Revisiting Montserrat

Revisiting places you are fascinated by or feel affinity with is a very special treat. We were lucky to had an opportunity to come back to Montserrat, British Overseas Territory nicknamed “the emerald isle of the Caribbean.”

photographing outdoor activities…

Life on this beautiful island was changed forever after series of volcanic eruptions on Soufriere Hills in the mid-1990s. Two-thirds of the island was destroyed including Plymouth -the capital town buried by a 40-feet thick layer of lava and volcanic debris.

photographing Volcano from St Joseph’s hill – the closest possible high located point, already in the dreaded zone V.

Nineteen people lost their lives, eight thousand were forced to leave the island. Today, the volcanic activity is closely monitored by the Montserrat Volcanic Observatory with state of art facilities. Life is concentrated in the “safe zone” up north, where a new capital town is been constructed, and a new airport and marina recently opened.

Mutual attraction – Margaret photographing wild donkeys wandering over destructed old airport area…

Government’s renewed focus is on bringing new visitors to the island, and we were part of a creative international team working on a new promotion of the island, photographing it’s top attractions.

preparing our drone in the dreaded Volcano Exclusion Zone V

photographing volcano from a boat

Along with the crew from London and Barbados, we were travelling island up and down, day and sometimes night, photographing and filming many different places. We are not at liberty to show you “official” photos, because they soon will be used in a major international promotion. However, we can share with you some photos showing us in action. We hope these will also give you a glimpse of this fascinating place….

photographing iguana gave me a chance of resting flat for a few minutes – a rare treat during busy schedule 😉

The island had changed a lot since our first visit 2 years ago. Perhaps the most striking difference for me was its lushness: some parts of the island which I remember as covered in ash are now filled with new vegetation. Boat tour around the island was a highlight of this trip for me: watching an awe inspiring, breathtaking scenery. As usually, we all worked long hours and hard …
We were able to get permission to enter the exclusion zone to photograph Plymouth, this time also using our drone which proved to be very helpful. You can read about previous our experience and see more photos in our earlier posts:

https://ozonezonebooks.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/montserrat-another-photo-shoot-trip-to-the-caribbean/

https://ozonezonebooks.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/new-pompeii-montserrats-old-capital-destroyed-by-volcano/

https://ozonezonebooks.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/plymouth-the-new-pompeii-margarets-notes/

leaving the zone V for a safer ground…

We hope to be back in Montserrat for some more work, and would like to thank MDC, the Tourism Director, our amazing hosts and Montserrat Government, for having us in this brilliant international team. Not only it was a fascinating work, but we all became good friends.

We also thank you for stopping by at this post. Until next time – and Happy New Year to you!
If you like this post, Share and Like it, or Follow to be updated on further stories. Cheers!

Margaret and Derek

Margaret with our boatman after boat tour, along with Patrick and Mark from our creative team.

Written by Margaret Gajek, photographs by Derek Galon and Margaret Gajek. Please respect the copyright.

Dominica – We Arrived!

So, we did it! We said goodbye to Victoria, BC, Canada, and left for Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean! Flying from Victoria through Vancouver and Toronto, we had three days in Barbados before getting on the final LIAT flight to Dominica.

Hunte’s Gardens, Barbados – in October 2014 (photo Derek Galon)

Air Canada prepared for us a farewell surprise – they lost our luggage. We arrived in Barbados in rather warm long-sleeve Canadian clothes, and were kept on a warm side for two extra days until our luggage materialised again. That did not stop us from visiting our favourite places in Barbados – the Welchman Hall Gully and Hunte’s Gardens. Both places look quite amazing, they matured and changed quite a bit since our last visit.

Hunte’s Gardens are now  a definite #1 attraction on Trip Advisor, and we fully agree with it.  It is an unbelievably designed, beautiful garden full of nooks and surprises.  Photographing it was actually our first job in the Caribbean as Caribbean residents. Despite the sweat  (our warm clothes) we spent several hours documenting recent changes all over the place.  These photos will be used by Virgin Atlantic for their guide to Barbados, and by Barbados Tourism Board for a local tourist map.

