Glenda's photos

Camp Tamok, 75 minutes from Tromso, northern Norway, December...

glendakwek — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:00:26 +1100

Camp Tamok, 75 minutes from Tromso, northern Norway, December 2011. This is Roar Nyheim, a Semi reindeer herder who brought a bunch of us around for about an hour on sleighs. Nyheim said it took up to a decade to train the reindeers. They had a variety of personalities that were more fascinating than the ride itself, especially the reindeer behind my friend, who was always looking for an opportunity to headbutt her with his rather large antlers (!).

Hargeisa, Somaliland, October 2012. I came across this dapper...

glendakwek — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:00:29 +1100

Hargeisa, Somaliland, October 2012. I came across this dapper elderly gentleman who was enjoying tea with his mates beside the MiG fighter jet monument in the capital city. It took some persuading to get him to let me take his photo, and I had to enlist the help of his friends. But I was just keen to capture what I thought was a lovely, expressive face and personality.

Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2011. One of my favourite parts of...

glendakwek — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:00:03 +1100

Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2011. One of my favourite parts of my trip to the Nordic countries was the food. I ate what was probably a year’s fill of fish in a week, and even sampled the Danish version of a hearty breakie (second photo above). Cheese, yogurt AND sausages in the morning. Why not? It was yummy and I had one very full tummy.

Konso, southern Ethiopia, October 2012. This is probably my...

glendakwek — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:00:26 +1100

Konso, southern Ethiopia, October 2012. This is probably my favourite photo of the trip. We were driving near Konso when a rainbow sparkled into sight after a light shower. I haven’t altered this photo at all, or cropped it in any way. This is exactly how it looked. It was such a bonus to also capture this young woman walking past in her lively coloured skirt.

Near Lalibela, northern Ethiopia, October 2012. I have to say I...

glendakwek — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:00:23 +1100

Near Lalibela, northern Ethiopia, October 2012. I have to say I was totally over the moon when we passed by a sunflower field on the way to visit a cave church just outside the mountain village of Lalibela. After a few attempts, I managed to capture a shot of this wee bee feeding on the sunflower. I particularly like the little yellow pollen stuck on its body.

Hargeisa, Somaliland, October 2012. A big highlight of my trip...

glendakwek — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 10:00:19 +1100

Hargeisa, Somaliland, October 2012. A big highlight of my trip to Somaliland was the livestock market a short drive from the capital, Hargeisa. The market featured mostly camels, goats and (pictured above), the fat-tailed sheep. Somali sheep are said to be unique in that they have black heads with white bodies. They were certainly very distinctive and always up for a photo, as you can see above.

Omo Valley, southern Ethiopia, October 2012.

glendakwek — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:59:25 +1100

Omo Valley, southern Ethiopia, October 2012.

Berbera, Somaliland, October 2012. Somaliland broke away from...

glendakwek — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:31:58 +1100

Berbera, Somaliland, October 2012. Somaliland broke away from Somalia about 22 years ago after the collapse of the Barre regime in the early 1990s. It’s still recognised internationally as being part of Somalia, but it’s been run by a separate administration for more than two decades. It doesn’t see a lot of travellers, so we were the centre of attention wherever we went. Here, a woman who bought some fish pretended to use one as a telephone.

I recently returned from Ethiopia and Somaliland, and hope to...

glendakwek — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:33:42 +1100

I recently returned from Ethiopia and Somaliland, and hope to post some photos from there over the next few months. This photo was taken in South Omo in southern Ethiopia, where the bull jumping ceremonies by the Hamer tribe have become a bit of a tourist destination.

I spent some time in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark)...

glendakwek — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:55:00 +1000

Fat seagull outside the Opera House.

Norway's Opera House in Oslo.

Reindeer sledding near Tromso, Norway.

I spent some time in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) over the new year and my big loves about that region is space and the austere yet elegant style of the architecture (See the pic of Norway’s Opera House above). I find myself very drawn to the landscapes and its vastness. Fields of flowers, fields of snow. Brilliant.

