Hi, Hola, Bonjour , Ciao , مرحبا, 您好, bok, hei and welcome.

My name is James Murray and I live in London, England but love to go exploring in foreign climates. Coming from a design background I look at photography as an extension of this, recording the lifestyles and architecture that make up are world.

My passion for photography started when I first picked up a film camera (wow I miss the darkroom), capturing the moments of my accident filled childhood. I transferred this passion into my studies mixing in all of my design influences to create my own style.

Architecture and photography are the perfect blend each complementing the other. As a HDR (High Dynamic Range) enthuiast, I use this technique to enrich my images.

I have worked as a photographer since 2010, taking photos of the enviroment that I lived in around London, selling images as artworks and to companies. In 2011 I worked for Disney on their cruise ships with the big mouse himself. Onboard I worked as a portrait and wedding photographer, learning new techniques and feeding my travel bug.

Every photo is a memory; there is no better way to capture it then how you see it, not how the camera sees it.

 

Stacky Theme by Andrew

Looking down onto Malta

Malta was great for photos. The place is so unique and the ship made a great view point to take photos from. This was one time where I didn’t get off the ship. Instead choosing to relax and enjoy the pool while no guests were there.

It seems like I didn’t post a photos on friday. I would put it down to computer error but to be honest it was all me. I would make the excuse of a new job and other blah blah blah excuses that I could make up but I won’t. Instead I will be posting an extra one this week on saturday. Tis also means that I need to go out in London at some point this week as my current supply is running a bit thin. If you want photos of my hand or random person then i’m sorted for qa while but for some this might not be the case.

See you all tomorrow.

Castaway Paradise 

The recent tragedy of the Costa Concordia cruise ship has made me think back to my experience on the Disney Magic. For those of you outside of Europe (or those of you that live in a hole), the cruise ship Costa Concordia owned by Carnival hit a rock off of Italy’s west coast. The ship was sailing from the port of Civitavecchia which is the main port of Rome. The boat I was on done the same journey as this one for 3 months so I know the area well. The death toll currently stands at 11 but there are still many people missing.

I was lucky enough to only have one emergency (but many medical emergancies, a story for another time). We discovered a fire as smoke pored through the ceiling in the atrium where were were taking photos. I won’t bore you with the procedures but basically we told the bridge and had to act like normal. If didn’t help that they announced “red parties”, a code term for fire, over the pa system that meant everyone was asking us what was going on. A fellow photographer said to a 6 year old boy that it meant that we hit a whale to much amusement to everyone around.

In the end the fire team put it out very quickly. It was caused by welding in the room above which set alight an empty stateroom. 

This photo is another from Castaway Cay in the bahamas. You can see the Disney Magic cruise liner in the background docked at the disney island.

The Colour of Malta

Every building in Malta is built out of the same Maltese rock. This means that an orange glow is emitted from the country when you approach. Ok perhaps its not that bright but you certainly notice the sand colour of every building.

These houses overlook the harbour. You would think that they have a great view but you can’t see the large industrial estate that is the other side of the dock.

Magic in Key West

I have so many more photos of Key West left to share with you. It was my favourite port in the Caribbean and a close second overall. Everytime I got off there I would go mad with pictures. The place is so different to what I am used to and I would move there in a second.

You must get fed up of seeing this ship but it was my life for 6 months so tough luck. I can never get bored with it as it is such a beautiful place to be and you should go on it if you can.

Allies in Villefranche

Villefranche takes on the stereotypical view of Europe. The narrow alleys, small coffee shops and people who don’t speak a word of English. That meant it was hard to get what you wanted in restaurants. Unfortunately my GCSE french isn’t what it used to be but I made do… just.

It took me ages to get back to the ship after getting lost if the maze of streets. I made it  with 10 minutes to spare till my shift started thanks to the short boat ride.

