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Worlds of Travel

44 images Created 4 Dec 2010

From a book about Heathrow Airport; the Himalayas; the English seaside; populous world cities; remote spots, or merely the incongruous and the intriguing - the work hangs together from a thread of Travel-related images from commissioned and personal projects.

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  • Beyond Chinese TV media images, a red sun sinks behind late cloud in the west, a glowing red sky illuminates Hong Kong's harbour, this scene is symbolic of the decline of empire, the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) two years after this picture was taken, often referred to as "The Handover" on June 30, 1997. Midnight of that day signified the end of British rule and the transfer of legal and financial authority back to China. From this famous ferry terminal that protrudes out into the busy waters of this colony's harbour from the Kowloon side of the territory. Hong Kong was once known as 'fragrant harbour' (or Heung Keung) because of the smell of transported sandal wood in the days before China ceded its territory to the British for 155 years until the 1997 deadline.
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  • In light monsoonal rain, a lone pedestrian is seen from a high viewpoint, crossing a zebra crossing with a yellow grid box junction to his right in Central Hong Kong on the last day of British rule. The junction is empty and without any traffic but the word 'Look' is stencilled in white letters for the benefit of unwary pedestrians. An umbrella used by the unrecognisable person is a colour match with the painted striped road markings, identical to the British highway traffic code. The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), often referred to as "The Handover" occurred at midnight on June 30, 1997, signifying the end of British rule, and the transfer of legal and financial authority back to China. Hong Kong was once known as 'fragrant harbour' (or Heung Keung) because of the smell of transported sandal wood.
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  • The shadow of a tourist is seen across a central pillar covered in graffiti on Ponte Vecchio that crosses River Arno, Florence. The names of past visitors are etched on the medieval plaster and beyond is a rower who sculls upstream on the river towards the boating club that lies just beyond the bridge at the water's edge. The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. It has been described as Europe's oldest wholly-stone, closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge. To enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 the Medici Grand Dukes prohibited butchers from selling there; their place was immediately taken by several gold merchants.
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  • Among medieval statues, a guitarist and street busker perform for passing tourists in Florence's Piazza degli Uffizi. Dressed in white to echo the medieval figures of city officials that stand in porticos of the main Uffizi building, a man will hug any visitor who wishes to have their photo taken alongside, for the price of a few Euros. Meanwhile, to his right, the musician plays classical songs on his acoustic instrument where its sound travels around this street corner, his notes rebounding from the solid stone walls and pillars.
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  • African street vendors wait for coach tourists to sell postcards near the Eiffel Tower, at the Trocadero, Paris.
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  • The image of a once-famous stag who used to be fed by tourists and the owner of the Oasis cafe on the A82 on Rannoch Moor but shot many times with an air gun by juvenile New Year revellers. Looking out onto the moors it roamed in life, the deer named Big Boy by locals had an insatiable appetite for scraps from outdoor snack bar owner MacDonald and his customers, the stag inched ever closer to the migrant humanity alongside the road. So locally famous did he become that one Hogmanay, the beast was shot several times by air gun-toting juveniles and is now a tragic, posthumous print on the same tourist cafe trailer. Now holidaymakers, unaware of the animal's life and death near this spot, merely stop to photograph the scenery in the hope of seeing the nearby herd that Big Boy ruled over.
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  • A British lady applies a layer of sun cream to her hand on a beach in Magaluf.  In the foreground, and aligned with the lady's own body is a sun lounger with a beach towel draped over which depicts the torso and legs of a cartoon Hercules Adonis character complete in ancient Greek style with muscular thighs and short skirt. In the background is a hotel building and two other tourists with their tanned backs towards the viewer. Magaluf is a popular holiday resort on the island of Mallorca, one of the Spanish Balearic Islands. A seedy resort very much orientated around British tourists and catering for both young parties as well as families, it is considered as a hot and exotic alternative to the chilly seaside towns around the UK's coast.  .
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  • Street construction site showing tropical beach paradise and images of world cities with a London No Parking sign.
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  • A group of red uniformed meat market traders manhandle joints of pork from the back of a meat wagon at Macau's main meat market, on the Rua Sul do Mercado de Sao Domingos, just off the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, in Central Macau.
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  • Grinning from ear to ear, young volunteers throw themselves over a fallen tree during a strenuous activity on a Raleigh International expedition in the rainforests of Brunei, Borneo, one of the remotest and most dangerous habitats on the planet. It has been a life-changing experience for them and their new-found friends from all over the world who will have had to raise several thousands of sponsored Pounds for the privilege of spending two months away from a dull, comfortable life at home, rather than building community projects like bridges or schools. Raleigh International is a charity that provides adventurous and challenging expeditions for people from all backgrounds, nationalities and ages, especially young people. Over the last 23 years, 30,000 people have been involved in more than 250 expeditions to over 40 countries.