Hunte’s Gardens – lower level (photo Derek Galon)

 

Our welcome surprise in Dominica!

Dominica greeted us with truly beautiful weather and very smooth proceedings through customs. We felt like returning home. A short ride brought us to the apartment we are renting in Eggleston – a village high in hills above capital town of  Roseau. A nice surprise – Dutch friends who live in Dominica dropped off some grocery shopping for us, along with a fine composition of local exotic flowers! Thank you!

Evening view at Caribbean Sea – from patio of our apartment in Dominica.

So, here we are, awaiting arrival of our car ordered from Japan, taking care of formalities (permanent residency permit), and accommodating to the new life style. The last one is not so difficult, as getting around is a true delight to us.  Super friendly people, relaxed atmosphere – it all is just what we need at the moment.

View from our apartment at hills and volcanic mountains of Dominica.

Today we received news from Canada that our container started its journey from Victoria to Dominica, so we will be awaiting its arrival in about a month time.

Our container gets off – first meters of 7,000 miles journey

In regard to our photography work – it seems like a nice start. We are discussing with Montserrat Ministry of Tourism a week-long photo shoot in Montserrat (it would be lovely to return there – remember our volcano shots?), and we are also getting accreditation for the International Creole Fest here in Dominica. We arrived right in time for this huge yearly event. Three days and nights of concerts, with participation of the best Caribbean and international artists. We may not stay awake until 6am every night (yes, concerts end at 6am!), but I am sure there will be lots to photograph while we will be awake!

Stay tuned! And SHARE/FOLLOW if you like this!

Cheers!
Derek
(please respect copyright of my photos)

Last Few Weeks

Not much happened with our travel plans since my last post. There are some technical issues delaying our next trip to Montserrat. Therefore we spent last few weeks visiting and photographing our favourite local gardens. Some of them we already presented on this blog – but at a different time of the year. Now, with wisterias and rhododendrons in full bloom, these gardens look just spectacular!

One of our favourite gardens is the Hatley Park, a large chunk of land on grounds of Royal Roads university in Victoria. It is divided to several sections, such as Italian garden (with fine wisterias), Rose garden – which is just starting to bloom, and the oldest Japanese garden in the whole BC.

I hope these few photos from there are to your liking.

Another garden we visited was the Finnerty Garden belonging to the UVIC. Well kept, with a massive number of rhododendrons, it is another place to enjoy in Victoria – and there is no fee for your visit.

Smaller, but very well established Playfair park, has very large, matured rhododendrons. They are so huge that you can walk under them, and enjoy the colourful carpet of fallen flowers.

It is remarkable how different in feel these places are. All of them have lots of rhodos, but each garden lives its own, unique life, offering a totally different experience.

The unusual rainy weather we are having made all colours juicier, more dense, and all these places are lush and full of life. It is great to travel, but we should never forget to enjoy what we have at our door step.

To fill you with other things – last time, I reported about a second place at IGPOTY (UK) and the Gold Medal in Austria. Well, just after that I received another exciting news – London Salon of Photography – one of the most progressive international competitions/exhibitions awarded my Bacchus, Pan and Ceres with another Medal.

I also had couple of studio art sessions and I am now editing my newest works. Ah, one of my newest is already done – with great help and assistance from Margaret – my newest auto-portrait! I hope you enjoy!

Bacchus, Pan, and Ceres – awarded in London.

Thank you, I hope to see you soon, when I place our next post. Bye for now, and SHARE if you like these images.

My auto-portrait.

Cheers!

Derek

All photos copyright Derek Galon, Ozone zone Books, please respect our copyright. Thank you!

Anstruther, Crail, Elie – and more Scotland…

Gargoyle at the gate of Rosslyn Chapel.

So much work – I never had any chance to share with you photographs from our travel to Scotland in May! I only did a short post saying we are going. Then – right after return we had to pack up again, flying to Montserrat in the Caribbean (three posts about that – see them on the right menu), and now we are preparing our nest trip – back to Scotland. In the meantime we are working on two books for our clients, I prepare my images for an art show, exhibition and a publication in a magazine. (By the way, nice news regarding exhibitions – my photo from Montserrat volcano destruction zone had just been accepted to the prestigious Projected Image Exhibition 2012 by the Royal Photographic Society in UK).

