Photos

As Apple started producing increasingly seriously good cameras in their phones, I started using my phone for the vast majority of my pictures. Many of the pictures on this page were taken with one. For serious pictures, have a look at Flickr, for more frequent updates, go to Instagram. I tend to prefer working in black and white, but that isn’t by any means a systematic rule.

Black and white

Most of my favorite photographs—in keeping with my minimalist approach to art and to design—are black and white: these ones were shot all over the world.

Duck collection in New York apartment — A collection of ducks owned by a New York friend

Masai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya. It is globally famous for its exceptional population of lions, leopards and cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

Pastries in South Kensington — Edited using Silver Efex

Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn — Shot with DxO ONE: this camera's main advantage is the massive sensor in a small body. As a result, the pictures are wonderful, even in low light.

The Fountain at place du Grand Mézel in Geneva — This is just next door to the house where I grew up in the Old City of Geneva

The Cloisters at New College, Oxford — This was built around 1395-1400 in Wheatley stone. It was re-slated in 1949. The Cloister walks contain eight medieval stone figures removed from the Chapel.

St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna — St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral, seen today in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147.

The Burggarten in Vienna — This garden was laid out in 1818 as a private garden of the Emperor on an area of approx. 38.000 m². It is located directly at the Ringstrasse beside the Hofburg and the Albertina.

Statue of Hermes at the Villa Médicis — The Villa Medici is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti

The Cloister at Quattro santi coronati, Rome — This relatively unknown Roman church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. It includes two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the Saint Silvester Chapel, and the monastery, pictured here, with its cosmatesque cloister

The statue of St. Praxedes — This church was built in the honour of the Roman martyr St. Praxedes, on the alleged site of her house, to which, when it was rebuilt by Pope St. Paschal I (the present Santa Prassede), her relics were taken.

Abandoned ship at Moynak — When the Aral Sea dried up, several ships were left stranded at the Sea's main port, Moynak, and have become tourist attractions;

Traffic at Tuléar, Madagascar — Tuléar is one of Madagascar's major cities, located 936 km southwest of national capital Tananarive. Its colonial legacy is still visible in the architecture and the urban landscape

A boy in a South Madagascar village — Ampanihy is one of the poorest parts of Madagascar

Colour

Sometimes colour is so intrinsically part of a scene that it makes no sense to strip it out. These are a few examples, in very different contexts, of such situations. Go to Flickr to see a wider range.

Bicycle made of wire — Found on a table at Momoya on the Upper West Side

Kenyan artifact — Keynan souvenir in a Paris flat

My cat Peggy, aged six months — Her exceptional pedigree really shows in this shot

The New Building at Magdalen College — In the late 1720s, Edward Butler, the then President, planned to replace most of the Cloisters with a grand new quadrangle in the Palladian style, and commissioned Edward Holdsworth to design it. Work started in 1733 on what would have been the north range of this new quadrangle, but after this range was finished by the end of the decade. the project went no further, presumably owing to a lack of energy and funding.

Demonstration for animal rights — L214 is a French organisation working to improve animal living conditions

Beduin in Petra — Two Beduin greeting visitors in one of the caves in Petra, Jordan

Far East meets Near East — Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9,000 BC, and it was possibly established in the 4th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub

Soldiers in Kiev — The Ukrainian army rehearsing for the Independence Day parade

Peggy wanting cuddles — My cat Peggy, the sweetest, friendliest creature on earth.

Modelling at Grand Palais — A photograther friend of mine at work at Paris photo

The Chor Minor at Bukhara — Chor Minor, alternatively known as the Madrasah of Khalif Niyaz-kul, is an historic gatehouse for a now-destroyed madrasa in the historic city of Bukhara

The city walls at Khiva — The inner town, or Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls date back to the late 17th century and attain the height of thirty feet.

Driving through the Aral Sea — Karapakalstan is a remote and isolated area, surrounded by desert sands in every direction; a population of traditional livestock-breeders who raised cattle in the waterways and reed beds of the Amu Darya delta

On what used to be the Aral Sea — Karapakalstan is a remote and isolated area, surrounded by desert sands in every direction; a population of traditional livestock-breeders who raised cattle in the waterways and reed beds of the Amu Darya delta

Tents in the Karapakalstan Desert — Karapakalstan is a remote and isolated area, surrounded by desert sands in every direction; a population of traditional livestock-breeders who raised cattle in the waterways and reed beds of the Amu Darya delta

Children in South Madagascar village — The people in these villages are a living demonstration that wealth is not necessary for happiness

A village in South Madagascar — The photograph was taken on a market day, and the villagers are wearing their Sunday best.

