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.

For this weeks PhotoFriday, “Slick,” I was going for the ‘superficially impressive’ meaning of the word. To be fair, I have no reason to believe that these guys are not deep and meaningful types… They were seen in Tokyo last year.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Animal.” I’m entry number 220.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Animal.” This animal was fast moving hence the slight blur but it was amazing to see this little fellah at such a short range. This was in Kamikochi, Japan. (I really wanted to include a picture from the Muppets but, for obvious reasons, I prefer to use one of my own images…)

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Inside.” I’m entry number 186.

I thought for this weeks PhotoFriday theme, simply being “Inside” wasn’t quite enough. It had to show being inside which also implies that there’s an outside visible. So, here I was in Ireland, sat inside the car, waiting for the rain to subside. I thought that that made this a decent entry.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Glowing.” I’m entry number 184.

This is about as “Near” — this weeks PhotoFriday theme — as I really want to get to a crocodile. Or alligator. Which ever this one is. It was in a farm, behind a fence, in Vietnam but still looked like a formidable creature.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Cars.” I’m number 193.

I’ve been busy and not had the time to enter the last few PhotoFriday’s, but here I am with an image for the theme “Gold” (always believe in your soul). I have quite a few pictures with bits of gold (you’ve got the power to know) in them, but here, in Kyoto, we have a whole pavilion that’s made of the shiny stuff.

• Social Media Propaganda Posters – “Be brief! The enemy might be listening in!”
• Norway attacks: Oslo hit by bomb explosion and youths shot at camp – Shocking. Both because it’s Norway and because it’s a city that I’ve spent a lot of time in.

This weeks PhotoFriday, “Seashore,” was pretty straightforward since I only got back from Rhodes, with its famous beaches, a couple of months ago.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Gloomy.” I’m entry number 149.

“Sharp Focus” is a surprisingly hard theme to find a good image to represent. A picture that was just sharp wouldn’t look much different from most other pictures. So, ironically, to show something in sharp focus you really need some contrast, namely some background blur. This picture, you can possibly guess, was taken last year at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

I’ve a feeling that I’ve used this picture for at least one PhotoFriday before, but I can’t think of a better image that I’ve taken that says “Wilderness” any better. It was taken in Yosemite from Olmsted Point.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Building.” I’m entry number 226.