Inside Rosslyn Chapel – view from the choir

Therefore I thought – if I won’t post anything about our May trip now, it may be buried forever…
May was rather cold in Scotland. We went to photograph the famous Rosslyn Chapel – a small jewel of architecture, and one of the most rich in history places on British soil. It was a privilege to be there, and we both hope that the Earl of Rosslyn personally liked our photographs. The chapel is undergoing some very serious renovations, and I tried to edit my images to show how it will all look after they are finished – after a whitish cement coating applied half a century ago will be removed, bringing it to its more natural look.

After photographing the Chapel we had a few days left before our flight home, and we went to see small fishing villages near St Andrews.

Anstruther at low tide

Anstruther, Elie and Crail – part of the picturesque “Nook of five” are simply amazing.
These tiny towns are closely connected together, and on a nice day you can stroll from one to another along the coastline. When we were there, however, it was really cold. Hail, high winds – nothing suggested it was late may.

Light house near Elie

On the positive side, such weather created very interesting lighting for photography. Dark, heavy clouds mixed with strong sun rays – it was like in a kaleidoscope.
We were impressed not only by beautiful scenery, but also amazingly friendly, down to earth people.

Old harbour in Crail

Imagine this: We were walking slowly near a bus stop, I had my heavy photo bag, we were looking around. A bus picked passengers and off it went on its journey. But didn’t go very far. Maybe 20 meters or so, and the bus stopped. Driver came out and quickly came to us: “Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier. Are you by any chance trying to get to Edinburgh? If yes – this is the right bus, and next one will be an hour from now”.
We explained we were just enjoying the view, and don’t need to take a bus now. “Alright then, just didn’t want to leave you waiting here” said driver, smiled, and went back. AMAZING!
On another bus we heard its driver discussing home work with some kids coming from school.

Old house in Crail

Everyone says – thank you – to bus drivers (and they respond), people greeted us on streets, offered help, commented on scenery. Friendly in a very simple, natural way. It just felt right.
Once more we experienced that special flavour Scotland has to offer. We know we have to be back soon.

Edinburgh, near the Castle

After visiting these beautiful fishing villages, we had to go to Edinburgh, and then – to Glasgow, to catch our flight.

I am very happy with images I took, it was a fantastic trip! I hope you like these photographs too – and if you do – click the SHARE button, and FOLLOW our blog for next posts!

St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh

Soon we are off flying to Glasgow again, this time we will be photographing on famous Isle of Skye!
Until next time!
Cheers!
Derek

All photographs copyright Derek Galon and Ozone Zone Books, please respect it.

St Giles’ Cathedral – detail.

 

Plymouth – the New Pompeii (Margaret’s Notes)

Plymouth – view towards volcano

Some days ago we posted our memories from visiting city destroyed by volcano – Plymouth, in Montserrat. You can see link to that post on the right side, along with link to the story about our whole Montserrat trip.
However, that previous post was quickly written by me – Derek. I am always busy taking pictures, taking care of my gerar, and looking for potential shot. Margaret, on the other hand – being a writer and researcher –  has a totally different point of view, and she notices things I don’t. Therefore – both being deeply moved by the visit to Plymouth – we decided that Margaret needs to share her notes with you. Here it is…

It’s a bright early morning, but I already feel the heat building up. No wonder, it’s summer in the Caribbean. We are standing on the platform of Montserrat Volcano Observatory, waiting for a vulcanologist who will take us to the exclusion zone lying at the foot of the active volcano. There are five of us waiting, including a French photo-journalist, Derek, myself, and two people who work for the Montserrat Government. Our guide is half an hour late. As we strike up a casual conversation, I gaze at the Soufriere Hills volcano dominating the landscape, majestic and mysterious, partially covered in clouds. Soon we will be much closer to it. We are filled with excited expectation…

