Bandos

[dubaiphil]

Bandos is a cheap and cheerful island in the Maldives (I think one of the original hotels in the country). These days pretty much everything is 5* extortionate luxury (they have a captive audience once you're on your island, after all) but we didn't mind going rustic for a cheap week!

When it takes 20 minutes to walk around your island there isn't a great deal to photograph, but I had a go anyway.


Sundowners Bar









Baby Reef Shark - there were a few tiddlers, and an 8ft big'un joined me for a few swims as well!




Water Villas




Beach Villas




Dawn over the restaurant




New arrivals assess whether it's safe to swim with the sharks (Carl Zeiss colours and drawing style come out in this one)




A very poor first attempt at photographing the night sky, with other islands lit up on the horizon




A few hours of stacked startrails - being so close to the equator the Pole Star is only around 2 degrees above the horizon, so I thought I'd give it a go




Maldives sunrise

[Donald]

With the pole star that far down in the sky, you do indeed get the perfect location for a good start trails shot. It had never registered with me that this is what would happen. Obvious when it's pointed out to you.

Excellent example of the genre.

[ggt]

I like the shadow cast by the baby shark. I don't want one, but he is kinda cute.

Seriously, they are all very cool. Now, I want to go there.

Not sure I totally understand the math involved in the polar star stacked shot. You've given me more to ponder.

[dubaiphil]

I like the shadow cast by the baby shark. I don't want one, but he is kinda cute.

Seriously, they are all very cool. Now, I want to go there.

Not sure I totally understand the math involved in the polar star stacked shot. You've given me more to ponder.

Hehe - If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, the Pole Star can be found at roughly the same altitude in degrees as your latitude - I think