Well, this, I have to say, was totally unexpected. A few weeks ago, I received an email from Alice Burton, of the British photo magazine Outdoor Photography. She told me she wanted to make this site "website of the month". I was pretty stunned. First, because the sheer quality of the 3 or 4 sites featured monthly is pretty intimidating. Secondly, because the photo part of this site has been in practical hibernation for over a year. But it's true. And here's the proof: I've been reading OP since pretty much issue 1. But I never thought I'd get anywhere near being featured in their pages. So, just for this one post, please forgive me if I'm just a little bit unsufferably pleased with myself. Wait a minute... it's not the April 1st edition is it ?

An area of this site which is perhaps even further off the beaten track than the rest is the photo links page. The main content is a list of photography web sites which I like and want to recommend. I try to avoid the obvious stuff, and also to keep it to a reasonable length. I've just added a new link, to photographer Nicholas Pye's site. Take a look - you might like it too.

I've mentioned this before, but I really strongly recommended Alessandra Meniconzi's website. Actually, to be brutally honest, strictly speaking I recommend her photos, because the website has greatly overgrown the size that iPhoto can gracefully support, and, to be frank Alessandra, you need to sort it out 😊

But anyway, try starting here, then explore the rest of the Iceland pages. One photo, for me, really stands out as a work of inventive genius. On the road to Patreksfjörður in the West Fjords, there is an abandoned beached fishing boat. It is interesting but not really photogenic. But Alessandra has photographed it from behind a rain streaked car window, giving it a strange, magical air. In that weather most people would not even stop - but she has seen a brilliant opportunity.

I believe some of these photos will be published in due course...something to look forward to. Then maybe she can sort out the web site!

I'm starting a new "Recommended web sites" category today with a link to photography website Nature's Reflection. The site features photography and commentary from Zürich-based environmental scientist Catherine Cunningham. Clearly a keen mountaineer as well as a committed environmentalist, Catherine has gathered a series of thought-provoking (and just plain gorgeous) nature photographs. Apart from the aesthetic value, which is where most of us stop, she also uses her photography in parallel with her scientific work, to illustrate the real world effects of the processes her work postulates. This seems to be an effective way both of introducing the general public to the hard facts of climate change and other environmental processes, but also to add a holistic element to the science. In any case, the photography stands on its own feet, and I recommend that you take a look.