imagetheearth.co.uk - Brand new, revamped website.

I'm pleased to finally share with you all my brand new, revamped website, that has just gone 'live' - http://www.imagetheearth.co.uk

All flashed up the site boasts a smoother navigation the site is more user friendly. If you're into social networking, there is a link to the 'Mark Coughlan Photography' Facebook and Twitter pages.

As always any feedback and suggestions are gratefully received.

Please have a look (it took bloody ages) - http://www.imagetheearth.co.uk

The Backpacking Years Photo Gallery - Part Three

The Backpacking Years: View the complete gallery

In the third part of "The Backpacking Years" photo gallery, here are photos 9-12 with a description/background on each of the shots.

After 12 days trekking, Everest Base Camp is only one more day away. Before the final day is an afternoon climb to the top of Kalla Pattar which is covered in prayer flags for the best view of Mount Everest and the Himalayas.

A favourite Kiwi past-time - enjoying a "tinny" at the rugby, Otago versus the British Lions at Carisbrook Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Thumbs up from a novice monk at Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, Laos.

A backpacking highlight from New Zealand - a Whale watching excursion from Kaikora, South island.

The Backpacking Years: View the complete gallery

Mark Coughlan Photography - New business cards

As the website got a facelift, it was as good a time as ever to have some new business cards printed to promote my work as a photographer and the website itself.
As you will see from the sample above, I chose the striking image of the women who had fainted after praying to exocise evil spirits, demons, torments and seek redress at the temple of Sufi Saint, Bahadur Shaheed in Varanasi, India.

Image the Earth website - re-designed!

Just prior to departing on the Mongol Rally, my website went through a bit of a re-design.
For those that haven't yet seen the new layout, if you could reward my hours of work and have a look at the new look website it would be very much appreciated!

You will see an "Add this" link, which enables you to share and bookmark my website as one of your favourites and through social networking sites such as Facebook, Digg, Myspace and many more.

Any views, comments, suggestions are as always very welcomed!

Image the Earth - Mark Coughlan Photography!

...and the winner is....

After some research and some much needed advice I am now the owner of the Canon 24-70mm f2.8L Lens.
Finally I got hold of a virtually brand new lens, in absolute mint condition all for the very resonable price of £550. Cheap in comparsion the the listed price of just under £900 and the average Ebay price of £650.

To finance (in part) the cost of the new lens I've parted company with my Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens.

Canon 24-70 mm f2.8 L or Canon 24-105 mm f4 L IS Lens

Another trip beacons, so it's inevitable that I must purchase a new camera lens. It's what I do.
I've been looking for a new general purpose medium focal length zoom lens and have whittled the choices down to two possibilities:

Canon 24-105 mm f4 L IS Lens
Canon 24-70 mm f2.8 L LensRoughly the price difference is about £100, with the 24-105mm the cheaper of the two costing roughly £600 online.

I've read plenty of reviews, but I guess the best people to answer this are other photographers with one or both lens to point me in the right direction.

Thoughts, comparisons, recommendations - anyone?

In the beginning....

I've always rejected the idea of having a blog, so I'm starting off small... unwilling even, and see how I get on. Don't expect massive enchanting novels, for that you can point the finger of blame at my time spent at Kris Akabusi High School in West London.

Unsurprisingly, the foremost of thoughts at present are pretty much in getting everything in place to tackle the Rickshaw Run 2008. With less then two weeks before we hit India and start racing the length of the country in the equivalent of a lawn mower, things are slowly coming together.

So far its a case of:
Nepalese Visa, tick.
International Drivers Permit, tick.
Indian (and now Nepalese) flag bought on ebay for 96 pence, tick.
Map from Waterstones, tick.
Extra batteries and memory cards, tick.

I'm slowly working my way through the 6 hours of the highly recommended DVD "The Story of India" by Michael Wood. You may have seen the series on BBC2 a few months back, if not you can pick it up on Amazon. It throws up potential places of interest to pass through that even we haven't thought of. Watching it only makes you realise that you could spend years backpacking/travelling India and still only scratch the surface.

All this does is further ignite the desire to spend a few years in the Indian Sub-Continent to do it justice. With its size, clamour, sensual overload and diversity, India is the most intriging, facinating country on earth, where you quickly develop an abiding passion for it.

Lots on the agenda before Christmas. I eagerly await the delivery of a new (bloody expensive) camera lens, yet another day of pushing and shoving at the Indian embassy and trying to gain a bit more sponsorship.

Posted 16th December 2007

About me.....

Two of my great passions in life are travel and photography. I believe that travel broadens our view of the world. Experiencing other cultures, meeting people from other communities and other countries and seeing the beauty, and sometimes ugliness of the world drives me to capture my experiences through photography.

Through my photography I strive to document my own personal experiences, to capture scenes and events as I see them and to share with others the beauty and diversity of the world I've seen. As the images of other photographers have inspired me to explore the world, I hope my own contributions will inspire others to do the same.

I feel privileged to have visited some of the most inspiring countries this world has to offer including Myanmar (Burma), Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bolivia to name but a few.
I keep my images simple and contemporary and use bright, vivid colours, interesting shapes and textures to bring my work to life.

Of late I've gone down the 'Adventure' route, participating the the Rickshaw Run 2008 and this summer I've assembled a team to tackle the Mongol Rally.

I hope you enjoy the website and reading the blog.

Mark
Image the Earth Photography