Happy New Year Everyone

Ok first things first, Happy new year everyone! I hope you had an eventful new years. Mine consisted of working into the early hours but I did get a front row seat on a Thames boat for the London fireworks. I had never seen the fireworks in person so it was a great sight. Between that and taken me over 3 hours to get home (normally 45 minutes) I had a great time.

Now I guess its the time of year to think of resolutions not to keep (although I fully intend to this year… as always). I want to travel more around the country. I haven’t really travelled outside London in the UK although I have been lucky enough to visit many places abroad. My UK travel record is terrible so first on my list is Wales. It has a great coastline and many national parks that will keep me busy for way more then a week.

Here is a place that we haven’t visited in a while. Key West never had a great sky for photos. No clouds were ever in the sky which might seem perfect for some propel not not for us photographers. I never tried surfing although I think I would be terrible at it.

A Disney Paradise

Who ever knew that it was so hard to post a video. Due to copyright issues to the soundtrack from torn in my time-lapse, some countries are not able to view it. I had to post it on a different sight that you can see here.

Right now onto todays photo. Another from Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. This jetty is just as you get off the ship on the way to the main part of the resort. You can see the typical Bahamian sky as great as ever.

Have a good weekend everyone.

You Cheeky Monkey

I got to know the monkeys well in Gibralter. I spent a whole day photographing guests with them on top of the Rock. They are everywhere, taking every bag that they come across. They are looking for food and snatch it away right from your hand. We would guess what guest would fall victim and it became a fun game.

This is one of the culprits relaxing after a long day of harrasing tourists. You can see the Disney Magic in the harbor below. Believe it or not we actually walked back to the ship from here. It took us forever as it was further then we thought.

Four in a Row

Hello and welcome to another week. Today is a photo from the Caribbean. I didn’t get off the ship much in Grand Caymen. It was generally used to catch up on sleep and do the laundry. I did venture out twice though and went to a nice Italian restaurant with some friends. On my way back I did a bit of my very own Urbex. Well sort of… I stepped over a badly placed bollard onto some wasteland to find this rotting boat.

You can see four cruise ships on port that day. The one in the centre is my home, the Disney Magic but I can’t remember the others. I think one was a Royal Caribbean and another a Carnival ship.

Crew Members Only

A Photo from the Bahamas today taken on Castaway Cay. For those of you who haven’t been following me that long, this is the private Disney Island. I worked onboard the Disney Magic cruise ship for 6 months visiting all over the Caribbean and Europe.

This was taken at the entrance to the crew beach. I would spend all my off time on the island here. It wasn’t that much (perhaps an hour per visit) but it was the best hour of the week.

The Rock of Gibralter 

I have posted a view of this famous rock before but this one is perhaps my favorite. I loved visiting Gibralter as it reminded me of home. Technically it is part of the UK and many parts of it were exactly like home. From the red post boxes to the tradition English pubs on the high street. The best part was Morrissons the supermarket. I had missed English chocolate and hadn’t had any for 3 months. I definitely stocked up here but ti didn’t last long.

You can see the Disney ship that I was on in the left hand side of the image. You can see all of the island from up there and all the way into Spain. Spain starts just past the runway in the centre of the image.

A Sight that Amazed Me

As soon as we got off the tender in Villefranche, France this was the sight that greeted us. I was amazed by the colours and atmosphere of the place. I rused out my camera and started clicking away straight away. I took so many pictures by the water front and the view never got old every time we arrived there.

Boat Tied up in St Maartin

It was a long walk back to the ship in St Maartin so you could get a boat taxi if you desired. This wasn’t that boat fortunately but one along the long walk to what I called home at the time.

We done alot with a free week in Miami. Went out every night, hired a car and went exploring and took photos at every opportunity. Im not sure what part of Miami this was in but I think we went to the Hard Rock Cafe on the same night. All the time I was in america I didnt have a tripod with me so had to improvise on every object possible. I found a wall by the scene and pirched my camera on it and tried to compose the scene the best I could.

Ajaccio Before the Storm