Des Paroz

Landscape and astro photography enthusiast from Canberra, Australia

Iceland

Skogafoss

While Iceland has countless amazing waterfalls, a handful really touched me, including Kirkjufellsfoss, Godafoss, the Valley of the Tears, and the majestic Skogafoss. Located in the south of the island, between Vik and Reykjavik, Skogafoss is special in that you can walk right up to the base of a fall

New Zealand

Grand Valley

This grand valley lies near Queenstown in New Zealand's South Island and is a great example of the incredible hills and valleys that make up the Land of the Long White Cloud. I love the way that the road cutting through the valley disappears into the folds of

Iceland

Vestrahorn

The first time I saw images of Iceland's Vestrahorn I knew that I had to visit and photograph this magnificent mountain range. It is simply one of the most spectacular ranges right on Iceland's south eastern coast. Vestrahorn is quite accessible from the nearby town of

Travel

Autumn Colours in Kyoto

The Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama area is a peaceful temple complex with spectacularly beautiful gardens. The ponds provide stunning reflections, and in the bright middle of the day light, I found that eliminating sky and focusing on colours and the reflections made for stunning images. This is a

Iceland

Drama over Kirkjufell

Located near the town of Grundarfjörður on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Kirkjufell may well be the iconic image of Iceland. There is a reason this sight is so well photographed—it is very accessible, and has the ‘whole package’ of a distinctive mountain and two waterfalls in the scene (the second

Iceland

Lava, Light and Rhyolite

Iceland's highland region of Landmannalaugar is notable for the spectacular rhyolite mountains, valleys and hills. It is also known for several surrounding lava fields. For photographers, these features make for spectacular subjects, but a good photograph has a good subject and great light, and Landmannalaugar is also well

Iceland

Dark Skies over the Black Church of Budir

The Black Church of Budir is one of those Icealandic photography locations I had seen in various Youtube videos and guidebooks, and the look of this quaint, black, church intrigued me enough to ensure a side trip to visit the location while staying on the Snaefellsness Peninsula. This was early

Photography

Harbour Sunrise

One of the joys of living in Sydney is that you have a magnificent city scape, a beautiful harbour and many beaches and bushlands to explore. When I arrived on this morning, I was a little disappointed about the low cloud covering the horizon, but the pre-dawn glow was just

Iceland

Storm over Godafoss

Godafoss was one of the key photography locations that I was looking forward to seeing and capturing during our visit there in September 2019. I can’t remember exactly how and when I first learned of this stunning waterfall, but it certainly came up regularly as we planned our trip.

Hiking

Hiking Landmannalaugar

This is without a doubt one of my favourite images from our September 2019 Iceland trip. We visited the fabulous region on a day trip from Reykjavik, leaving very early, and getting back at around midnight. The day was quite overcast, largely with a soft, kind of boring sky. With

Iceland

Earth's Extremes

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day so I wanted to present an image the shows nature at it raw finest. This was an image made over a valley between a lava field and the incredibly colourful rhyolite ranges in the Landmannalaugar region of Iceland's highlands. We

Iceland

Hjállparfoss

Hjállparfoss is a wonderful waterfall on the road to Landmannalaugar in Iceland’s highlands. Meaning ‘Help Waterfall’, Hjállparfoss is actually twin waterfalls that feed from a common source, and merge back in a common pool. Hjállparfoss is easily accessible and well worth a stop. There are several vantage points for

Travel

Valley of the Tears

Known locally as Sigöldugljúfur Canyon, the Valley of the Tears is a stunning canyon nearby Haifoss in Iceland’s Highlands. Arriving in a dusty carpark a short stroll to the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley exposing the stunning vista seen in this image. As with so many of

Iceland

Scuba Diving at Silfra Fissure

One of the adventures I looked forward to most when visiting Iceland last year was the opportunity to dive in Silfra in the Thingvellir National Park. There are two exciting draw-cards to diving at Silfra—the famously clear water and the fact that the dive occurs in the fissure between

Japan

Yasaka no To

Yasaka no To is a pagoda in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district that is one of the busiest tourist attractions in the city. The picturesque pagoda, coupled with the adjacent old-style streets, makes it very popular for photographers, tourists and locals alike, and by day you would be hard-pressed to find

Europe

Charles Bridge

Prague's Charles Bridge is a pedestrian bridge linking the Old Town to the Prague Castle area. We visited in Autumn (September) when the crowds were said to be relatively small, through it you look at the number of people on the bridge at sunset it is hard to

Travel

Tekapo Star Gazing

I’ve had an interesting in getting into night sky / astro photography for some time, but this image was from the first time I gave it a solid go. We joined a night sky tour at the Mt John Observatory near Tekapo on New Zealand’s South Island. The night

Japan

Arashiyama

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is a must see site when visiting Kyoto, Japan. On the edge of the city, Arashiyama is a natural bamboo forest. To have the best experience I recommend you make the effort to get up early—sunrise early—to beat the crowds. The other advantage of

Europe

Mont St Michel

In 2015 I visited France. With some colleagues, we took an overnight trip to visit Mont St Michel, the famous abbey on an island in France’s Normandy region. We timed our arrival for the mid afternoon and enjoyed a spectacular sunset. We also enjoyed sunrise the next morning, and

Iceland

Preparing for Icelandic travels

Iceland is a small country with so much to see. You could spend years in this island nation and only scratch the surface, so it is essential to spend the time and make an effort to plan your trip. Fortunately, there is a wealth of resources available today to assist

Japan

Gazing up to the Pagoda

The Churieto Pagoda in Japan’s Kawaguchiko region is one of the more famous landmarks in the region, particularly because there is a classic view of the pagoda with Fuji-san in the background—and often with sakura (cherry blossoms) flowering. An alternative and less common view of the pagoda is

Travel

Our Iceland Adventure

In September 2019 Belinda and I spent two weeks in Iceland—a trip that we have been planning and anticipating for some time. It was a goal to get there, and now that we have been, it is a goal to go back and to further explore this amazing island

Photography

Daibutsu of Kamakura

Back when I lived in Tokyo for a couple of years one of my favourite places to visit was the ancient capital of Kamakura, which is a short rail trip from the modern capital. The Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha) is a magnificent structure, dating back to the 13th century. The

Epic Valley

This image of an epic valley near Wanaka demonstrates the grandeur of the landscapes to be found the South Island of New Zealand. This image was created during a photo tour, and accessing this wonderful spot at any time (let alone for an amazing sunset) was only possible from having

NT15

Torre de Hercules

Hercules’ Tower (Torre de Hecules) is the oldest Roman lighthouse that is still in use today. Located in the city of A Coruna in Spain’s Galicia region, the lighthouse was built in the 2nd century (CE). This image was created in the morning of a cloudless summer’s day.