Photography Friday: O is for ‘O.E’!

This is a bit of a special Photo Friday. I decided since I’m up to the letter O in the alphabet I would celebrate with highlights of my ‘Overseas Experience’ (aka O.E) from the last 5 years. This is by no means all the best places or experiences, just a few. I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane…

Where it all began. Bangkok in Thailand. One of the most unique spots for architecture and also one of the places I was the most ill I’ve ever been. I will have to return for sure to experience more than one day of thai life outside of a hospital.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time is an experience I’ll never forget. It was one of my early trips during my O.E and spell binding to say the least.

I fell in love with Ireland for its green pastures, lovely people and music. One of the best places for countryside.

Visiting East Africa was possibly the best part of my O.E so far. Meeting Gorillas in the wild in Rwanda. Seeing the Big 5 in Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya and facing my fears of bungee jumping in Uganda. All moments I will treasure for the rest of my life. I’m not sure if anything can quite compare.

Seeing the pyramids of Giza, hiking up Mt. Sinai for the sunrise, snorkelling in the Red Sea and visiting Petra in Jordan. I never thought I’d ever have the chance to visit Egypt and Jordan!

Time and time again, Italy called and I responded. It is one of those countries that is so easy to visit and have an amazing time. Amazing scenery, hikes, food and history.

This image was etched into my memory as I ate an apple, staring out over a lake to snow capped Swiss Alps at First in Switzerland. One of the most scenic spots in Europe.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was never one of those places I’d dreamed of or even considered at all for many years. However, I was getting to the point in 2012 that I started to want to see ‘different’ places in Europe rather than just old cities (as lovely as they are). Bosnia was both amazing and heartbreaking. It is a place that I’ll never forget.

Edinburgh in Scotland is possibly my favourite city in the UK. Yes, it has it’s fair share of bad weather, but I don’t think you can beat it for friendly people. I’ve visited around 5 or so times over the years and I’ve always loved it. It’s a big city, but not too crowded (except for maybe the Fringe Festival). It has amazing food, incredible green spots like Arthurs Seat and stunning architecture. Lakes and highlands are also not too far away for a bit more countryside.

I met one of my closest friends when I lived in Austria during my studies in 2008, she was from Lithuania and an incredible person. Seeing her get married in 2012 to a great man and being asked to be the photographer was an amazing experience. Despite our distances we’ve caught up nearly every year during my O.E in different locations and it has been great every time.

Floating high in the sky across fairy chimney’s in Turkey was incredible. Hot air ballooning at dawn over completely different scenery every 5-10 minutes was out of this world.

Greece was where sunshine and sunsets were at their best. A place I’d brought a book on in 2010 I finally visited in 2013 to get my fix of ocean and sun.

As you can tell from last week’s photo friday, capturing the Northern Lights is just a dreamy experience to say the least. You’re freezing cold with snow up to your knees with a tripod and camera out, just stunned by the colours dancing around in the sky.

New York is definitely a place I plan to return to. Like London, it is a very liveable city with so much to see, do and eat that one trip is never enough. There is so much of America I want to see in the years to come, this was just a taste.

One of those wonders of the world and again one that I never imagined actually seeing in real life was Niagara Falls. Despite getting ill over the course of the 3 day trip, seeing the Canadian and American sides of the falls was beautiful.

Visiting Russia was one of those big places I’d wanted to visit, either on a week trip or part of the Trans-Mongolian Railway. I opted to visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg earlier this year to seeing the unique architecture and mosaic details.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this photo friday, it’s made me remember so many great moments, I hope the years to come are just as brilliant!

If you would like to see more photography from my travels far and wide, please visit my galleries on my portfolio site at http://designack.com/portfolio/travel-and-wildlife-photography/.