Some of my regular readers may have noticed that my blog has not been that active as of late. Let me explain: I have been traveling almost nonstop since the start of the summer whether it was for work or vacation. As a result, I haven’t had much of a chance to write my trip reports and thoughts down from all the places I’ve visited. Hopefully I can catch up with some of my writing in the coming month before my trip to Norway, but I’m so far behind on the blog and at work that I can’t make any guarantees. I did an article earlier this year what I thought the world’s most beautiful country was and why I thought it was so. Well 4 months, and 6 more countries (including Iceland) later my opinion still hasn’t changed and trust me when I say I’ve seen a lot these last couple of months.
Here is a quick recap of my summer so far:
My summer started out in Slovenia where I got to visit the legendary Lake Bled, a landscape photographer’s dream. The lake and the surrounding Julian Alps are really what they are built up to be even though winter is probably the most ideal time to visit.
It was followed by a weekend jaunt to nearby Venice. Let me tell you this: NOTHING can prepare you for seeing this place for the very first time. You read about it in books, see it in movies, and sometimes even visit its dupes in Vegas and other localities, but nothing compares to the grandeur and scale of Venice. How do you even fathom building a city like this?
After Venice, we flew to London on our way to Iceland where we visited the South Downs National Park. This was certainly against my better judgement, given that I hadn’t slept for the better part of the week shooting in Lake Bled and Venice. However, any trip to the English countryside is worthwhile given the marvelous rolling green hills and white cliffs.
My first trip this summer culminated in Iceland where I got two spectacular days followed by 3 days what could be considered an Icelandic hurricane. I am so glad we stayed at an Airbnb with a view because the wind and rain were absolutely brutal outside.Iceland was the country many readers suggested as being the most beautiful country and it certainly came close to beating Switzerland if not for vast stretches of nothingness. By this I mean that not everything was postcard perfect in Iceland when compared to Switzerland. I would summarize at as follows: if Switzerland is Heaven on Earth, Iceland isn’t even on this planet. It’s more like Mars on Earth.
After Iceland, I got to photograph my hometown of Philadelphia for the very first time. It completely boggles my mind that the last time I visited City Hall or the Liberty Bell, was 20 years ago on a school field trip. I had never seen the boardwalk near the South Street Bridge (where I took this picture), and the skyline has certainly changed a bit since the 90s.
During my time in the Northeast, it just so happened that a Revolutionary War Reenactment was happening at Monmouth Battlefield in New Jersey. The experience of being transported back to the colonial era was truly a highlight of my summer so far.
Finally on a more recent European excursion (during July 4th) I got the chance to revisit Germany’s Black Forest:
And the Berner Oberland Region of Switzerland, which happens to be my favorite region on the planet.
Along the way I also visited the beautiful town of Colmar in the Alsace region of France. It’s truly remarkable how different the landscapes and cityscapes are as soon as you cross what appears to be state borders in Europe.
So that’s a recap of my summer so far, a miniature photo walk or trip report in itself I suppose. Looking forward to writing up the trip reports and focal points here pretty soon. Less time on the road hopefully will mean more time at the keyboard.
Stay tuned for more!
