – silly, naive, frustrated and somewhat let-down. We really wanted to climb Snowdon, however, looking back, I think we did the right thing.

After some debate we decided to explore the area and throughout the day managed to visitDolbadarn Castle, Llyn [Lake] Peris , Padarn Country Park where saw some people dive into ice cold old quarry sites and complete the 5 mile Padarn Lake Walk.

After a quick stop at The Heights to sample some more local ale we got some food from the local convenience store and spent the night in the hotel. During the evening we agreed that after seeing other walkers who seemed less equipped than us heading back from climbing Snowdon, after doing some more research on the route and like problems we would face, we would head up the ‘easier’ Llanberis Path and see where it took us – the summit or not. After visiting the local shop for water and food we followed the signs saying ‘Snowdon Footpaths’ as we assumed it would lead us to join the Llanberis Path (it should have done). After about 20 minutes of following the ‘signs’ we were approached by two workers working on the Snowdon Mountain Railway line – ”Where are you heading?”, us: ”The Llanberis Path to Snowdon”. Workers: ”You’re going the wrong way”.

Basically we had followed the signs correctly, or so we thought – however it seems the signs stating ‘public footpath’ were not the ones we were looking for – damn. After being re-directed by the helpful workers to the correct path (via the explicitly forbidden railway track), we got on the correct trail and were finally on our way up Snowdon. At this point I should mention that Emma was sure that one of the workers was wearing a ‘leather gimp suit’ as she put it – I’m not convinced.

After a further 2 & 1/2 hours walking up Snowdon, we decided to turn back. A numbers of reasons contributed to this, Emma’s trousers were sopping wet, visibility was around 15 metres and we had reached the point the the iPhone App, internet guides and the locals describe as ‘the death-trap ice rink’ – I also had this quote resonating in my head: ”Beware here if there is any snow or ice and you are not prepared with crampons and ice axe. There are steep cliffs below and accidents have occurred here in the past. Turn back here if in doubt.” Unfortunately we had neither. It was a little disappointing as we had reached 3/4 of the way up, however we still had a really fun time and will be back to conquer Snowdon in the summer months!

Due to the weather I didn’t get to take many photo’s, however here are some I did manage to capture.

The Halfway House (A.K.A The Shrieking Shack by me).

This little fella was pestering us for food around 2400ft up Snowdon – he got a nibble of a Snickers bar!

Snowdonia

Sooo, it’s the night before I head off to Snowdonia with the primary objective of climbing Mount Snowdon - all 1,085m of it.

After a 3 hour + driver (weather permitting), Emma (my girlfriend) and I aim to settle into our surroundings on Saturday evening and prepare for the climb on Sunday. I know Snowdon is not the tallest, or even the toughest peak in the UK, however it’s my first hike up a mountain and I must admit I’m slightly apprehensive of what to expect! My main worry is the weather as for the past week it’s averaged less than freezing here in the UK and I know that the higher you go, the colder it gets! Also, I’m hoping it doesn’t rain as that we definitely put downer on the experience for me. Overall, I’m excited to get going and can’t wait to get my camera out!

During our 3 night stay we also plan to ride the Snowdon Mountain Railway to the top of the mountain so we (mainly I) can actually take our time to capture some stunning images. We’d also like to visit Caernarfon Castle and maybe a beach somewhere along the line.

Please stayed tuned for the photos that I make over the coming days.

Thanks for reading, Dan.