Taking travel photos

from “Why we travel” New York Timesa Sunday column of photos and captions by readers

London, England — After arriving in London and getting settled in my hotel, I set off for a walk in an effort to stay awake (having slept very little on the flight over). Walking down Brompton Road the sun came through the clouds from behind me and the people and the street in front of me became inflamed with color and life. It served to chase away any feeling of fatigue.

mom + traffic + London

• Trafalgar Square: London, UK — Moms are always right. "Look both ways before crossing the street," she'd say. Although that may not be the case in NYC, across the pond, I'd say mom's advice still holds true. This was my first day in London and if strolling through the city's myriad of streets, squares, and circles, wasn't confusing enough, I had to mentally remind myself from time to time to 'stay left' and look both ways at a roundabout crossing. But I do have to say, I definitely appreciated the painted road sign "reminders" to prevent foreigners like myself from getting run over by a scooter, taxi, or God forbid, a double decker bus.

personalizing an icon

• London, England — Whenever I am in London, which is a city that I love dearly, the one landmark that always takes my breath away no matter how many times I see it is Big Ben. If ever there was an iconic symbol of the beauty, power, and sheer majesty of London, it is Big Ben . . . Every time I look at this photo my heart and mind's eye returns to London and that beautiful day.

London, England — Like many other New Zealanders, my best friend has been living in London for a number of years. In June I flew from Florida...for a trip around England. The day before I left to return home we took a walk down from Tower Bridge along the Thames and came across this one enclave of skateboarders right on the river's edge. In some ways, it was a jarring contrast; amongst the tourists, booksellers, and museums, a bunch of London youth skateboarded, smoked cigarettes, and generally hung about. While most of the them, to be honest, didn't seem particularly confident, there was one kid who was really good; he landed a number of extremely difficult maneuvers and skated with this kind of effortless style. It was fascinating to see how the other kids reacted to him. It was as if he was blessed with the ability to speak another language, and it was obvious that they all regarded him with this kind of awe. I caught him as he did a kick-flip (where the board rotates a number of times) down a flight of stairs.

in a split-second...“bend it like Beckam”

London, England — I was walking around London with my girlfriend when we saw this street-art decorated tunnel. The man walking in front gave it a lot of context and made the shot much more interesting.

just the facts, ma’am +surprise = everyone in berets!

• Paris, France — Studying abroad in Paris, France with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Paris, 20th arrondissement — Random shot of Pere Lachaise Cemetery; it captures the antiquated mystique of the cemetery fairly well.

window + hat + previous unseen moment

• Paris, France — During our 35th wedding anniversary trip to France, we spent four days in Paris, a city we know and love. On the spur of the moment, we decided to visit the Tour de Montparnasse, a relatively new tourist attraction. I thought this photo was a lovely way to showcase the adorable hat I had bought for my wife, Leila Zogby, earlier in the day at Galleries Lafayette.

Paris, France — We were stopping through Paris on the way back from a meeting in Belgium and decided to catch some of the sights. Here, in the Louvre, a tour is stopped in front of Veronese's 'The Wedding at Cana.' It's interesting to me how people interact with art, especially in museums where the interactions are so public. Sometimes the observers themselves can be quite a spectacle.

point of view ... from behindart + human behavior

Paris, France — ...I was walking through the city on my way to a pedestrian only street, one of my favorite places in the city...The pedestrian street is lined with food shops and someday I am gong to eat my way from one end to the other! Today, I was only interested in getting lunch. On the way to my destination, I passed one of the many covered walk-ways that are scattered throughout the city and snapped this photo. I love the geometric pattern on the floor, the tattered wooden panels, the lamps and the single diner. It is very French! architecture + human figure +

your own impression

Paris — Walking in the Marais district I spied some roses and the gentleman in the hat....I decided to focus on the roses.

Street scenes are always interesting!