Our guide finally arrives and we follow his jeep, driving through a verdant landscape towards the sea. After passing the last inhabited houses – beautiful villas shaded by scarlet blooming flamboyant trees – we arrive at the check point manned by a volunteer – a retired policeman. Since we have special permit, we are allowed to pass further – past the gate to the exclusion zone. Our guide tells us rather harshly that we have maximum two hours’ time to explore, need to keep eye and voice contact, and “you have to leave immediately when I tell you to.” I notice his hands are shaking when he opens the gate padlock. I wonder – is it because he is aware of an impending danger of which we are blissfully ignorant?

Finally, we reach the site of what once was Plymouth, the capital city of the island, to begin our exploration. We leave our jeep’s motor running.

One of school buildings

As I’m getting out of the car my feet sink in a soft, silvery-grey ash, under which I sense another surface, hard as concrete. I look around at the landscape and I’m gripped in terror: the whole huge area is grey desolation and ruin. What remains of the city is buried under incredibly thick layers of mud and ash, following the eruption in 1995 and later pyroclastic flows. Now I understand why Plymouth is named “the new Pompeii.”

We are silent: this sight is inexpressibly moving. “Look at this house, it used to be three-storey high,” says Atsumi, our Montserrat host, pointing to a building in front of us. You can barely see its destroyed roof now; the rest is covered in ash. Derek disappears inside one of the buildings which still carries a visible sign “Ambiance” painted on the wall. He utters a cry and I follow him. What I see is a scene frozen in time:

A desk with computer thickly covered with ash… a phone book with yellow pages still open…

a child’s crib with toys scattered around… On the ash-covered floor, a watch dropped and smashed. Near the window a broken lamp with a grey cap of ash, surreal-looking roll of some fabric with colour and pattern impossible to discern under its thick ashy cover, and a mannequin used as a form for dress-making. Clearly, the home of a tailor, whose family left it all behind in a wild rush…

I step outside to take a deeper breath. There is another photographer with us, that French journalist. I can see him running in my direction. “What did you see?” I ask. “A bar that looks like people just left, leaving broken glasses and newspapers on the floor.” He and Derek move quickly from building to building trying to capture photographs of as many sights as possible. Another building of interest – elementary school. Rooms are filled with mud and ash to half their height. A chalkboard full of scribbles, and table almost completely drowned in ash add to the eerie feel of the whole place.

Our guide nervously calls his office to confirm volcano conditions still permit to continue our stay. “If the volcano decides to emit pyroclastic flows now, what are our chances of survival?” I ask our guide. “We have only 2 minutes until it reaches where we stand. It’s not enough time to escape,” he answers quickly. It’s not just the spewed hot rocks and ash that pose the danger: the hot steam and pressure accompanying them are equally destructive. It’s easy to believe that, since all the time we walk there, we’re surrounded by pungent sulphur fumes. “If anyone feels sick because of sulphur gas, we need to get immediately out,” cautions our guide.

There is no colour here, except for corroded iron structures covered by reddish rust in a vast sea of grey ash. There is an overwhelming silence: no bird songs or sound of leaves rustling in the wind. It’s like a desert – no, in comparison the desert is full of life!

I find myself in front of a bakery – so the signboard reads. Glimpsing inside through the shattered windows, I’m suddenly aware of a sound of flipping paper pages at my feet. I bend down to see it closer. It’s a Montserrat passport of some widely travelled lady. Was it lost in the haste of evacuation, dropped out of an open handbag? What happened to its owner? I wonder.

Our last place to see is a church on the outskirts of town. We walk over an iron gate, almost totally buried in ash. The church is surprisingly bright inside; rays of light enter through a broken roof illuminating the nave. I notice pages of a music score – Handel’s Messiah lying on the floor. As I’m leaving the church, I think about all the people who lived in this destroyed city – close to four thousand residents, whose lives were changed forever after the eruption.

Our guide is visibly relieved when we are leaving the site. After just 5 minutes’ drive we can again hear birds singing.

