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Colombia,  The Changing Seasons,  Themed galleries

Gallery: a February selection (2023)

March 3, 2023 / 64 Comments

There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming, summer

Gertrude Jekyll

As a British garden designer and horticulturist, Jekyll was presumably talking about our climate when she made that observation. I confess that I find it very difficult to sense any sign of the coming summer in my least favourite month! That’s why we often choose to travel somewhere warmer at this time of year.

Consequently, I spent well over half of February in colourful Colombia, and the remainder in wintery London, so you can guess what the majority of my highlight photos from this month will have been taken! I’ve taken this opportunity to showcase shots that are unlikely to feature in other posts about that trip. As a result there’s an emphasis on street photography and flowers in this month’s slide show.

We started our itinerary in the capital, Bogota, and travelled to the coffee region around Armenia, on to Medallin and then to Cartagena on the north coast, finishing near Tayrona National Park. My feature photo was taken in Cartagena, where women known as Palenqueras pose for photos for tourists, for a fee. I confess to being a bit sneaky in my quest to get more natural shots, without the need to pay!

Back home for the final week of the month we were mainly catching up on chores but we also had a visit to the US Embassy in London’s rapidly developing Nine Elms area. This was necessitated by our 2019 trip to North Korea which made us ineligible for the US Visa Waiver scheme. Instead we had to attend an interview at the embassy in order to be approved for visas, which thankfully we were. It entailed a cold and frustrating hour long queue outside, for documents checks and security, during which I captured the final photo in this set. The building is striking but we’d rather not have had to visit it!

Technical notes

All my Colombia photos were taken with my Panasonic Lumix bridge camera (a DMC-FZ330), while the two final ones in London were taken with my phone. They were all edited in Photoshop Elements and/or Color Efex Pro.

As always I am linking my selection to Ju-Lyn’s and Brian’s Changing Seasons challenge. 

  • Vivid orange flowers and spiky green leaves
    On a Bogota street, Colombia 2023-02-04
  • Modern housing block with large mural of a mother and child
    Street art in Bogota, Colombia 2023-02-04
  • Domed roof with pigeon and flags
    Town hall, Zipaquirá, Colombia 2023-02-06
  • Spiky leaves casting shadows on a whitewashed wall
    Shadows on a wall, Villa de Leyva, Colombia 2023-02-07
  • Pale mauve flowers and dark leaves
    Climbing plant, Villa de Leyva, Colombia 2023-02-07
  • Man in a straw hat on a bench by a whitewashed building
    Local resting in the Plaza Mayor, Villa de Leyva, Colombia 2023-02-07
  • Ferns reflected in a still pool
    Pool reflection at the Bio Habitat hotel, Armenia, Colombia 2023-02-08
  • Dove on a tiled roof
    Dove at the Mirador Colina Iluminada, Finlandia, Colombia 2023-02-09
  • Two men at a table looking out of an open door
    In a local coffee shop, Finlandia, Colombia 2023-02-09
  • Small Michelin man figure on a blue truck
    On a truck in Finlandia, Colombia 2023-02-09
  • Man in a straw hat and striped poncho
    In Salento, Colombia 2023-02-09
  • Girl in a doorway wearing a lilac evening dress
    A photoshoot in Cartagena, Colombia 2023-02-13
  • Lamp on a deep yellow wall surrounded by red bougainvillea
    In Cartagena, Colombia 2023-02-13
  • Yellow bird in a tree
    Great Kiskadee at our hotel, Cartagena, Colombia 2023-02-16
  • Bright yellow flowers and an orange butterfly
    Butterfly and bougainvillea near Tayrona NP, Colombia 2023-02-19
  • Deep pink flower with a small bee
    Camellia and bee on a rare warmer day, Ealing 2023-02-24
  • Dramatic modern building with Stars and Stripes flag on a flag pole in front
    The US Embassy, London 2023-02-27

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