It's What You Don't See That Matters

This may look like a picture postcard but it's actually a record of a treasure site. The small raft behind the boat marks the spot where a large chunk of Cleopatra's palace had just been fished out of the murky waters of Alexandria.
Photo: Annie, December 2010

The Scene of the Crime

Photography is about making choices, about presenting what's important. And that's why I love forensic photography where vital evidence completely dictates the image. It's both dispassionate and a matter of life and death.

Here, photographer Frank Castorol opted for a spectacular aerial view so as to take in the entire scene of these Mafia killings: the table, the bowls and wine of a cosy, al fresco lunch, the bullets and the victims lying like sad puppets on the ground.

In Search of Red Riding Hood

The Storybook Wolf won Jose Luis Rodriguez the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. That is until a few days ago when he was disqualified for probably using "a model", a tame wolf called Ossian who lives at a zoological park near Madrid.

I don't doubt for a moment that this is a staged photo involving a cunning combination of an obliging Ossian and a sprinkling of digital fairy dust. But frankly I don't care. It is the stuff of nightmares where hungry wolves leap farmyard fences in search of a tasty morsel, a plump and succulent little girl all clad in red...

Smugglers Beware!

Detective Trudi is following an interesting line of inquiry...
Photo: Annie

Phone Phreak

This malevolent little girl was painted by the German artist Andrea Lehmann, who is included in an upcoming exhibition at Aschenbach and Hofland in Amsterdam. I like her because she makes me wonder about how she came to be so vicious and what became of her once she grew up. Whatever the answer, it's certainly not a pretty picture.

Click to enlarge so you can admire her in all her spitefulness.

The Frozen Isles

My native country as snapped by Nasa's Terra satellite: icy cold but weirdly beautiful.

Is this Narnia? Or Just My Back Garden?

The garden of my apartment block looks like the White Witch has transformed it into the land where "it's always winter but never Christmas". Fortunately "they say Aslan is on the move — perhaps has already landed" so spring cannot be far away.
Photo: Annie

Waiting in the Wings

Bunny waits for his cue to perform in the Royal Ballet's traditional Christmas production of The Nutcracker.
Photo: Julian Broad

Local Delicacies?

Two of the choices on the menu at a well-known restaurant in Damascus.

PS Arabic speakers have difficulty with pronouncing the English letter "b" and often replace it with a "p". Reverse the process and you end up with nothing more challenging than "crab" and "herbs", which I would thoroughly recommend if you can keep a straight face when ordering.