As anyone who knows me can attest, “Dawn” is not a time that you’re likely to see me awake, much less running around with a camera. That made this weeks PhotoFriday a bit of a challenge.

In the end I picked this shot from the top of Mount Sinai. It perhaps represents “sunrise” better than “dawn” but it was certainly taken at dawn!

I spent a week walking around the Sierra Tejeda Natural Park, staying in Canillas de Albaida which is about an hours drive from Malaga in the south of Spain.

Over the following few posts I’ll be talking about and showing pictures of the tiny, white-washed villages, the diverse and beautiful mountains and, as a contrast, the buildings and culture in Granada.

• Canillas de Albaida — the town that I stayed in
• Walking in Andalucía — what I went to Spain to do
• Granada — what I did on my “rest” day

Stay tuned for any future travels of mine by subscribing to the RSS feed or by email.

When I think of “Fast Food” — this weeks PhotoFriday theme — I think of burgers and pizzas and, generally, stuff that I don’t cook myself! The ultimate in fast food is a dish that takes none of my time! This steak sandwich was photographed and consumed at the Royal Exchange in San Francisco.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “The Face.” I’m entry number 300.

Last week I complained that my iPhone’s camera was no substitute for my 50D.

The next day I was lucky enough to have my DSLR with me at sunset, and it looked a bit like this.

[](<http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendarlington/3962039016/[/flickr]

The following day I was in the neighbouring town of Competa and managed to capture these beautiful colours.

[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendarlington/3961264013/[/flickr]

The church also looked fantastic bathed in the evening light.

[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendarlington/3961264081/[/flickr]

I’ll be posting some more pictures taken earlier in the day over the next week or two. Stay tuned!

I’m not sure how well this image fits the theme of “The Face.” It’s certainly a face, but the face? Still, it’s one of my better early portraits that was not of my family.

He looked after a temple in Tibet. We were expected to tip him on the way out and I didn’t have any change so I ended up having to give a reasonably large denomination note. I decided to get value for money by taking a few pictures.

At times like these I wish that my 50D was small enough to have with me at all times. Still, my iPhone did an okay job.

I did hesitate to use this image of a tea leaf for this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Plants.” Surprisingly, this is the single most popular picture on ZX81 (according to Google at least) and I have also used it on a previous PhotoFriday. Then again, I thought, it does fit the theme…

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

If I’d gone with my first instinct, this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Fear,” would have been incredibly easy. Many people fear snakes, but one person in particular has had a bad week and I didn’t want to make it any worse. Also, I’ve use that picture before (“Dangerous“).

Instead find the above picture of a woman in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. She looks trapped, fearful. She may be very happy for all I know, but for the purposes of this challenge she is in fear.

I thought this image encompasses the concept of an “Urban Landscape” quite nicely. It shows much of downtown New York from the Empire State building and includes a bunch of graffiti at the bottom which is kind of “urban.”

“Seaside” is quite a convenient theme for me as just last weekend I was in Brighton!

(I didn’t post an entry to last weeks challenge so there’s no need to feel guilty for not voting for me!)