Spontaneous Improvisation.
A stroll in the park just before dusk, camera ever ready. For a few seconds, the sun shone through a break in the cloud that was obscuring it. I didn’t have time to set a filter so I took the shot through my sunglasses. The sun’s rays appeared to touch the ground before me. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/555df2ebe4b05f67319aeab4/1535714

A Certain Polish.
I took a shine to these Gucinari boots but I’ve never worn them in case they lose their shine … and because I have nothing that goes with them! https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/555df2ebe4b05f67319aeab4/1535717

Good Day Sunshine.
That time just before dusk, when the sun is low in the sky and is coming in for the night; that split second when the receding waves brought the sun to my feet as it cast its long shadows. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/555df2ebe4b05f67319aeab4/1535711

“I have to say I’m a little surprised. We seem to have lost a life.”
It’s a cat’s life in Mandelieu-La Napoule, France where the tin roofs are very hot. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554b7e75e4b0c7299d72c9ef/1519062

“Cinderella? Surprise, Surprise!”
The old Coca-Cola and glass slipper trick. Now she can carry a few spares. The intriguing shop window display of la Collezione Artistica, Luigi Bona, Venezia. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554b7e75e4b0c7299d72c9ef/1519053

“Look out for photographers. We don’t want to be taken by surprise.”
Possibly overconfident feathered friends in Mandelieu-La Napoule, France. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554b7e75e4b0c7299d72c9ef/1519057

3749 Ponte Chiodo, 30121 Venezia, from the 1969 film ‘Slogan’, accessible from the famous Bridge with no Parapet crossing Rio San Felice.
The door on the right, with three steps leading down into the water, is the entrance to the guest house, 3749 Ponte Chiodo. The building and the bridge appear in the 1969 film, ‘Slogan’ (on the set of which the stars Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin first met) where one of the minor characters performs a handstand, from the boat in which he and the stars are travelling, onto the bridge. It’s a film worth seeing if only for the crazy speedboat ride through the canals of Venice. I doubt any film company would now be given permission by the Consiglio Comunale (City Council). https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554f8cbce4b0c0082b0da72b/1517627

The lion above the Porta Magna and the Rio dell’arsenale entrance towers to the Arsenale di Venezia, Castello, 30122 Venezia from the 1954 film ‘Senso’.
The film starred Alida Valli as La Contessa Livia Serpieri and Farley Granger as Franz Mahler and was directed by Luchino Visconti who had hoped to cast Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando in the lead roles. In the film, the Contessa searches for Mahler at the Porta Magna. The site is now the home of La Biennale di Venezia, a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554f8cbce4b0c0082b0da72b/1517633

Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France from the 1991 film ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’.
The film, starring Kevin Costner and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, was filmed in England but the longshots of Nottingham Castle were of the fortified city of Carcassonne in the south of France. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554f8cbce4b0c0082b0da72b/1517637

Singing The Blues.
“I’m on platform 3. No, I don’t know which station.”
“I think you’ll find it’s Stazione di Ferrara, Piazzale della Stazione, 28, 44122 Ferrara FE, Italy.”
“Grazie.”
https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54f71d23e4b041160571f72b/1513309

West Brompton, London.
“Fracture – Happiness Guaranteed”
My train stopped outside West Brompton station, overlooking Wormwood Scrubs Park. I couldn’t help but smile at what almost seemed to be either an appropriate advert for A&E or a dark message. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54f71d23e4b041160571f72b/1513315

Tynemouth Station.
The fascinating art, crafts and bric-a-brac weekend market in the station building at Tynemouth Station in North Tyneside. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54f71d23e4b041160571f72b/1513312

Ready for the Masked Carnival in Venice.
… or the Carnevale Maschera di Venezia, to name it correctly. I couldn’t be sure whether or not she too was standing on a box or was actually almost eight feet tall after all. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554264b5e4b07879681b8c09/1509933

Venice may be sinking but it hasn’t run out of Monet.
I was walking through the out of the way places in Venice, camera in hand. There’s always something. Monet, caught in the act and wearing flared trousers, was an eye opener. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554264b5e4b07879681b8c09/1509930

Joan of Arc, Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France.
I was captivated by the sheer vibrancy of this statue. The plaque on the street side of the statue says “Jeanne d’ARC statue équestre de Jules ROLLEAU (1855-1895) offerte par l’artiste à Chinon en août 1893”. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/554264b5e4b07879681b8c09/1506663

Oh man, did I choose the wrong trip?
Driving south in France, headed for the Camargue. So glad I had my camera for the irresistible split-second opportunity. https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/55423ff5e4b0f47497fd5a51/1504906