It has been a long time. Due to unforseen circumstances, I had to take our blog off line for a while… now, we’re back… kind of.

I have created a new blog that caters to photographers (both amateur and professional) who love to travel. I get asked questions about my trips, what camera gear I used, what techniques I used for certain photographs … plus many others. I have been fortunate enough to have many outstanding photography teachers plus, I have had the honour of visiting many places on our planet. The goal of this new blog/site is to discuss photography from a traveller’s perspective.

So… you can check out our new blog/site, www.holyfstop.com

We hope you visit often… and don’t forget to subscribe to receive our updates to the site.

Take care and all the best,
Roël
p.s. after this post, this blog will no longer be updated, but its content will remain intact

One thing that Anne and I are really grateful for is that we get to travel internationally several times a year.  It is a big, beautiful world out there and we love seeing (and photographing) it.

We recently visited Scotland – it was my second time there and Anne’s first.  It was really special visit for both of us as it is a really beautiful country, the people are unbelievably friendly and also, some of Anne’s late relatives hail from the Inverness area.

Autumn is a really unpredictable time in Scotland – sometimes the weather is great, sometimes it is not.  We were really, really fortunate to be blessed with several days of sunshine (when we toured Argyll and the Isle of Skye) and witness a really wild storm on the east coast (in Stonehaven).  It didn’t really matter what the weather was like… the countryside is stunning and in the event of inclement weather, we just found a cozy pub and consumed several pints a pint and ate some great meals.

After I get some sleep (and more time to process images), I will post more about Scotland… in the meantime, I’ve posted some of my favourite shots from our trip in this post and also in the online gallery.

My apologies as my last post was a bit rushed… I was trying to complete it when I heard the boarding announcement for my flight home from Venice.

As you know, I just spent the past week with Joe McNally in Italy.  IMHO, he doesn’t need an introduction to fellow photographers or his clients… he is one of the world’s finest photographers.   For those of you who are not familiar with his work, his images have graced the covers of National Geographic, Life Magazine and Sports Illustrated… just to name a few publications.

Joe is a master of light and he uses some incredibly complex lighting setups (I’ve never met anyone who travels with 12 speedlights!). Watching Joe work and having the opportunity to shoot along side him was an amazing experience, to say the least. Whether I was shooting on my own or helping Joe setup his lighting, it is amazing how much you can learn from him.

Our week together had us working pretty late into the evening and one day, we even started working at 4am to photograph some lovely ballerinas at sunrise (yawn). I must say that I was exhausted by the end of the week – and it was an incredibly rewarding experience.

To the other photographers who were present in Venice: it was truly a pleasure to meet all of you.  And to my friend Rob in Ottawa: thank you again for this wonderful opportunity.

Joe: thank you for a phenomenal week and I hope our paths cross again.

Here are a few images that I shot during the week…

One place on the planet that I’ve always wanted to visit is Havana, Cuba (or “La Habana” as the locals refer to it). It is a city that has combined Spanish colonial architecture with art deco… and it has been 50 years since the Cuban Revolution happened.

Anne and I decided to finally visit this city.  And, if I can summarize our experience in one word, it would be “unbelievable.”

We stayed in Habana Centro on the border with Habana Vieja which was an amazing location – we had easy access to all of Havana’s main sights and also got to interact with several Habaneros (no, not the pepper, but the people).   For a photographer, Havana is a feast for the eyes… the architecture is simply stunning, especially with its art deco accents.  It was also sad on some level for me as many of the buildings have not been maintained for decades and are in a major state of disrepair, although that is slowly changing.

Habaneros are very friendly people: many approached us to simply say hello and find out more about Canada… others wanted to sell us cigars (I had at least 100 offers to do so) and other trinkets.  Havana is a very safe place although you do need to be aware of some who want overcharge tourists for tours, etc.  (that was the exception and not the rule)

So, would we return to Havana?  In a heartbeat.  It is one of the loveliest places I have ever visited and I know we will return soon.  And yes, I almost coughed up a lung trying to smoke a cigar… but that is nothing that some fine Cuban rum or a Mojito couldn’t remedy!

Hasta la vista.

I finally found a few moments to finish processing the last of my travel images from last year… and this post is about Spain.

Spain is a *beautiful* country and we plan to return… soon.  We traveled to Barcelona (simply awesome), Malaga, Cadiz and Areciffe in the Canary Islands.  Unfortunately for me, I was very much under the weather for most of this trip, however, I did enjoy it despite swallowing lots of Tylenol and drinking copious quantities of cough syrup (I would prefer Spanish wine next time).

So, we can’t wait to go back there … and if you get the chance to visit, DO IT!

During our trip to Southern Europe late last year, Anne and I made a *very* brief stop in Lisbon, Portugal. It is a beautiful city… and country! Unfortunately for me, I was extremely under the weather, so I had a hard time remaining vertical during our stay (no it wasn’t the wine!) which meant I did not get to photograph as much of this lovely place as I would have like to.

We did make a stop at the José Maria da Fonseca Winery just outside of Lisbon – it is a lovely place and well worth a visit.  Too bad my cough medication didn’t go well with their Port!

I’ll definitely head back to Lisbon one day – and hopefully next time be able to really enjoy it!  Save that glass of Port for me…

Anne and I were very fortunate to travel to Morroco in Northern Africa recently – we made brief visits to Casablanca and Agadir.  It is a fascinating country and a very different world to what we are accustomed to in western society. Morroco has a very rich culture and everything is colourful – from the goods in the open air markets to the people.

Casablanca is a city of 6.5 million people and the economic capital of Morroco.  It became even more famous because of the movie named after it starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.  Casablanca means “white house” and is now one of Africa’s four largest cities.

One of the main attractions of Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque. It was a birthday present given to the king on his 60th birthday. It is the world’s second largest religious building after the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca and also has the world’s tallest minaret.   It is an absolutely stunning structure and you will know it when you see it in the slide show.

So, if you get the chance to visit, do it.  Our only regret was that we didn’t spend more time getting to know the people better and exploring the country.

Anne and I recently took a trip to Southern Europe and Northern Africa.  I will be posting a series of photos (but not all 2,000+ I took!) from several of the fantastic places we visited.

So, having said that, I will start with Gibraltar which is actually on the southern most tip of the Iberian peninsula.  It is where Europe meets Africa which made it a strategic military outpost in the days when Europe’s various armies weren’t on such friendly terms.  Often, people refer to Gibraltar as the “Rock” and when you visit it, you will know why.

The Berbers and the Spanish previously occupied Gibraltar, however, in 1713 the British conquered it and it is now under British rule.  It is quite a small and  picturesque place as you can see in the following images.

Gibraltar has at least 143 caves and 48km of tunnels… which is incredible given how small it actually is. One of the caves we visited was St. Michael’s Cave which is contains the most stunning stalagmites and stalactites I have ever seen.

One of the most bizarre (and entertaining) attractions on Gibraltar are the famous Barbary Apes, which are actually Macaque Monkeys without tails. No one really knows how they ended up here as they are the only wild primates in Europe. Someone mentioned that they came by canoe from Morocco… I think he also tried to sell me some swampland in Florida too. Anyway, they were quite funny… and if you do visit this unusual place, hold onto your purses, wallets and cameras as they are known to snatch them and run!

I believe that this mischievous fellow was up to no good…

This little guy was trying to figure out what we were looking at!

All in all, we had a fantastic time in Gibraltar and encourage everyone to visit if they get the chance!