I have to say that I love this slideshow feature in Aperture. I know it’s not new, it’s been there for a couple of years at least, but I just found it. To test it I put in a bunch of pictures that I took on my travels last year. I originally put some music on it too, but I had to take it off for the version on YouTube…

One thing that distinguishes New York from other large cities is how high it is. Even the small buildings have a dozen floors; they’d be considered quite large even in London. So I thought that a picture from New York, here of the Chrysler Building, would fit the bill for this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Tall.”

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Greenery.” I’m entry number 157.

This weeks PhotoFriday is “Greenery.” Maybe it’s too obvious, but my first thoughts were about green, verdant forests with bubbling streams and soft light. I have a few of those in my library but in the end went with this one taken in Kamikochi, Japan.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Pristine.” I’m entry number 132.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Pristine,” is a word that I always associate with clean, white, untouched snow. I’ve only ever been skiing once and, since I spent most of my time falling down, I didn’t have my camera with me very much. So instead, I have the above image, taken near Lake Tahoe. The snow, despite it being July, is still pretty much untouched.

According to the tags in Flickr I have already used this picture for a PhotoFriday previously. Unfortunately I can’t think of a better one for this weeks theme, “Cloudy,” so you’re stuck with a repeat, I’m afraid.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Days End.” I’m entry number 159.

[](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendarlington/6653145361/ ““Hobgoblin” beer by stephendarlington, on Flickr”)

What better way to celebrate the end of a hard day than a relaxing glass of beer? Well, that’s what I think anyway, and so it was the first thing that sprang to mind when I saw this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Day’s End.”

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Best of 2011.” I’m entry number 121.

I took a pretty literal interpretation of this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Best of 2011.” I guess I could have used something that signified highlights of the year on a global scale, say my exclusive and so far unreleased images of Osama bin Laden and Gaddafi, but, frankly, nothing better signifies 2011 to me than the birth of my son a few weeks ago.

I generally prefer not to cover the same ground twice. I’ve got something out of pretty much everywhere I’ve travelled to and I’ve no objection going back to most places, but, the way I see it, there is so much of the world to see that, all else being equal, I’d rather see something new. There are, however, exceptions.

Eleven years ago I had taken a driving tour around Ireland with my sister. We had covered a lot of ground but spent a lot of time in the south west of the country, staying in Cashel and Cork. This time a friend was getting married in the same area. So rather the just shooting in for the celebration, I decided to stay on for a while, and retread some of the same ground. If nothing else, I have a better camera this time around…

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Depth Perception.” My entry was taken in a hotel in Frankfurt. I didn’t have my “proper” camera with me but I think my iPhone did a respectable job under the circumstances.

I didn’t post an entry to last weeks challenge, but I’m sure you voted for me in the previous weeks!

I wanted something big and chunky for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Rugged,” and the best thing that I could think of was the truck that we took from the countryside in Cuba back to some semblance of civilisation.

I’ve not entered the last few weeks of PhotoFriday challenges, so there’s no need for you to vote for last weeks photo.