Post written by Margaret Gajek, author of Tropical Homes of the Eastern Caribbean, and Exotic Gardens of the Eastern Caribbean

Photographs copyright Derek Galon, Ozone Zone.

As we both are deeply moved by the visit to Plymouth, Derek created three commemorative limited edition posters showing selection of his best photographs from there. You can see them at Gallery Vibrante, which offers Derek’s art photography for sale. Also there you can see his other best images from Plymouth (in Architecture and Travel categories).

Thank you for your visit. As always – if you like it, SHARE it with freiends, please.
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Cheers! Until next time!

New Pompeii (Montserrat’s Old Capital Destroyed by Volcano)

If you didn’t read my previous post, you may want to check it out. This post is very short, I am simply sharing with you my favourite photographs from Plymouth – the Montserrat’s old capital,  town destroyed by volcano some 15 years ago.
I wrote in my previous post: “We did some documentary photographs from the destruction zone, and we experienced the eerie feel that stays with this “New Pompeii” right up to the present day.  As you place your first step on the ground covered deep with volcanic ash – you turn silent…just trying to comprehend what really happened there those 15 years ago…

Plymouth is covered with ash, mud and huge lava rocks, up to the second floor level. You can see volcano still fuming with sulfur-smelling gas…  The moment of destruction is registered at every step, like frozen in time. Personal belongings scattered  in panic and visible through broken windows of houses half-buried in lava, mud and ash… offices hurriedly left in the middle of work…  pages of musical scores dropped on the floor of a shattered church – perhaps left behind by members of an evacuated choir… – All these things tell a gloomy, painful story not to be forgotten in Montserrat. Thankfully, now the volcano is under strict observation by the world’s best scientists, and danger zones are clearly drawn – in case of the volcano’s repeat activity.”

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Well, photographs here are edited to accentuate the eery feel. It is more my vision of this place than a strict documentary. I hope you find this interesting. I like some of them. In fact – I will add a few of them to my art works for sale on Photo Gallery Vibrante site.
These are rare photographs, we had to get a special permission and a guide from Volcano Observatory to get there. If you like this post – please click SHARE, let your friends see it. and surely – please also FOLLOW us for more photography posts. and, feel free to comment!

Until next time,  cheers!
Derek

Please remember – all photos copyright Derek Galon and Ozone Zone Books. Thank you.

Montserrat – another photo-shoot trip to the Caribbean

Just landing in Montserrat

Hello again, it’s time to share with you more details of our recent trip to Montserrat island in the Caribbean, and our work there.

As you may know, until the deadly volcano eruption in 1995, Montserrat enjoyed elite tourism, it was the place the world’s most successful music was born (Beatles, Police, Ultravox, Elton John, and many other top musicians recorded their albums there in Montserrat, at Sir George Martin’s Air Studios.) All that ended with the fateful eruption, when the volcano completely destroyed Montserrat’s capital and about 1/3of the whole island.  (I have some fine photos from that capital, now branded with the name New Pompeii. The Volcano Observatory staff helped us with a tour through  the “no go zone”.)

Montserrat – view towards volcano

Now the government of the tiny Montserrat has started intensive works to build a whole new capital city in a different part of island – in the Little Bay and Carr’s Bay area, which will include a fine marina and marina repair facilities, a posh hotel and spa, luxury residential complex of villas, a fishermen wharf,  local market, museum, city hall, court house, cruise ship terminal, you name it.  All that, with full respect for local nature, eco-system, and with local residents in mind. The project is HUGE, and it’s mind blowing to think the whole new city with all its extra amenities will be built all at once, using modern eco-friendly technologies. It will be a city like no other. Beautifully designed as a totality, a whole seamless unit, modern and elegant – a real magnet for tourism, investors, artists, and so on.
To make it happen, this enormous project has to be coordinated with a new fast ferry, expanded flight services, new supply lines, and other things like that.  It all has to be well timed – otherwise it could end in a fiasco.

View at the Caribbean Sea and lush hills of Montserrat.

