Spellbound

Walking back home through the back streets of Cardiff I was struck one by how large and bright the moon was that night. Its strange, pale light lit the night and cast an unearthly glow upon the streets below. I was instantly spellbound.

Taking pictures that night I followed the moon. Capturing passing street lights and strangers, shadow filled roads and the buildings that had been caught in the glare of these strange and beautiful lights.

Buildings became haunted houses, passing strangers became romantic and other and trees became arcane and occult bewitched by the light of the moon.

For that night the streets of Cardiff weren't the same, for that one night the city wasn't the same. Under that unearthly night everything became spellbound.

Standing in Lunar's light

The moon has always been a potent mystic symbol, in Buddhism it is the throne upon which Tara sits, in Hinduism it is the jewel on Shiva's brow, in Christianity it is a symbol of chastity and to the greek pagan it was the goddess selene who was all seeing and all wise and an enemy of strife.

I've always felt the pull of the moon, a strange energy that made me want to run wild and dance and celebrate under its glowing light. It was for this reason that I set out last night to capture this feeling, this energy through the lense of my camera. As last night was not only a supermoon but also the night of a lunar eclipse.

I followed its etheral light through trees, across roads, under street lamps and into abandoned parks all to capture its intense glory. The world through my camera went from blue to black to yellow to orange to gold. And still I could only capture a fraction of its glory, this moon and its light.

Maybe I'll always be drawn back to the young man I was, standing outside surrounded by the beauty of nature on a cold crisp autumn night, being bathed in Lunar's light.

Koh Phangan

I arrived in Koh Phangan after a boat ride from hell, where the first boat we took to Koh Tao had be large, fast and spacious this one was small, cramped and slow. The weather had turned by this point and so the ship was lined with backpackers all throwing up over the side of the boat. We arrived safety though and that day i spent relaxing and preparing myself for Koh Phangan's biggest event, the full moon party.

After coating myself in copious amounts of UV paint and downing a bucket of rum and coke I set off to the party. The beach was full of revelers all dancing, swaying and partying and as I walked down the beach I passed wave after wave of reggie, techno and trace. Eventually I decided to head up to the appropriately named mushroom mountain, where I enjoyed one of their finest milkshakes and a dance at the night club overlooking the sea. After this I spent the next few hours shooting the breeze with random people, being bemused by people having rather public sex in the sea (with multiple people taking pictures to put on facebook), having my hat stolen, debating the nature of God with a random party-goer while staring at the waves and dancing like a loon to random trace music. After all this activity I fell asleep on a bench and woke just as the sun broke over the island.

The next day was one for a serious chill out and I spent it relaxing by the sea, swimming or snoozing in a random hammock surrounded by friends.

I also took the opportunity to explore the island on foot and after following signs for a Buddhist temple was rewarded by the sounds of bells, chanting and a beautiful collection of Buddhist statues and art.

After all this partying and relaxing I decided it was time to head on to pastures new. So I decided upon the jungle.