The Promenade d’Anglais in the French city of Nice is one of the oldest urban beachfronts in the world. In English, the name translates to Promenade of the English because at the beginning of the early 1800s, primarily British noblemen and aristocrats came here to spend their winter vacations in the warmth of the Mediterranean. Later, the first hotels were built at the sea, and a walkway at the coast came into being. The pictures were shot in February 2019.
The island of Fuerteventura is well known for the strong winds hitting it frequently and making for solid waves. These circumstances were not very favorable to seafarers but are very welcome today to many birds living on the island and to the surfers visiting it for the waves. In fact, the name of the land itself, Fuerteventura, points to this natural phenomenon as it means nothing else than solid wind.
Pictures in sequence: Brooklyn Bridge, Flatiron Building, United Nations Headquarters, View of Manhattan with One World Tower, Empire State Building at Sunset, View of Statue of Liberty at Sunset, St. Patricks Cathedral
Shot in April and May 2018
Winter is coming to an end and soon nature will awake anew.
Impressions of the last days of fog and snow.
Shot in March 2019.
Scotland is a country of immense natural beauty. When speaking about the wilds of Scotland, though, it is essential to note that the human influence on nature over the last centuries up until today has been huge. Before the arrival of humans and the dawn of agriculture, Scotland, as most of the island of Great Britain, used to be covered by dense forests. The need to create new grazing areas for cattle and farming land led to the burning and clearing of woodland. Additionally, wood became an essential material for construction, especially from the 17th century onwards, with the growing importance for shipbuilding as the island became a significant colonial power and ships were needed for trade and war. Though a lot has changed and the natural world of Scotland has not been left untouched by human hands, especially the north of the country, far away from Edinburgh and Glasgow, is still very raw and wild. Some impressions.
The Romans used to call the country, which we know today, Scotland Caledonia. It was a strange and foreign land with dangerous and wild inhabitants at the Northern end of the Roman world. Two immense walls were built by the Roman emperors Hadrian and Antonius to secure Britain from the blue-painted warriors – or “Picts” – living in the northern lands. Also behind these barriers was a country of immense beauty and raw vastness.
Michael Hoffman Photography 