The Gallery. Weeks 9 and 10.

This is my first ever entry to The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers on my shiny new Blog- eeek! This post is inspired by weeks of Twitter-induced Blog envy. I have been snooping on other peoples blogs, gazing longingly at the photographs and wondering which of my own photographs I would have applied to each theme. I have been harbouring this blog envy for a while ( a post in itself I think) so why it has taken me so long to do anything about it is anyones guess. I have finally done something about it though, so enjoy the photographs. There will be many more.

Week 9. Portrait
I really wanted to post an entry last week for the 'Portraits' theme, but I don't have a scanner and I didn't quite get my arse in gear to take my old photo somewhere to be scanned in time for the Gallery link up last wednesday. Anyway, I still wanted to post my pictures for that theme so here are a couple.....

We don't have much in the way of portraits hanging on the walls in our home. I prefer the more contemporary 'reportage' style of photography, whereby the shots are more candid and therefore the results are more natural. However, I do love old photographs, especially of my family and particularly of my parents as children. When they were young, portrait photography was far more popular and the norm. I have chosen a photograph of my lovely mum, taken when she was about two and a half- the age my Little Prince is now. The similarity between them is quite striking I think. The photograph of my boy is by no means the best I have of him, but it is the photograph that best demonstrates the smile that they share.

Week 10. The World around us.

This weeks theme is 'The World around us'. Some people have taken this theme literally and have posted photographs of a secret place that is special to them in one way or another. Some have shared photographs of a favourite place in the world that they have visited. I couldn't honestly choose which of the wonderful places I have visited over the years is my favourite, there are just too many and each hold special memories for different reasons. One place that does stand out, simply because I had never been anywhere quite like it before or since, is China. It is such a unique and amazing place with a unique and amazing culture to boot. Also, it is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Which is why for me, it was the obvious choice for the Gallery.

View from a watch tower on the Great Wall

This really is a typical view from a watch tower. All you can see for miles is the seemingly endless
'wall' snaking into the distance. Well, it does go on for some four and a half thousand miles! I trekked the wall for eight hours a day for six days in a row and sometimes this view was all you could see. I never tired of it.

Typical view from the Great Wall

A visit to a local school

We were priveliged enough to camp in the grounds of a remote local school for a night. The local people were so hospitible and the children were absolutely fascinated by us, as we were with them. Aswell as being quite honestly the most beautiful children I have ever seen, they were the most polite and endearing. We stayed for the 'raising of the flag' ceremony, which is performed by the children each morning. There was not a dry eye. Beautiful.