Random scenes – I just wanted to share.
In my wanders about the streets of London, and visits to its famous sights and museums, I photograph scenes that capture my eye or my imagination. Some just don’t justify a whole blog posting. So here are these random scenes, tidbits to tickle your fancy – below and in the gallery.
Continue reading “London miscellany”Favorite photos and videos.
Wow, 2025 was quite the year. With a dozen or more hikes in New Hampshire, and travels to Australia, England, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and South Carolina, I had many opportunities for photography. Check out some of my favorite photos!
The iconic castle, prison, royal residence, and home to the Crown Jewels.
No visit to London would be complete without a visit to the iconic Tower of London. Originally built in the 1070s by William the Conquerer, it was the first stone castle in England, and has been expanded and revised numerous times over nine hundred years. Today, it serves largely as a tourist attraction, and as secure storage for the Crown Jewels. We arrived early for our ticketed entrance time of 11am, and wound our way slowly inward following a queue of hundreds of other visitors. The Tower (really, several towers surrounded by concentric defensive walls and a moat, now dry) was decorated for Christmas and thronged with holiday visitors.
Three random sights in London.
I often take long walks, here in London. Sometimes I have a destination – going to work at Imperial, or visiting a museum, or shopping for an obscure item. Othertimes I just wander. Either way, I sometimes ignore the temptation of Apple Maps, point my nose in the general direction, and zigzag through streets and parks until I get close to where I want to be. Along the way, I enjoy the sense of discovery, often about the smallest things.
Dartmouth Alumni Travel to Finland.
I had the pleasure of joining an Alumni Travel group for a week in Finland; we visited Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia) before heading north of the Arctic Circle to the northern tip of Finland, where we could enjoy one last burst of winter and hope to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). We had a great group of guests – alumni from Dartmouth College, Tufts University, and the College of William and Mary – all led by the indefatigable local guide, Hanna. I was the faculty leader (common on alumni trips), offering academic lectures twice during the trip. It was a wonderful trip – read on and check out the first gallery of photos!
I enjoyed a couple of quick days in the historic district of Delft, The Netherlands, while attending the SafeThings workshop in advance of SenSys 2017. Although it rained on and off, the picturesque streets and canals were a delight to explore. I also ducked into the Old Church and New Church (both hundreds of years old), for a peek at their excellent exhibits. I stayed in Hotel Johannes Vermeer, named after the famous painter, so I was especially interested in those exhibits. Beautiful town! See the photos; the one below is from my hotel room (which was a 4th-floor attic!).
David Kotz 