Village children in Madagascar — A large number of charities are active in the south-west of Madagascar, working to provide food and education for these desperately poor people

Paris

The places I have most enjoyed photographing in Paris are the Tuileries Gardens and the Pompidou Centre in Beaubourg.

A baker in rue des Rosiers — In my opinion, this is the best-composed photograph I have ever taken

Tricky moment in rue des Rosiers — Rue des Rosiers is one of Paris's most attractive streets

Teddy bear in a Paris flat — Many of my most treasured values are represented in this photograph

EIffel Tower from Mur de la paix — The Mur de la Paix consists of twelve glass panels, where the word PEACE is written in 32 languages and thirteen alphabets. It was erected in 2000 in order to symbolize the passage into the third millennium, and is directly inspired by the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Musée du Jeu de paume — The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the north corner (west side) of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

The Anri Sala exhibition at the Pompidou Centre — The sculpture No Window No Cry, made up of a small music box set into one of the windows of the exhibition gallery next to a “bubble” blown into the glass, plays, when activated, a simplified version of the song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (The Clash, 1981), a tune which also resonates throughout Le Clash and Tlatelolco Clash, two of the films shown at the exhibition.

Tuileries Gardens in late winter — Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was eventually opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution.

The Paris Zombies — This annual event , instituted in 2008, is also known as the Paris Zombie Walk.

The Paris Zombie March — An unexpected sight on the street sof the Marais district in the Parisian autumn

The Pompidou Centre in autum — The Pompidou Centre houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information (Public Information Library), a vast public library; the Musée National d'Art Moderne, which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe; and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg.

The Île de la Cité in autumn — Shown here on the left is the Conciergerie, located on the west of the Île de la Cité. It was formerly a prison but is presently used mostly for law courts. It was part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which consisted of the Conciergerie, Palais de Justice and the Sainte-Chapelle. During the French Revolution, the Queen, Marie-Antoinette, was taken from the Conciergerie to be guillotined.

Gare du Nord, Paris, on the day after the November 2015 shootings — The atmosphere in the whole city was subdued after the horrific shootings on the evening of 13th November, 2015. An English friend who was staying decided to go back to London early and this picture was taken as many British visitors who had similarly cut their stay short hastened onto the train to take them home.

The Pompidou Centre in mid-winter — One of my favoutite places in Paris. The Pritzker jury said the Pompidou "'evolutionised museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city.'

A Marais street at night — A Hipstamatic view of a dark Marais alley at night in the late autumn.

At Paris Photo 2017 — The Galerie Maubert show at Paris photo, the world's largest international art fair dedicated to photography, held in November at the Grand Palais near the Champs-Élysées

Pont Alexandre III in midsummer — The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city

Israel

Having not returned to the Holy Land since having gone there with my parents at the age of three, I went again, finally, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Places in 2014—and have not looked back since. Now the land of Jesus, which happens to also be the Promised Land of the Jewish people, has become my most regular destination, effectively a second home.

The Ethiopian Quarter at Holy Sepulchre Church, Jerusalem

The Native Bazaar near the Holy Sepulchre — The streets around Holy Sepulchre Church cater to pilgrims from all over the world

Arab women playing at the beach, Tel-Aviv — Tel Aviv is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city

Jews praying at Temple Mount — The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount. Because of the Temple Mount entry restrictions, the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray, though the holiest site in the Jewish faith lies behind it.

Two worlds collide at Temple Mount — Temple Mount was built during the reign of Herod the Great for an expansion of the temple. The plaza is dominated by three monumental structures from the early Umayyad period.

Boys playing in the Jewish Quarter — The Jewish Quarter was destroyed and its inhabitants killed or evicted in 1948. They returned in 1967.

A bar-mitzvah at Zion Gate — Zion Gate is one of eight gates in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in July 1540, west of the location of the medieval gate.

Mohammedans in Jerusalem — A huge crowd leaving the Old City on a Friday morning after their weekly devotions

An ice-cream parlour in West Jerusalem — The atmosphere in West Jerusalem, largely rebuilt during the British Mandate, is completely different from the eastern part of the city.

At Yad Vashem: the Promised land — At the end of the tunnel-shaped museum at Yad Vashem, of view of the Promised Land

The Margosa Hotel in Jaffa — One of the most charming hotels in the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa conurbation

Archie and Peggy

Burmese cats Archie, whom I adopted in December 2015, and Peggy, who joined us in July 2016, have changed my life completely for the better. They are supremely intelligent and capable of greater loyalty, and of giving more affection, than any human I have encountered, with few exceptions. They have provided the inspiration needed on the way to becoming a vegan.