To develop, supervise and coordinate this tremendous project, Montserrat government has hired John Cox, who used to overlook ALL  British overseas territories’ developments. He has a vast experience in such huge-scale projects. He has worked all over the world, in countries like Pakistan, in Africa, and in the Caribbean as well.  In recent years he’s been working independently, and now devotes his passion and skills to the Caribbean region.

Street BBQ

We’ve seen plans and drafts, we heard with how much enthusiasm he speaks about it, and how much trust people have in him  –  be it the British Governor, Montserrat Government officials, opposition party, or just the regular guys in the street. His assistant – a modest and beautiful Japanese girl,  Atsumi Kani – an architect who originally came to Montserrat 13 years ago as a UN volunteer and decided to stay – helps him at every step along the way. The whole team is truly dynamic, and we look forward to watching their miracle unfold.

Shore on Atlantic side of Montserrat.

So, what did we actually do there? Our job was to take photographs worthy making the best publications and brochures. Photographs that will make people look closer at this project, and decide to join it. Montserrat Development Corporation  (MDC)  is seeking serious investors who will be partners in this unusual adventure – people who enjoy breaking new grounds and want to share this vision for the new and unique Montserrat. A fantastic, modern architectural draft of the new city includes many luxury villas ready to buy, a hotel in need of investors, and other such exciting opportunities. A proposal is just being created, and our photographs will be part of it.

Returning by boat from photographing Rendezvous Bay, beautiful sandy beach in north of Montserrat.

We are truly happy our photos will assist this fantastic project go ahead, and we’re glad our humble advice as to designing and printing promotional materials will help improve their overall quality.
We’ve tried to capture the beauty of this tiny island, its fine and friendly people, sandy beaches, nature, and of course the volcano in its present state – an additional attraction not possible to see on most other tropical islands.

Iguana on the lawn of our guest house.

During our short stay another idea was born – a fine hardcover book documenting the whole process,  the rebirth of Montserrat – a true Phoenix out of the ashes! Such a book can be a very important part of Montserrat’s recorded history, an eye-opener for many visitors, and a reminder of the struggle of Montserrat’s brave, tiny nation – the hard period of devastation, followed by the remarkable desire to restore the island’s life and move forward. A book perhaps of generous size, similar to our Tropical Homes of the Eastern Caribbean – elegant, yet powerful chronicle of this epic journey.
Keeping this idea in mind, we also did some documentary photographs from the destruction zone, and we experienced the eerie feel that stays with this “New Pompeii” right up to the present day.  As you place your first step on the ground covered deep with volcanic ash – you turn silent…just trying to comprehend what really happened there those 15 years ago…

Plymouth is covered with ash, mud and lava rocks, up to the second floor level. You can see volcano still fuming with sulfur-smelling gas…

The moment of destruction is registered at every step, like frozen in time. Personal belongings scattered  in panic and visible through broken windows of houses half-buried in lava, mud and ash… offices hurriedly left in the middle of work…  pages of musical scores dropped on the floor of a shattered church – perhaps left behind by members of an evacuated choir… – All these things tell a gloomy, painful story not to be forgotten in Montserrat.

Abandoned church in Plymouth is covered with volcanic ash.

Thankfully, now the volcano is under strict observation by the world’s best scientists, and danger zones are clearly drawn – in case of the volcano’s repeat activity.
Everyday life is back to normal in the northern part of Montserrat –  the lush, green hills which are safe from danger.

Classroom in Plymouth filled with ash up to the chalkboard level.

This was one remarkable trip!  We’ve made new friends, learned a lot – and we look forward to continuing working with the whole team for years to come.
Hopefully these few photographs can give you a glimpse of this fine, unique Caribbean island and its brave nation. But – as we experienced – nothing beats the real thing. So if you feel like having some adventure, pack your bags and go for a Montserrat vacation, see for yourself how much this tiny island has to offer.

Pair of Green Turtles mating in pristine Atlantic waters near the shore.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.

And as always – if you find this little story interesting – click SHARE, let your friends enjoy it too.

Cheers!

Derek

PS.  Images are copyright of Ozone Zone Books, Canada and Derek Galon. Please respect that.

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