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  • An elderly retired couple pause on the wide but darkly lit dance floor at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, England. They are the only dancers in the empty dance space, except for the Wurlitzer organist who is playing his accompanying music at the front of the stage, in a pool of bright light. We are looking down from a balcony high above and the husband and wife are pausing during their dance routine, stopping just long enough to register as sharp figures in the picture. The light is orange and red because of the tungsten light source. The Ballroom is the traditional home of the mighty Wurlitzer Organ and complemented by the 3 Deck Wersi - the world's most advanced organ. The Wersi is a state-of-the-art Louvre organ which is played by the resident organists in this magnificent setting. The present interior of the Blackpool Tower circus  was created by the famous theatre designer, Frank Matcham and completed in 1900.
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  • Seen from a high viewpoint, a young girl rides on her father's shoulders in the middle of the Longleat Hedge Maze. She can barely see over the walls of foliage, so tall is the labyrinth of twisty pathways, and she holds out her hands to brush against the green foliage. Made up of more than 16,000 English Yews, Longleat's spectacular hedge maze - the world's largest - was first laid out in 1975 by the designer Greg Bright. The Maze covers an area of around 1.48 acres (0.6 hectares) with a total pathway length of 1.69 miles (2.72 kilometres). Unlike most other conventional mazes it's actually three-dimensional.
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  • A lone walker passes by a partially-collapsed broken sign announcing the summit of Rannoch Moor, Scotland UK, 1,350 feet above sea level. He is hunched against a driving wind at this altitude and the country he is walking over is bleak and boggy, a wetland high up in the Scottish Highlands. Thick tufts of grass and moss lie about in this tough terrain, held in great affection for long-distance hikers. Rannoch Moor is a large expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km²) of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch, in Perth and Kinross and Lochaber, Highland, partly northern Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Rannoch Moor is designated a National Heritage site.
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  • Three dads are looking their respective children of varying ages - from a baby to an infant and 8-year old. In the foreground a father reads his tabloid newspaper as his toddler sleeps contentedly in its pushchair, a dummy in the mouth and a blanket scross its body to keep out a chilly breeze. Further back another man stands waiting for his partner with a baby, also asleep in the buggy. And thirdly, a male pushes his daughter in pink up a small slope on a bicycle that uses stablizers. It is a busy scene on Paignton seafront on the Devon coast. Elsewhere children and adults of all ages walk along the esplanade enjoying an overcast and windy day on holiday. This theatrical scene is about the ideal father and the family unit.
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  • Two men enjoy their own versions of Blackpool North Pier, Lancashire, England. On the right, the first man is lying down on a bench with his trousers gathered around his ankles, his red bathing costume or underpants are baggy and he is looking across to something of interest while scratching his bald head. The second man on the right is not wearing a shirt and his stomach is spilling over his trousers. He has a bunch of keys attached to his belt and is pointing a video camera (camcorder) towards the shore. It is a comical scene and typical of Blackpool beach life. This northern sea side resort in the north-west of England is diverse in its transient holiday population whose behaviour can be routinely odd.
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  • An out of focus post with a light bulb attached, shines in the bright daylight with the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Cocoa beach is on Florida's so-called Space Coast, a resort of beaches, clubs, seafood restaurants and motels that came to life during the 1960s due to America's space program. NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately 15 miles away. The Atlantic Ocean is flat calm in settled weather and the horizon is clear and well-defined with a ship just visible on the right side. Focus is on the sea rather than the post and the light bulb which look like a surreal addition to the landscape. Cocoa Beach served as a playground for many of the astronauts and NASA space industry workers and contractors during the heyday of the space race. After manned space flights, the town held astronaut parades. Before there was a "Silicon Valley," Cocoa Beach and other surrounding towns were full of the best and brightest technical minds around.
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  • WH Smiths Berlitz travel literature on sale in departures shopping area of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5.
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  • A young boy sits between Europe and Asia on a map laid across the pavement beneath Monument of Discoveries, Lisbon
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  • Late at night, in a gloomy arrivals gate at Chicago O'Hare airport, a young man sits patiently on his own awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend after a holiday in Asia. It is the last flight to land and a helium balloon floats on a string bearing the words 'Welcome Home', a popular gesture for relatives in airports around the world, each having their own cultural way of showing affection for arriving family members after long absences. The balloon stands still, the only colour amid the drab interior of this sprawling airport hub. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
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Richard Baker Photography

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