We recently returned from a spring break on the island of Ibiza. We took along our new Pentax K3iii, 20-40mm Limited zoom and DFA* 50mm lenses. Being fairly quiet and picturesque, the streets of Ibiza Old Town made perfect subject matter for getting acquainted with our new kit. The 20-40mm zoom was particularly useful when capturing views of narrow alleyways where room was restricted. As we become more familiar with this new equipment, we will compile thoughts and opinions in preparation for future reviews. But for now, here are some of the first results.

In August 2008 we embarked on a second journey around the Peloponnese region of the Greek mainland. A trip made in the previous year was documented as a Travel Diary. Unlike the first trip, the second was shot entirely on Kodak Ektachrome E100G slide film using Olympus OM1n/OM4Ti cameras and 21mm f2, 50 mm f1.2 and 180 mm f2.8 lenses. As part of our digital archive project we spent some time last month scanning the collection with a view to publishing a selection on PhotoArk.

Last month we embarked on a trip from Cairo to Aswan to visit some of Egypt’s more well known archaeological sites along with experiencing a little of the fascinating North African culture. After a couple of days in Cairo, we flew to Luxor where we boarded a cruise boat. This took us south to Aswan, returning to Luxor a week later which became our base for a few more days. Unsurprisingly, the trip provided a fantastic opportunity for photography and we took a huge volume of pictures that required a couple of pretty severe edits to get them into a manageable quantity. Presented here are a few of the highlights taken using our Leica X113 and T cameras, the latter coupled with a 55-135mm lens.

Early in 2000, I was invited to photograph several churches in the Matlock locality. The results were to be used in a millennium project illustrating the architecture and some of the less seen aspects of each church. During my visits I worked closely with the vicar or warden from each church to ensure that the images I captured met their expectations. The exhibition was held locally during the summer of 2000 and attracted a large amount of visitors.

We recently returned from a late summer break to Skopelos, a beautiful pine covered island that forms part of the Sporades archipelago. Visiting in September meant we were spared the busy summer crowds that travel across from Skiathos that tour several of the filming locations used for the Mamma Mia! movie. We have visited Skopelos on previous occasions many years ago, although limited to days trips. This time we stayed for two weeks in the main town and port which gave us direct access to the atmospheric winding streets and alleyways. The hills around the town gave us plenty of opportunity for hill walking and cycling. For your viewing pleasure, below is a set of images taken during our stay, using a Leica CL camera with 35 and 60mm lenses.

We recently completed an 18 night trip around the Thessaly area of Greece. Starting in Thessaloniki our route took us to Pella, Kastraki, Pelion, Litochoro, Dion and back to Thessaloniki. While there we experienced a heatwave that saw temperatures rise to 49C on more than one day. As we had a packed itinerary, the heat and humidity made it a challenging few days staying on track with our plans. Here is a collection showing some of the highlights, and a more in depth travel diary will follow. All images were taken on Leica T and TL2 cameras, using 11-23, 35 and 55-135 lenses.

Earlier this month, we decided at short notice to spend a week in the seaside town of Parga. Located in the Epirus region of North West Greece, it is an area of incredible natural beauty, parts of which we explored one summer many years ago when travelling through this part of the country.

This is the first in a series of macro collections that we will be creating over the coming months, and are taken from our 35mm slide archive. Equipment used was Olympus OM4Ti camera with Zuiko 38mm f2.8 and 80mm f4 macro lenses attached to a 65-116 telescopic extension tube. Lighting was provided by an Olympus F280 flash used off camera and bounced into various reflectors. Film stock was predominantly Kodak Elite Chrome Extra Colour 100 EBX as the colours are strong and vivid - perfect for images of a world within a world. Images were scanned as 24 bit colour TIF files via our Epson Perfection 850 Pro scanner. TIF’s were then converted to high quality JPG’s using Adobe Lightroom Classic.

A long standing interest of mine has been Derbyshire’s prehistoric past. Over the decades spent walking the county, I have picked up many artefacts dating from a time long before the Roman occupation of Britain. The landscape, particularly what now forms the region’s higher moors, preserves monuments that directly relate to the flint implements and bone fragments I have gathered. Be them ceremonial or simply tools that were used on a day to day basis, they help provide a snapshot of a time so distant from our own, it gives me an appreciation of how far we have come as a species.