Italy beckons… always a pleasure

With the first trip to Tuscany looming I just started flicking through some shots from previous visits, but it’s tricky to narrow them down to just a few to reflect what a great place it is to visit. Here goes with a variety of the delights previously sampled:

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Each trip involves looking for somewhere new to drop by, and to date nothing has disappointed – is the whole of Italy really that fantastic? so far in my experience the answer is pretty much yes. So here are a few more examples:

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An early July morning just after sunrise, the somewhat unusual transport to the highest point on Elba, and the impressive cieling at the cathedral in Re make up the next three shots:

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The last few shots focus on that all-important part of an Italian holiday, the wonderful food and wine:

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Looking through these shots…so looking forward to going back, and wondering what other little gems we can find this time….. feel free to comment or email me at keith@keithhern.com , and for more examples of my photography take a look at www.keithhern.com.

Want to be somewhere different… and warm?…..like Armona Island

Sitting here with the heating on and plentiful layers of clothing on my mind started wandering off… well, south mainly in search of t-shirt weather. Just over a year ago my wife and I headed off for a long weekend to the peaceful retreat just off the Portuguese coast, otherwise known as Armona Island. I’d never even heard of it until my wife and a few fiends visited the previous year, and such were the glowing reports it just had to be visited. Here are a few shots from the visit:

Mention Portugal to most people and they immediately head west from Faro airport for the established Algarve sunspots and golf courses, however if you prefer a quieter, more peaceful few days head east. A twenty minute taxi ride reaches the coastal town of Olhau, from where a fifteen minute ferry trip takes you to the unspoilt island of Armona.Devoid of cars it’s like stepping back in time, to a world of a much slower pace of life where little happens in a hurry! What Armona has in abundance is miles of sandy beaches with crystal clear seas, and very few people – at least at this time of year, but I suspect August may be somewhat different.

In the short visit we sampled three restaurants, the two either side of the ferry area, both of which did a good line in fresh seafood, but meat was also available for those that prefer it. The restaurant on the Atlantic side, which is up for sale, sold a most fantastic plate of garlic grilled eels. The bills all seemed very similar between 35 and 45 Euros for two including a bottle of wine. A third has apparently now opened nearby so now a plentiful choice of eatery on the island, to go with the array waterfront restaurants at Olhau where the traditional seafood cataplana can be sampled, and well worth it it was too.

Looking out at grey skies and temperatures of at least 6 degrees a quick trip to Armona would be perfect for a few days serious unwinding and r&r… I’ll be back!

Trekking for the Royal Marsden Hospital – Nepal next!

In 2010 The Royal Marsden Hospital helped me get through cancer that had appeared in my chest, which upon diagnosis I had been given a 10-40% chance of survival. Following the latest check-up scan results, which were as good as they possibly could be I’ve just signed up to fundraising for the hospital by trekking Nepal in November this year. It’s my way of saying thanks so much for saving my life…again! You see in 2007 the Marsden got me through throat cancer, and at my lowest point during treatment I saw a notice in the hospital along the following lines; ‘Fundraise For The Royal Marsden – Go Trekking’. As soon as I saw it I knew I’d go – it was just a case of when and where. Twenty months later I set off to Iceland, and what an amazing experience that was. Here are a few of the shots from that trip:

The trek happened in August 2009 and was quite simply one of the most amazing experineces of my life. The scenery was weird but stunning, the weather at times truly dire, and there were challenges aplenty to overcome. The spirit of those involved was amazing particularly on the longest day’s trekking when we did nine hours in subzero temperatures, howling winds and non-stop rain/sleet/snow – two of the team needed treatment for hyperthermia. After six days we were back in Reykjavik for a celebration dinner (shark, whale, lobster soup, puffin) and then sampled the famous Reykjavik nightlife – it didn’t disappoint!

With that as a memory I’m very much looking forward to Nepal, and just like in 2009 it will form the last chapter in my next book, to follow ‘Bangers & Mash’ which I wrote whilst going through cancer in 2007 ( see http://www.throatcancersurvivor.co.uk for details). The follow-up will be very different as going through it all again was in one way strangely familiar, but also very different and less scary even if the odds were against me, plus I ended up doing plenty of non-medical work to aid the recovery, including sampling the likes of magnetic therapy, yoga and nutritional supplements.

If you’d like to comment or ask questions just drop me an email to keith@keithhern.com or call me on +44 7900 826714. To see other examples of my photography please visit http://www.keithhern.com .

A late winter break to Bilbao

What a fabulous place to visit for a weekend Bilbao proved to be! From the very impressive Guggenheim to the narrow streets in the old town, and out to the peaceful pedestrian squares near the port there’s something for all tastes. Getting around is dead easy as the transport system is fast and efficient, be it tram, underground or train. The trip out to San Sebastian was extremely worthwhile as we managed to find a Michelin starred restaurant so spent most of the time there enjoying the 7 course ‘menu degustation’ – fabulous!

