Moments

Your camera is a time machine

Yep, you heard right! Scrolling through your phone or revisiting your archive is like hopping in a DeLorean. You're back reliving the laughs, the tears, the excitement. Because the moment lives beyond the time of its recording.

This phone selfie with National Geographic photographers Stephen Wilkes and Chris Rainier with our awards at the Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah U.A.E. is one of my proudest moments.

When I feel down or grumpy, I look at it and remind myself that this too will pass and the sun will shine again.

The images below are similar moments from my life as a photographer and teacher. They transport me back to thoughts and feeling of the moment and I've attempted to convey a sense of that in the captions.

I hope you find them insightful. Maybe they inspire you to keep your moments close by. Because when life isn't going how we want, we forget our highlights too easily.

Mike signature

Muslim woman in red sitting on a hammock in a wooden roomFive fishermen on their boats on Inle Lake, MyanmarGirl below sign reading smell me in Borough Market, Londontint figures of workmen cleaning windows on a London skyscraperWoman enjoying a beer at a beach bar during a stormRed balloon tied to end of a bench against grey skysmall boats at sunrise reflecting with sky in waterTiny figures cross the Ubien Bridge in Mandalay at sunsetThree women closing six windows on a wooden houseFisherman and girl child watch sunset from small boat on Inle LakeRed house with blue glass by a rock pool in Arieta, LanzaroteOlder man and woman posing with vintage motorcycles by a beachMan wearing black clothes riding a red Harley Davidson custom motorcycleTourists at Jökulsárlón Iceland pretend to hold a giant iceberg for a photoBride holding fathers arm and wedding bouquetWoman and man wearing hats kissing in pool of sunshine in ZurichTwo couples looking at their phoned at a weddingTwo fishermen in small boat on Inle Lake, Myanmar and heavy storm clouds approaching from behindDog wearing a head band in front of busker playing an accordion in LondonMan and woman admire sunset from their Renault TwizzyRaspberry tarts, Macarons and carrot cake on a white plate in a restaurant with garden viewPower lines in a snow stormNorthern lights aurora borealis in IcelandWedding party chatting on a bridge in a forestMan wearing yellow helmet and lantern frames on his backOld woman sitting in a smoke filled room with sunbeamsGrooms men leaping into the air at a weddingMan in front of aid to Ukraine with a pained expression holding phone to his earTiny boats turn to the shore on the Baray at Angkor Watt, CambodiaNorthern Lights reflecting in a lake surrounded by snowOrange sun set and clouds over volcanos at Finca La Madreperla, LanzaroteStorm clouds over Caldera de Los Cuervos, LanzaroteAvro Lancaster bomber facing into the setting sunMen stand back against wall as diesel train comes by in Train street, Hanoi, VietnamOld woman contemplating distant mountains in North VietnamHmong Mother and daughter, chicken cage and bundle of wood by front door of a house in Hoàng Su Phì, VietnamDistant man raising his arms at floodlit Sharjah Mosque, UAEThree trader boats on Mekong rover at Châu Đốc floating market, VietnamMan playing drum as girl in white dances at Stonehenge winter solsticeTwo Moroccan women standing outside a cave with blankets hung out to dryWoman standing in small boat passing food bowl up to another larger boat at Châu Đốc floating market, VietnamSt Paul\'s Cathedral viewed across the Millennium bridge in LondonBlonde woman in a short skirt turning to face a photographerWhite faced cow with a cheeky look on its faceFemale photographer photographing a cactus at sunset on Montaña de Guardilama, LanzaroteTwo green patterned chairs and mooring rope catch sunlight by the sea in Tenesar, LanzarotePhotographer standing in street as man ob bicycle rides by looking at himColourful autumn leaves in a patch of sunlightBroken dead tree against twilight cloudsStrange reflection of woman, Southampton Guild Hall and a cloudy skyFive photographers with cameras raised standing in road at sunriseWoman\'s legs wearing white cowboy boots and blue skirt at a street paradeThree empty chairs and musical instruments on harbour wall with mountains beyondTall red brick house and trees by a river at sunsetPage boy wearing a suit and sunglasses carrying attache case with Ring Bearer written on itSigns saying Control the virus and stop cycling on a peeling wooden wallMagenta and green Aurora Borealis over mountains in IcelandUn restored BSA B31 motorcycle on quayside at Mudeford UKMonk wearing orange robes entering Angkor Watt temple in CambodiaChildren flying kits from top of a wall in Siem Reap, CambodiaDisembodied fish head poking up from the pavementRack of grilled fish on sticks at Kep CambodiaMan leaning against a white wall with large green door and ornate street lamp in Teguise, LanzaroteThree chairs and a table on the balcony of an abandoned hotel on LanzaroteYellow rowing boats on calm lake with distant clouds and mountainszig zag pattern leading over fields to Le Mont St Michel at sunsetGreen chair and diagonal shadow amidst ruins of abandoned hotelFemale shape standing in single window on corner of modern building at twilight

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