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'Commended'... Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013. Printed in the book published by The Times and exhibited at The National Theatre, London... 7th Dec 2013 - 8th Feb 2014.
(The car park at West Kirby marine lake!)
-The Crystal Ball May Not Be As Clear As You Expected; Your View May Be Obscured At Times. Therefore Do Not Always Try To See, Always Try To Do.
Remember Do Not Just View, Fave & Comment If You Dare;)
Thank You In Advance
Cheers.
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---- some short stories, collected while walking down the street ... in search of fleeting moments ...(they are photographic shots taken one-two months ago, scenes of daily life obviously captured before the current restrictions, implemented to stem the spread of the now worldwide infection caused by the covid-19) ....
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---- alcune storie minime, raccolte camminando per la strada ... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci-s/fuggenti ... (sono scatti fotografici realizzati uno-due mesi addietro, scene di vita quotidiana catturate ovviamente prima delle attuali restrizioni, attuate per arginare il dilagare della infezione oramai mondiale, causata dal covid-19) ....
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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Another oldie reprocessed for possible inclusion in my 2016 Peak District Calendar. The landscape version of this shot received a Highly Commended Award in the 2014 International Garden Photographer of the year competition
“It's not the destination, but the journey that matters”
Thomas Stearns Eliot
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“Non è la destinazione, ma il viaggio che conta”.
Thomas Stearns Eliot
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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… one month yes, and one no, my Provincial Health Authority of Messina sends me on a three-day mission (from Taormina) to the Civil Hospital of Lipari, located in via Sant'Anna…In my spare time, free from work commitments, I dedicate myself to my photographic passion; the photographs that I present here were all taken in the months of this year 2023; I made various photos according to the dictates of street photography (or street photography), I made some portraits, having always met people in the hand, very willing to let themselves be photographed (perhaps it will be ... that the people of the island are open-minded, eager and used to to communicate with strangers..?!), some portraits were made of people intent on their work; all the photos were taken in the city of Lipari, except for two taken in the port of Milazzo, the departure and arrival point of the hydrofoils (but there is also the ship) for the Aeolian Islands. I met (and photographed) the sweet lady, very good and appreciated American artist, Mrs Janette Little (photographed together with her affable and very nice husband, of Aeolian origins); of the talented artist mrs Janette in addition to her portrait I propose two of her works, I had noticed them some time ago, I had wanted to bring some photos of these works with me, now I propose them in black and white because this is a monochrome series, I note however that the originals are in color, for those wishing to see his works, I add the link to his web site below.
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….un mese si, ed uno no, la mia Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Messina, mi manda in missione per tre giorni (da Taormina) all’Ospedale Civile di Lipari, situato in via Sant’Anna …Nei ritagli di tempo, libero dagli impegni di lavoro, mi dedico alla mia passione fotografica; le fotografie che qui presento sono state tutte realizzate nei mesi di quest’anno 2023; ho realizzato varie foto secondo i dettami della fotografia di strada (o street photography), ho realizzato alcuni ritratti, avendo incontrato sempre persone alla mano, molto disponibili nel lasciarsi fotografare (sarà forse…che la gente isolana è di mentalità aperta, desiderosa ed abituata a comunicare con gli estranei..?!), alcuni ritratti sono stati eseguiti a persone intente nei loro lavori; tutte le foto sono state realizzate nella città di Lipari, tranne due realizzate nel porto di Milazzo, scalo di partenza e di arrivo degli aliscafi (ma c’è anche la nave) per le isole Eolie. Ho conosciuto (e fotografato) la dolcissima signora, bravissima ed apprezzata artista, di origini americane mrs Janette Little (fotografata insieme al suo affabile e simpaticissimo marito, di origini eoliane); della bravissima artista mrs Janette oltre al suo ritratto propongo due sue lavori, li avevo notati tempo fa, avevo desiderato portare con me alcune foto di queste opere, adesso le propongo in bianco e nero perché questa è una serie in monocromia, faccio notare però che gli originali sono a colori, per chi desiderasse vedere i suoi lavori, aggiungo sotto il link al suo sito sul web.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. press L to enlarge;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi L per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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My health company, every three months, for three days, sends me to cover a shortage of staff, in the Lipari hospital, (and so do my colleagues), in the little free time I have available, I dedicate myself to my photographic passion.
Lipari is the largest island of the Aeolian Islands (they are located north of Sicily, one hour by hydrofoil from Milazzo); Lipari, under the fascist dictatorship, was the seat of forced confinement for political opponents, it was considered "a Sicilian Alcatraz", among all the islands of confinement, Lipari was most likely the most liveable, both for its considerable size that favored the relations of the confined with the inhabitants, both because, to a greater extent than elsewhere, in Lipari, confined persons were allowed to live in private residences, together with their families or other companions. I found written: "Being on an island that belongs to another island means feeling doubly foreign, tied to the will of the gods and nature, where every certainty can be swept away by the waves of that sea that laps it in every intimate part, but it is a sensation that lasts for a few minutes, the Liparoti (the inhabitants of Lipari, ed) know it well (as all Sicilians know), the Greek concept of Xenia, hospitality, is inherent in them, a written rule, is a duty that provides sanctity and protection for the guest ".
