Tulips, those magical spring flowers that bloom in the most dazzling array of colours, shapes and sizes. A highlight of the season is visiting the gardens that pay tribute to this beautiful bloom and the display at Dunsborough Park is surely the most impressive. Our cameras were constantly snapping and we captured a gallery’s worth of pictures on both digital and film. Scroll on for a collection of photographs taken on our Nikon F3s with Portra 400.

There are plenty of things to do in all seasons in London, but the city in spring is very special, especially as magnolia, blossom trees and climbing wisteria line the streets. Galleries, great exhibitions, parks full of the sights and sounds of spring and weekend markets are some of the things that London has to offer. We spent many Saturdays and Sundays enjoying London’s spring charm. 

Britain is full of fantastic places, from historic cities, rural countryside, and quaint villages. We spent a Saturday in one of the country’s most famous cities: Oxford, a city known for its illustrious university, enchanting architecture, and Britain’s first public museum, the Ashmolean. In celebration of Julie’s dad’s birthday, who used to live in the city, we enjoyed a day of April sunshine exploring all of Oxford’s charm.

A small gallery of film photographs taken during a wonderful week in the Tyrolean mountains.

At the end of February 2024, we spent a week skiing, Wiener schnitzel-ing, heiße Schokolade-ing and nature spa-ing in one of the prettiest Tyrolean villages. Read on to hear about a wonderful week in the Austrian Alps.

Kew Gardens – an oasis of nature in London – is one of our favourite places to visit. We usually visit in warmer months when flower beds are awash with colour but seeking a winter day out and having never visited during their annual winter orchid festival, we booked our tickets. 

A collection of film photographs taken during a monthlong stay in Los Angeles.

This is Part II of our Los Angeles blog. You can read all about LA’s amazing art scene, including visits to the Getty Centre, Getty Villa, LACMA and The Broad, in addition to more stunning sunsets and some great dining experiences.

In late autumn, Julie spent a month in Los Angeles to undertake a research Fellowship at the University of Southern California. She hosted visits from her sister and Arran and made the most of weekends off to explore a city that really did feel like La La Land. We did all the touristy things, including the Hollywood Sign hike, the Griffith Observatory, a Warner Bros. Studios tour and a hop on, hop off bus tour of LA’s most legendary spots. Outside of sightseeing, every day we enjoyed spectacular sunsets and walks along the beach.

A collection of film photographs taken during a magical time in the Scottish Highlands.

In September 2023, we drove from London to Liverpool and then on to Inverness to explore the Scottish Highlands. We took a boat out on Loch Ness, dolphin spotted in the Moray Firth, walked to a number of spectacular waterfalls, took in the breathtaking views of Great Glen Way and cooed over all the Highland cows. This was a particularly special holiday as it was our last with our cherished chocolate Labrador, Obi. 

During the heatwave sweeping Europe in July, we spent five days visiting the incredible Italian capital: Rome. Despite the intense heat, we certainly made the most of our trip, visiting Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trastevere, the many spectacular Catholic churches, a few art galleries and eating lots of great pasta.

We packed so much into five days. During the last few days of the trip we headed to the coast, visiting Blakeney, Cley and Cromer. We also visited a Catholic shrine and a delightful working windmill to sample their homemade sweet treats. 

After a wonderful January weekend in North Norfolk, we could not wait to return at a different time of year. In mid-July, we spent a week caravanning on the Sandringham Estate, visiting old haunts and finding new places too. 

A collection of film photographs taken during the second leg of our Portuguese summer holiday: Porto. 

After Lisbon, we headed north to Porto. Porto was, like Lisbon, awash with beautiful tiled buildings and steep hills but there was something different about the city, despite the aesthetic similarities between the two. Porto’s ambiance is relaxed, traditional and authentic. Lisbon is all these things too but Porto, as the smaller city, is a little more compact and manageable to explore on foot in a few days, which lends itself to a laid-back atmosphere. 

We took hundreds of photographs during our trip to Portugal and took a number of these on film. Here is a collection of film photographs taken during the first leg of our summer holiday in Portugal. Destinations include Lisbon, Sintra, the National Place of Queluz and Cascais.

This is Part II of our Lisbon blog. You can read all about a very memorable meal, a tour of the National Palace of Queluz and a trip to the charming seaside town of Cascais.

This trip to Lisbon had been three years in the making. We had planned to visit Portugal in the summer of 2020, however, Covid put a halt to our travel plans. This trip was certainly worth the wait. Lisbon, with its charming tiled buildings, cobbled streets and low rise skyline, is one of Europe’s most beautiful, unspoilt capital cities.

Coastlines, oceans, boats, some of our favourite things to capture on film, and we got all three during our recent June weekend on the Jurassic Coast. We hope you enjoy this gallery of film photographs from our recent trip.