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I nearly didn’t take part in this weeks PhotoFriday challenge, “Photoshop Skills,” as I’m not a big Photoshop user. I tend to tweak images, enhance the colours, maybe a little dodging and burning, but nothing that would show my Photoshop skills — the whole point of my edits are normally that you can’t see them!

Then I remembered that I’ve spent quite a lot of time over the years trying to make the perfect panorama. The above image, taken in Siena, Italy, is perhaps the best that I’ve managed. (I’ve used a variant of this one before for PhotoFriday.)

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks PhotoFriday challenge, “Best Friend.” I’m entry number 173.

For the past few weeks I have spent almost as much time in Switzerland as I have at home. Unfortunately with business trips you can never guarantee that you see anything more of the place than the airport, and office and a hotel¹.

Fortunately I did finish “early” a couple of days though and the weather did manage to cooperate.

My first time in the city I arrived at the office in a taxi and walked five minutes to the hotel. Dinner wasn’t far away either. I had no impression of the orientation or size of the place. Well known for being next to a lake, I couldn’t have told you which direction to find it.

It turns out that it’s a very pretty, small city. When I did figure out the lay of the land I realised that nothing was very far away even on foot.

On the last day I went to Zeughauskeller for dinner.

Perhaps not the healthiest of options but, I am told, traditionally Swiss. (The yellow stuff on the right is called Rösti, basically a potato pancake.) A pretty good way to round out my three weeks in the city.

1. Since this was a business trip I didn’t have my regular camera with me and I had to shoot with my iPhone 4. It is surprisingly good for a phone but a long way from even my old “proper” camera in terms of image quality. [↩]

This weeks PhotoFriday, “Crooked,” is another one where I thought someone else must have got there before me (especially since I’m two days behind the “Friday” schedule). But, as far as I can tell, no one else has gone for “The Crookedest Street in the World.” Also known as Lombard Street in San Francisco.

(My second choice would have been potentially libellous images of banks or stock exchanges. It maybe just as well I didn’t need to go down that route.)

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Sky-High.” I’m entry number 229.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Sky-High.” My first thought was a picture from a plane but then I thought it was likely to be a bit of a cliché. Bizarrely I didn’t see many other entrants with the same idea so I went with the above image, taken on my iPhone landing back in London.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Summer Fun.” I’m entry number 279.

Brighton Sunset

The phrase “Summer Fun,” which is this weeks PhotoFriday theme, conjures up images of children splashing in brightly coloured paddling pools, beach volley ball and barbecues lasting well into the late, twilight hours. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of any of those things. So here is a picture of a summer sunset over Brighton beach. I think walking on the beach, late in the evening while it’s still light is considered fun.

Please vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Bloom.” I’m entry number 284.

Another late entry for PhotoFriday (this is becoming a theme in and of itself). This weeks image is around the theme “Bloom” which I felt pretty much had to be about flowers. These were in Bath, UK.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Motionless.” I’m entry number 167.