Lipari has a long history as a place of detention. It is the island where the common criminals were initially confined, then with the law of November 6, 1926 (the twenty-year fascist period begins with the seizure of power by fascism and Mussolini, officially occurred on October 31, 1922), Lipari thus became the a place to isolate and confine opponents; the life of the confined began immediately after disembarkation, with lodging in the dormitories of the Castle, under the strict surveillance of the police and the fascist militia, every morning, the confined were subjected to the appeal and they received a daily pay of 10 lire; they could move freely in the town, without however exceeding the demarcation line that surrounded the inhabited center; walking was the main activity, the saddest and most melancholy ones pushed to the limit allowed, to see the ferries arrive from Milazzo, aware that the sea was guarded by motorboats armed with machine guns. A situation that will not prevent Nitti, Rosselli and Lussu from fleeing the island, on a moonless night, between 27 and 28 July 1929.
I made some photo-portraits of people I didn't know, I thank them very much for their sympathy and their availability; I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking along the streets of Lipari ... in search of fleeting moments ...I used a particular photographic technique for some photographs at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production
La mia azienda sanitaria, ogni tre mesi, per tre giorni, mi manda a ricoprire una carenza di organico, nell’ospedale di Lipari, (e così anche i miei colleghi), nel poco tempo libero che mi resta a disposizione, mi dedico alla mia passione fotografica.
Lipari è l’isola più grande delle isole Eolie (si trovano a nord della Sicilia, ad un’ora di aliscafo da Milazzo); Lipari , sotto la dittatura fascista, fu sede di confino coatto per gli oppositori politici, essa era considerata “un’Alcatraz siciliana”, fra tutte le isole di confino, Lipari fu molto probabilmente quella più vivibile, sia per le sue notevoli dimensioni che favorivano i rapporti dei confinati con gli abitanti, sia perché, in misura maggiore che altrove, a Lipari veniva consentito ai confinati di abitare in residenze private, insieme ai propri familiari o ad altri compagni. Ho trovato scritto: “Trovarsi su un Isola che appartiene a un’altra Isola, vuol dire sentirsi doppiamente straniero, legato al volere degli dei e della natura, dove ogni certezza può essere spazzata via dalle onde di quel mare che la lambisce in ogni intima parte, ma è una sensazione che dura solo per qualche minuto, i Liparoti (gli abitanti di lipari, n.d.r.)lo sanno bene (come lo sanno tutti i siciliani), è connaturato in loro il concetto greco della Xenia, l'ospitalità, non è una norma scritta, è un atto dovuto che prevede sacralità e protezione per l’ospite”.
Lipari ha una lunga storia come luogo di detenzione. È l’isola dove all’inizio erano confinati i delinquenti comuni, poi con la legge del 6 novembre 1926 (il ventennio fascista inizia con la presa del potere del fascismo e di Mussolini, ufficialmente avvenuta il 31 ottobre 1922), Lipari divenne così il luogo dove isolare e confinare gli oppositori; la vita del confinato iniziava subito dopo lo sbarco, con l’alloggio nelle camerate del Castello, sotto la rigida sorveglianza della polizia e della milizia fascista, ogni mattina, i confinati erano sottoposti all’appello e alla consegna della "mazzetta", ossia la paga giornaliera di 10 lire; potevano circolare liberamente nel paese, senza però superare la linea di demarcazione che circondava il centro abitato; passeggiare era la principale attività, i più tristi e malinconici si spingevano fino al limite consentito per vedere arrivare i traghetti da Milazzo, consapevoli che il mare era sorvegliato da motoscafi armati di mitragliatrici. Situazione che non impedirà a Nitti, Rosselli e Lussu di fuggire dall’isola, in una notte senza luna, tra il 27 e il 28 luglio del 1929.
Ho realizzato dei foto-ritratti di persone che non conoscevo, le ringrazio veramente tanto per la loro simpatia e la loro disponibilità; ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per le strade di Lipari... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...
Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.
I'm delighted to be Highly Commended in the 2016 Landscape Photographer of the Year. This image also received a judge's award.
On Saturday the Bird Photographer of the Year winners were announced. I was thrilled and honoured that my shortlisted creative Puffin image was commended and will be published in the book..Some of the images are truly breathtaking and absolutely blow you away. Well worth a look for anyone who is passionate about birds like myself.
Commended image in the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
worldphoto.org/images/image/1074220/?FromImageGalleryID=2...
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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hot and cold, a few days ago in Sicily ....
caldo e freddo, qualche giorno fa in Sicilia ....
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2022-23: Judge commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Farm Animals' competition in October 2022. Crowd 9th out of 523 entries in Photocrowd 'PIgs LivingOutdoors' competition in March 2023. Judge commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Young Farm Animals ' competition in April 2023.
