Simplicity

July 19, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

his was taken in Santillana del Mar, a small village in Cantabria, about 2 hours away from Santander. How can I describe this village - well, first of all, its called the village of three lies....

Running Errands

July 8, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is during a walk to the city center in Santander, which is at a much lower sea level than the surrounding residential area - so you usually have to walk down. The street are small, reminiscent of old European cities.

Looking ahead: Paseo Maritimo

June 24, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is on the coast of Santander near the main city, around the ferry that leaves for Somo, a tiny little village on the other side of this bay.

Santander from above

June 21, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is Santander from above, a relaxed hilly town in Cantabria in the northern part of Spain. This is where I spent most of my time in Spain, and the easygoing mood of the town totally captivated me.

Bustidono

June 17, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is a house on the side of a hill in Bustidono, a small village about 2/3 hours away from Santander - its about 30 seconds walk from Cris's house. What can I say - its every bit as awesome as it looks. Again, the absence of any mechanical noise changes everything...

Looking over Malataja and Pico de Tres Mares

June 15, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is the village of Malataja, on the way to Bustidono, a small village about 2/3 hours away from Santander in Cantabria. Overlooking the village is the Pico de Tres Mares (Peak of 3 Seas).

El Camello

June 9, 2009 Mahbubur Rahman

This is a beach in Santander, called El Camello (The Camel). Its called this because further out there is smaller piece of rock sticking out from the sea that looks like a camel - but this rock looked much more interesting.

A Drive through Switzerland

A drive through Switzerland is everything that I thought it would be. Mountains, lakes and the requisite chocolate stops makes this one of the more memorable road trips in Europe.

Cliché

Aside from the pristine beaches, there is another side of Jamaica landscape that I noticed when I ventured out from the sheltered resort area. When you venture inland, there is a plethora of other scenery that is very different than the tourism posters of Jamaica. I happened to walk off the hotel property, and stumbled upon the edge of golf course which was not really part of it, but still was very well taken care of. Either way, anybody would be more than ecstatic to have it as their backyard.

On a different note, I wanted to mention something about photographic cliches. Photographic cliches are images that are created with motifs that are very common, such as sunrise/sunset beaches, mountaineous landscapes, rocks in water, autumn leaves, white fences - and lone trees. I've probably rattled off about 70% of the recent pictures you've seen on the web (and possibly on my blog). The truth is that in the current digital age, and the easy access to camera equipment/technology, its pretty hard to be original, especially for amateurs like myself. All this is a little depressing unless you're a creative genius, and so the philosophy has to change. So if you're not going to create the next original masterpiece, then I guess the thing to take note off is whether you're having fun, and whether you believe in what you created (or are creating) - IMHO, its all worthwhile as long as that requirement is met. Also, I strongly believe that once you are having fun and believe in what you're doing, you will end up creating that masterpiece at some point. Yes, the lone tree motif has been done many times before, but I'm fairly confident its not that rampant in landscapes of Jamaica (I hope). This is my thought process in the ever changing, saturated world of photography of today. What is your approach?