I had a succession of 35mm cameras after the Praktica: a cheap and cheerful Chinon bought in Dixons, a Canon AE1P (I loved that camera, I sold it to insure a motorbike – silly boy), and a Nikon model with some of the most unintuitive controls I’ve ever used.

My last 35mm camera was a Canon EOS 5 with a gorgeous, but heavy, 28-135mm IS lens. This is the camera I took to India.

Then came digital photography and a family; a marriage made in heaven you would think, but with the kit you end up carrying with kids, and not forgetting the kids themselves, lugging a extra item quickly loses its appeal. I did have a Nikon D40 for a while, but it was replaced by good quality ‘point ‘n shoot’ cameras. Which in turn have ended up being left at home, and my iPhone has become my principle camera.

How did it come to this?

Earlier this year I started to get the photographic itch again; I started my ill fated Photo 366 project, and started to look at ‘proper’ cameras again.

What I want is a digital equivalent of the simpler 35mm cameras I used to own, with classic camera design, controls and simplicity. Even the cheapest digital SLRs are massively over featured, with more bells and whistles than I want or need.

Then I discovered a range of cameras that seem to match my requirements made by the legendary manufacturer Leica. Leica have an unmatched reputation for design and quality, and sadly this comes with an eye watering price tag. So near and yet so far.

For a flavour of the attention to detail and quality that goes into the creation of a Leica:

For now this is the closest I’ll get to a Leica without selling my children. Oh now there’s a thought…

We were staying in McLeod Ganj in Himanchal Pradesh, and decided to have a look around the nearby town of Dharamsala. We thought a bus might be more interesting than a taxi so headed to the bus stand. This was my first ride on an Indian bus, and I was looking forward to the amazing views on the road down the valley.

Chris bought a paper near the bus stand, and started to read it as we waited to leave, and this page caught my eye – I think it was the use of the word ‘charred‘ that was particularly diverting.

Of course our bus journey was quite uneventful, and we had a very pleasant morning looking around Dharamsala followed by lunch at The Dhauladhar hotel overlooking the Kangra Valley.

This morning, just a few weeks later, I was struck by how much lower the sun is in the sky.

Summer is gliding away.

When summer gathers up her robes of glory,
And, like a dream, glides away.

Sarah Helen Whitman

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage…

Incredible.

via Cameron Moll

This image visualises Lost In Translation beautifully; I want this as a poster now.

From for rainy days via FFFFOUND.

Update: Having searched around this appears to be the original image, which is not available as a poster sadly.

After leaving Delhi at dawn we had an eventful trip to Agra featuring security checkpoints, dancing bears and no less than three punctures. I’d never seen a car tyre with an inner tube, and I’d certainly never seen an inner tube with so many existing repair patches already in place.

The Taj Mahal was every bit as breath taking as legend suggests. It’s hard to comprehend just how majestic this building is without seeing it for yourself. I walked around for hours in quiet awe.

Getting a good tourist free photograph of such an iconic attraction is of course very difficult so we hatched a cunning plan. Ben would stand in front of the Taj as if having his photograph taken, then on the count of three he would duck out of the way allowing me an undisturbed photograph of the Taj Mahal.

Unfortunately Ben got a little carried away, and rather than merely duck he threw himself bodily to the floor. This is why the edges of the photo are lined with bemused looking Indian tourists, and why Ben spent the rest of the day limping.

Of course the irony is that because of this the tourists make it a much better photograph.

If you know the story behind it.

As we had the kids with us we thought we’d head to the coast for the day. In true English seaside fashion it was a little misty, and chilly by the time we got there, but Southwold still showed the charm that only an off-season English seaside town can have.

More Photos on Flickr

Fantastic video – great fun and shows off Iceland wonderfully I think.

He’s immersed in his iPhone as I was in mine. I wonder where he’s going.

Should I be bothered that I recognise him? Wonder if he recognises me.