Howard’s Favourite Photos From 2024

Photography has always been my hobby, and I’ve enjoyed partaking in it while we enjoy our nomadic lifestyle. One of my favourite things to do is to roam the streets of a foreign land during the blue hour just after sunset when the sky is still slightly lit, but the lights are on enhancing the cityscape.

The following are my personal favourite photos from our travels in 2024 through 24 countries, in chronological order. Each group of photos is preceded by a link to our original blog post with even more photos!

Cameras:

  • Sony a7iii with Sony 24-105mm G-master lens, or 14mm Laowa lens
  • Samsung S21 Ultra

Death Valley & Palm Springs, California (January 2024)

The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction after a rain storm
The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction after a rain storm

Angkor Wat: The Glory Of The Khmer Empire (February 2024)

We’d previously done a quick tour of Angkor Wat, but this time we spent more than a week in the area, so did a lot of exploring and photo taking.

On our way to explore one of the many temples
On our way to explore one of the many temples at Angkor Wat
Monkey patrolling the path to Bayon temple
Local resident patrolling the path to Bayon temple
Monks exploring Bayon Temple
Monks within the Bayon Temple
The main towers of Angkor Wat
The main towers of Angkor Wat

Kampot – The Salt & Pepper of Cambodia (March 2024)

Walking through the salt flats near Kampot, Cambodia just before sunset was an interesting experience, and one where I couldn’t stop snapping photos. The baskets in the pictures below are used to scoop up the salt when the sea water in the pools evaporates.

Walking the salt flats at sunset
Walking the salt flats at sunset

Phú Quoc – Chillin’ On Vietnam’s Vacation Island (March 2024)

Relaxing on the boat between dives
Whitney relaxing on the top deck of the boat between scuba dives
Nguyen Hue Walking Street in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Nguyen Hue Walking Street in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

A Taste of India – It’s Intense!(April 2024)

If you can make it to Agra during your trip to India (which as home to the Taj Mahal makes it one of the main destinations in India, so why wouldn’t you), you’ll go camera crazy taking photos, just like me. India, in general is incredibly photogenic.

Arriving at the Taj Mahal
Whitney arriving at the Taj Mahal

The Agrasen Ki Baoli step well, which was used as a water management system for hundreds of years
Howard climbing back up from visiting the Agrasen Ki Baoli step well, which was used as a water management system for hundreds of years
Amer Step-Well
Amer Step-Well near Jaipur
Gaitor Ki Chhatriyan (Royal Gaitor)
Gaitor Ki Chhatriyan (Royal Gaitor) near Jaipur

Qatar – A Quick Overnight Stop (April 2024)

Admiring the Doha view at sunset
The city of  Doha in Qatar was an overnight stop between India and Vienna, so we made the most of it by admiring the skyline at sunset.

Vienna: Sights, Sounds & Schnitzel (April 2024)

St. Stephen’s Cathedral and rose vendor
I research lots of the shots I take, but this was one of those snap photos taken with my phone as I was walking around Vienna and saw this rose vendor walking along in front of me – that’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the background on the left

Cruising to the British Isles & Iceland (May 2024)

white cliffs of Dover in the UK
A ferry passing in front of the white cliffs of Dover in the UK
Poppies blooming along the Lerwick Coastal walk
Poppies blooming along the Lerwick Coastal walk in the Shetland Islands of Scotland
Goðafoss falls in Iceland
Goðafoss falls in Iceland
Þorláksbúð is the camp of Saint Þorlák, including a turf house and Skálholt Cathedral
Þorláksbúð in the camp of Saint Þorlák, including a turf house and Skálholt Cathedral – I really liked the remote feel of this building against the stark landscape
Sun Voyager sculpture in Reykjavík
Sun Voyager sculpture along the waterfront in Reykjavík
Along the Akureyri, Iceland waterfront
Cemetery at Bonamargy Friary
Cemetery at Bonamargy Friary near Ballycastle, Northern Irelend – I really like the green of the Irish countryside in this shot

The Netherlands and a Peek into Life on a Dutch Barge (May 2024)

Whitney’s step-sister and her husband are fellow nomads. We connected with them and swapped stories on their barge in the Netherlands where they spend much of their time, travelling on Europe’s great canals and rivers. They took us to visit some of the impressive windmills in the area.

Whitney & Laura walking among the windmills at Werelderfgoed Kinderdijk
Whitney & Laura walking among the windmills at Werelderfgoed Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Windmills at Werelderfgoed Kinderdijk
Windmills at Werelderfgoed Kinderdijk
Bicycles along a canal in Delft
Bicycles along a canal in Delft

Across Germany by Bus & Train (June 2024)

After the cruise and a brief stop in the Netherlands, we did a 4-stop hop by bus across Germany en route to Poland, with Dresden being my clear favourite city, and a great photographers’ canvas.

New Town Hall in Hanover, Germany at sunset
New Town Hall in Hanover, Germany at sunset
The Elbe river and Dresden at sunset
The Elbe river and Dresden at sunset
Dresden, Germany and the Elbe river at sunset

Istanbul Redux – Is it Better the 2nd Time Around? (July 2024)

One of the residents of the Beyoğlu area where we stayed
Istanbul is full of cats, most of whom don’t belong to anyone specific. They are fed by the neighbourhood, with bowls of food and water in front of many buildings, along with homemade cat houses found in many out-of-the-way corners.
Colorful houses of Balat
Colourful houses of the Balat neighbourhood in Istanbul

Batumi, Georgia: A Bit of a Bust (July 2024)

Batumi, Georgia is an interesting place to visit, but not one we’ll be returning to. It’s a gambling resort city on the Black Sea catering to Turkish and Russian tourists, which wasn’t the sort of thing we were looking for, but it did make for an inexpensive entry to Georgia from Turkey with cheap flights, and was fine for a short visit.