I spent a few days in Botswana in April at two safari camps in...

glendakwek — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:01:00 +1000

I spent a few days in Botswana in April at two safari camps in the Okavango Delta and it was an exhilarating experience. One of the things I rarely see during my normal working day is sunrises and sunsets and these are some of my favourite snaps that I captured during my trip. It’s fair to say that I spent most of my time gawking at these sights and saying just one word: “Wow.”

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. I took this photo at a temple...

glendakwek — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:00:03 +1000

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. I took this photo at a temple complex in Rangoon. There were so many temples and so much gold - very overwhelming. Visitors bought like blobs of gold and rubbed them on the idols as they made a wish. I thought this photo captured a slightly different scene - that of a warrior (I think) pointing his blade towards the top of the temple spire.

Tromso, Norway, December 2011. Dock houses along Tromso’s...

glendakwek — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:01:11 +1000

Tromso, Norway, December 2011. Dock houses along Tromso’s small wharf at night, or should I say early morning? My friend and had travelled to Tromso, on Norway’s northern coast to see the northern lights. It was a balmy -1 degree Celsius when we were there. We were heading to Stockholm on an early morning flight, via Oslo, to spend New Year’s Eve there and so I popped out of the hotel room about 4am and snapped a few shots. I loved the reflection of the orange lights on the harbour.

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. Posters in Rangoon - local pop...

glendakwek — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:01:36 +1000

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. Posters in Rangoon - local pop star, Manchester United, Jesus … and Justin Bieber?!?! One thing that probably surprised me, but shouldn’t have, was the love of all things football (soccer), especially English football. I guess that’s not unexpected given that Burma was formerly a British colony. Every guy I chatted to loved the game. Most supported Manchester United and a handful were fans of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City. One of my best nights was in Bagan, where I sat with about 200 men in a small teahouse, sipping tea anxiously as we watch the live telecast of the local derby between Man United and Man City. Good times.

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. Old windows on a backstreet in...

glendakwek — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +1000

Rangoon, Burma, February 2011. Old windows on a backstreet in Rangoon. One of the things I really enjoyed doing in Rangoon - in spite of the heat, which was making me look like an overcooked octopus - was wandering its streets and taking in the local architecture. While the military/government-built structures were often tall, imposing and blockish, the little shophouses dotting the lanes had a rundown yet lovely, organic feel to them. I was intrigued by the windows. Who lived behind them? What lives did they have? How long had they been living there?

Beijing, June 2011. I snapped this shot at a hutong...

glendakwek — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:10:05 +1000

Beijing, June 2011. I snapped this shot at a hutong selling Chairman Mao kitsch - with a stained glass Mao above the shop window. I wonder what would Mao think if he was still alive?

Hongqiao train station, Shanghai, July 2011. I was extremely...

glendakwek — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:00:05 +1000

Sunset at Hongqiao train station, SHG

Lost? Direction-arrows at train station.

Hongqiao train station, Shanghai, July 2011. I was extremely early for my flight from Shanghai to Beijing and Hongqiao airport, and so I wandered across to the train station, which seemed pretty new. As you can see in the photo, the sunset was pretty spectacular.

Somewhere in the air between Hong Kong and Sydney, July 2011. I...

glendakwek — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:15:00 +1000

Somewhere in the air between Hong Kong and Sydney, July 2011. I rarely choose window seats, but I was fortunate to be on a flight that had a few empty seats. The passenger beside me moved somewhere else so I had two seats to stretch out on — and managed to snap this stunning sunset photo.

Shanghai Hongqiao train station, Shanghai, China, July 2011. I...

glendakwek — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:05:06 +1000

At Shanghai's Hongqiao train station.

... and from the other direction.

The brand-new high-speed train.

Shanghai Hongqiao train station, Shanghai, China, July 2011. I was able to ride China’s new high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai on the second day of its launch (and on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China). Everyone on the trip was über-excited. The passengers were mainly locals, which was great. I spotted only one other foreigner. As you can tell, I really loved the light and dark of the train platform in Shanghai.

Read more about my experiences on the train in an article I wrote here.

Outside the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, June 2011. Even the...

glendakwek — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +1000

Outside the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, June 2011. Even the crawling toy soldiers in China are patriotic!