Back in Bilbao much of the time was spent strolling around the narrow pedestrianised streets of the old town with very frequent stops at various pintxos (similar to tapas)bars for a snack or two and a glass or two of Rioja – incredibly good value, and never a poor glass of wine! The only evening we tried a sit-down meal it proved poor value for money, or maybe our choice of venue was poor. Some of the prices were a little odd, as at the Central Station a fresh orange juice was 5 Euros, roughly equivalent to two and a half glasses of wine at most pintxos bars – I know which I think is better value!

Needless to day there was no shortage of photographic material so managed to get through a fiar amount of camera memory in the three days we were there.

48 hours in Amsterdam

A speedy visit to this entertaining city involved a healthy mix of eating, drinking, walking and culture. Staying a ten minute walk from central station in the quaintly named ‘Truelove’ guesthouse, my wife and I set out to explore armed with the ‘gay map’ of town! Having used Tripadvisor to pick a couple of restaurants both proved excellent, and very different. ‘Five Flies’ (or D’Viff Vlieghen – doesn’t it sound better in Dutch!) is a fantastic eating experience, steeped in history with impeccable service, we opted for one of the tasting menus – tartare of veal with truffle mayonnaise, pollock with a lobster butter sauce, duck breast with black pudding, apple compote and a cinnamon sauce rounded off with chocolate tart and eggnog ice cream. Each course came with its own wine, the most surprising being a Reisling from Snake River in Idaho which was just fantastic!
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Away from the Five Flies, culture came in the form of two excellent museums: the Jewish History, and the Dutch Resistance both of which were fascinating. With all the walking dehydration had to be guarded against so a relaxing visit to the ‘Ij’ (egg) brewery had to be included in the itinerary.The beer was strong from 5% up to 9% proof,and I think it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed a glass of ‘Ijwit (eggwhite) beer’. The other bar of note was the Ice Bar – donning extra warm jackets, special gloves we entered the ‘cold bar’, cold being about -10, but they are very precious about taking photos – not permitted! I think I’ll save my sub-zero drinking for the ski slopes! Our guesthouse was well-placed around the corner from a vegetarian shoe-shop, at least a hundred yards from the nearest red light, and not much further to the closest cafe – not to be confused with ‘coffee shop’ which is where spliffs can be indulged in freely and legally, the supplies being avalable at the local flower market.
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A very enjoyable couple of days finished with an impressive 17 dish Indonesian ‘rijsttafel’ at the Indrapura – very good restaurant. Better remember not to leave it another ten years before returning!
Any comments drop me a line to keith@keithhern.com or call me on +44 7900 826714, or for more of my photography go to http://www.keithhern.com.

ORACLE Cancer Trust Christmas Concert

This was my third year at the above event, first two years as the photographer and this year as one of the ex-Royal Marsden patients who volunteered to give a reading. Considering it’s the fantastic medical folk from the head & neck unit at the Royal Marsden (consultants, doctors, nurses, radiographers….and so on) to whom I owe my life as they’ve successfully got me through throat cancer in 2007, and a recurrence in my chest in late 2009/2010 it seemed a good time to post a few of the photos covering the different experiences of each of the three years.

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These were from the 2009 concert, two years after I had been given the all clear, two weeks after I had been diagnosed again and given a survival chance of between 10 and 40 percent! There were two nurses who were so important when I was at my lowest during the treatment, one was on the door for the 2009 concert, the other had asked me to photograph her wedding – a real privilege. The third shot is the orchestra and choir in full flow.

The above shots are from the 2010 concert and feature the choir, Thames Chamber Orchestra and an address from Nigella Lawson, the Vice President of the ORACLE Cancer Trust. This years’ was slightly different in that I wasn’t doing the photography, however was doing a reading, and had a chance to meet Nigella Lawson to thank her for the nice quote she had given about my book ‘Bangers & Mash’. The third photo is of the three ex-patients who gave the readings.

As ever my utmost thanks to Peter Rhys-Evans and his amazing team at the Royal Marsden, both for excellent evening concerts but also for helping me successfully to get through cancer twice. For more information about my book and cancer experiences please go to http://www.throatcancersurvivor.co.uk , or for more of my photography http://www.keithhern.com. If you have any questions please just email me keith@keithhern.com or call me +44 7900 826714.

Photographing the Royal Military Tournament at Earls Court

I had the opportunity to join four other photographers working at this event to create images for the website www.tournamentimages.com , soemthing that was never going to be turned down! I remember going as a kid, and knew that it had stopped eight or nine years ago, and only re-started last year. So who knows possibly my only opportunity, and for this particular event that was celebrating the collaboration between the UK and US military, even looking at the historic times when the two sides almost came to fight each other. It was great to get in close to all the action, but with flash photography not allowed a very high ISO and shallow depth of field was needed in order to get the necessary shutter speeds to hand-hold the camera. Everything was shot with a 70-200 lens, and here are some of the results:

It was fantastic event, and just a privilege to be asked to join the team of photographers at www.tournamentimages.com (all images for sale through this site), may even be asked again next year! To witness the displays of the 700 troops and 100 horse that were involved was a great experience, as was helping to do teh photography.

Any questions pelase email me keith@keithhern.com or call on +44 7900 826714. If you’d like tos ee more of my photography please look at mey website www.keithhern.com .