Contrails surprisingly close to each other soar above Berlin, popping out from a few low clouds lit up by winter light, luminescent in dusty yellows warming into almost orange. The sky itself is deepening to a darker blue as the sun trails off over the horizon, but is textured with scattered powdery white hints of clouds trailing off from bottom to top.

I forgot that I had a second photo of this beautiful sand lizard I saw in Jelenin in Poland. It had ventured out a bit more from its hiding spot in a log pile as I stood as still as possible nearby watching it.

What a real treat to see such a wonderful lizard!

One of the first batch of photos I took with my new A7CII and the lovely 40mm lens. The winter light was low as we approached the shortest day of the year and I loved the contrast of the golden light reflecting off the damp paving slabs and the person walking off along this highlighted path.

I’ve always found photos of people with their backs turned or walking away from the camera appealing – I’m not sure why. Perhaps because it shows their engagement with the scene beyond rather than them interacting with the camera.

This beautiful and typical small street in Palma kickstarts another set of Mallorca Mondays for this photoblog, only 4 months after I finished the last set!

There’s just something very photogenic about Palma that seemed to lead me to taking a lot of photos – no doubt something to do with the warm weather, blue skies, strong light, winding streets.

A photo can give way from documentary tool to abstract renderer, and here the blurring of shape and colour is something I find strangely satisfying. Perhaps representative of the otherness of the things we see, and yet also playing with those parts of a scene which, in real life, our brain de-prioritises from our mental focus, such that we can be attentive to what matters, and not waste our time on the unthreatening periphery, the things before us which have been subconsciously assessed and ignored.

Another macro cross section from a much larger art work. I love the texture here, slightly rippling, dappled, occasional whorls. Like the surface of a lake, frozen in a moment.

Sadly I can’t remember who created this piece – it was spotted on a tour of the somewhat overwhelming Positions art fair which takes place during Berlin Art Week. It sort of looks like matted wool, but perhaps could be something paper related.

I am a font of information

I love how this vivacious dahlia seems to be completely taking over the scene, making the background seem wholly insignificant.

“Look at me!” it cries out, and it really is a bit hard to see anything else.

Now that all the green has returned, and the trees are beaming with abundant life, I think it’s good to remember how things looked only a few months before – all the better to appreciate what we’ve got right now

I love the seemingly random intertwining of these branches and, in contrast to the dark shadows, the patches of bark that are lit up by a low wintery sun. This shot was taken in Forckenbeckplatz in Berlin’s Samariterkiez.

This dragonfly seems to have done very well for itself with a decent meal. Lucky for me too, as it meant this quick mover stood still for a few moments – giving me time to line up a shot.

The light blue colour of its torso is absolutely amazing, and even more so when it deepens into a luminescent aqua in its bulbous eyes.

Multiple layers of graffiti adorn a wall in and around an external light which has obviously proven itself to be very good at attracting dinner for a resident spider whose web is strategically placed just under the bright glow.