Lightning in Batumi Georgia
Our Airbnb in a high-rise building in Batumi, Georgia made for a great viewpoint for a lightning storm that blew through one night

A 29-Day Road Trip Across the Country of Georgia (August 2024)

Georgia was a great country for an extended road-trip, allowing us to visit many out-of-the-way locations.

abandoned Russian hangers at Shiraki Military Airfield
One of the 53 abandoned Russian hangers at Shiraki Military Airfield in the far eastern region of Georgia
A Sukhoi SU-17 fighter-bomber that couldn't get airborne when the Russians abandoned the base when the Soviet Union fell in 1992
A Sukhoi SU-17 fighter-bomber that couldn’t get airborne when the Russians abandoned the base when the Soviet Union fell in 1992
Flower at Ikalto Monastery
Flower at Ikalto Monastery
Horses grazing in the mountains around Stepantsminda
Horses grazing in the mountains around Stepantsminda, Georgia
A monastery in the mountains
The view from our Stepantsminda apartment
The view from our Stepantsminda apartment
Panorama Gudauri - a monument built in 1983 to celebrate the bicentennial of the Treaty of Georgievsk and the ongoing friendship between Soviet Georgia and Soviet Russia.
Panorama Gudauri – a monument built in 1983 to celebrate the bicentennial of the Treaty of Georgievsk, and the ongoing friendship between Soviet Georgia and Soviet Russia.
The free-range cows turned up EVERYWHERE - even inside abandoned sanitoriums, which they decided made for a fine shelter
The free-range cows turned up EVERYWHERE – even inside abandoned sanatoriums, which they decided made for a fine shelter

Sanatoriums (luxurious spas) were the main attraction in the town of Tskaltubo, which translates to “place of warm water.” The unique radon-carbon-rich natural springs had Russians flocking to them until 1991 when Georgia’s independence and the fall of the Soviet Union caused the stream of tourists to dry up, shutting down most of the sanatoriums. Some have been sold off and are being renovated, but many are frozen in time, steadily decaying from neglect.

Howard exploring the abandoned Imereti Sanatorium
Howard exploring the abandoned Imereti Sanatorium
Whitney admiring the once ornate staircase

The only remaining resident of the Medea Sanatorium
The only remaining resident of the Medea Sanatorium
Whitney exploring an outdoor walkway at one of the sanatoriums
Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi
Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi

Cyprus: A Complicated Country (September 2024)

M/V Demetrios II, Cyprus
The M/V Demetrios II, run aground in heavy seas in March 1998 on the coast of Cyprus

Crete: Exploring The Largest Greek Island (October 2024)

Some of these pictures may not be extraordinary, but Roman ruins that have survived for almost 2,000 years always impress me, so they made my list.

Chania harbour at sunset, Crete, Greece
Chania harbour at sunset, Crete, Greece
The Roman-era triple cistern at Aptera
The Roman-era triple cistern at Aptera, Crete
Old road at Knossos Palace
Whitney sitting at the end of one of the oldest paved roads in the world at about 4,000 years old at Knossos Palace near Heraklion, Crete

Road Trip around Northern Tunisia (November 2024)

As fans of Roman ruins, Tunisia has been on our list of places to visit for a while, and we finally managed to get there this year. As an elementary school librarian about a dozen years ago, Whitney had used the Roman sites of Dougga and El Jem as part of an enrichment lesson, never imagining that she’d visit them herself one day. It’s not just Roman ruins though that make Tunisia an intriguing spot for photography.

Rimel Beach shipwrecks
Rimel Beach shipwrecks on the north coast of Tunisia
At Cap Angela, the northern most tip of the African continent
The Capitol Temple in Dougga
The Capitol Temple in Dougga
Howard at the Entering the Roman Theatre of Dougga
One of the few times I managed to get myself in front of the camera – at the Roman Theatre of Dougga
Whitney walking through the El Jem Amphitheater
House of the Hunt at Bulla Regia
Exploring unique underground Roman ruins in the House of the Hunt at Bulla Regia
medina of Kairouan
In the medina of Kairouan
Camel in Tunisia
This is another one of those quick snap shots, this time taken as I’m driving down the road, but I think it really captures the sort of things you can see driving around small towns in Tunisia
Entering the Roman Amphitheatre of Uthina
Entering the Roman Amphitheatre of Uthina

These are only a sampling of the locations we visited this year. You can visit our main D2 Detours page to see pictures from all 24 countries we visited.

I’m always curious which shots resonate with people, so if you have a favourite feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for visiting!

2 thoughts on “Howard’s Favourite Photos From 2024

  • Sandra Wetzel December 31, 2024 at 10:48 pm Reply

    Wow, so many pictures that I liked – for different reasons. You take very good pictures! Happy continuing travels !

  • Cheryl Clyne January 1, 2025 at 8:54 am Reply

    It’s hard to choose a favourite from these. They’re all fabulous and they all tell a story. I do really like the New Town Hall in Hanover photo. I love photos with reflections in the water.

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