Commended in the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year awards. 'Red Roof'. Red roofed cottage on the banks of Loch Sheildaig, Torridon, Scotland. A fleeting shaft of sunlight highlighted the autumn foliage under a dark and moody sky.
Cat wrapped in red and white scarf. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. 18 October 2020 Black and white version.
2024-25: Crowd 7th out of 3763 entries in Photocrowd 'On a black Background' in September 2024. : Crowd 11th out of 430 entries in Photocrowd 'Selective Colour Cat's Eyes ' in February 2025. Expert highly commended out of 5026 entries in Photocrowd 'Low Key Imagery' in August 2025
2023-24: Crowd 2nd out of 2090b entries in Photocrowd 'Pet Cats' in October 2023, Expert commended out of 4875 entries in Photocrowd 'Composition:-Framing Within a Frame' in October 2023. Crowd 32nd out of 2659 entries in Photocrowd 'Minimal colour or Colour splash ' in October 2023. Judge 3rd and crowd 4th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'A Pop of Colour' competition in December 2023. Judge commended out of 5829 entries in Photocrowd 'Your Best Photo' competition in January 2024. Crowd 1st out of 745 entries in Photocrowd 'Animal Eyes in Selective Colour'' competition in January 2024 2023-24: Expert merit award out of 1240 entries in Photocrowd 'Winter Sports' in February 2024. 2023-24: Crowd 14th out of 3502 entries in Photocrowd 'Solo Pet Portrait' in March 2024. Crowd 5th out of 3105 entries in Photocrowd 'Against a Black Background' in March 2024.
2022-23: Crown 9th out of 1444 entries in Photocrowd ‘Pet Cats with Personality' in September 2022. Crowd 6th out of 2068 entries in Photocrowd ‘Selective Colour' in September 2022. Crowd 28th (top 1%) of 3995 entries in Photocrowd 'Face of an Animal Looking Towards the Camera' competition in October 2022. Judge 4th and crowd 14th out of 2937 entries in Photocrowd 'Eyes' competition in October 2022. Expert merit out of 4607 entries in Photocrowd 'Perfect Pet' competition in November 2022. Expert highly commended out of 1168 entries in Photocrowd 'Cats and Dogs' competition in December 2022. Crow 3rd out of 1688 entries in Photocrowd 'Monochrome with Spot Colour' competition in December 2022. Crowd 15th and judge merit award out of 3101 entries in Photocrowd 'The Darkness' competition in February 2023.
Judge highly commended out of 2845 entries in Photocrowd 'Domestic Cats (no wild/big cats' competition in March 2023.. Judge 3rd and crowd 16th out of 2000 entries in Photocrowd 'Subject Framed by Other Objects Within the Photo' competition in March 2023: Judge comment: 'In this photo, the framing of a face with fabric is a beautiful and creative way to capture an intimate and emotive portrait. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and they are the focus of this photograph. The eyes are well-lit and in sharp focus. They convey emotion and expression. The fabric is well-lit, and the light is flattering to the subject. The fabric frames the subject's face and complements the subject's features. It fits the mood and style of the photograph.' Reviewed by Cakins0101. 2022-23: Crowd 3rd and Judge commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Behind the Eyes' competition in April 2023. Crowd 6th and judge merit award out of 2623 entries in Photocrowd 'Selective Colour' competition in April 2023. Expert commended and crowd 88th out of 5928 entries in Photocrowd 'Low Key Imagery' in July 2023. n 2023-24: Crown 14tth out of 3502 entries in Photocrowd 'solo pet p rtrait ' in March 2024.
2021-22: Judge commended and crowd 8th out of 2507 entries in Photocrowd 'Eyes' competition in June 2022. Crowd 2nd out of 2695 entries in Photocrowd 'Cats' competition in July 2022.
Two months ago I was Highly Commended in the Travel Photographer Of The Year Awards for a series of images that I shot in Algeria.
This is the sixth image from that series. The first image is here, as well as some background info.
I have photographed so many arches in Algeria and Libya, that I could continue to post a new image every day for the rest of the year - but don't worry, I won't. I'm well aware that this is something I really like doing myself, but that not many people share my obsession.
Part of the problem is the obvious lack of thermonuclear skies in the desert. Most of the year, the sky will be either completely blue, or, if you're unlucky, super hazy and almost white. Colorful sunrises and sunsets are virtually non-existent - the sun simply rises and sets without much drama.
One more to go, and then I'll stop - I promise.
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If you're interested in joining us on one of our photo tours, please check out my website for more tour dates, images, video clips, and more:
Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops
Marsel
©2015 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
"Despondency never takes into account the firmament."
Alda Merini
“Lo sconforto non tiene mai conto del firmamento.”
Alda Merini
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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A history of Taormina.
Her name was Cheryl and she was 65, he was called Christopher and he was 59, they both came from Australia; before reaching Taormina, in Sicily, they had traveled far and wide in various European countries, finally they came to Italy to visit some cities of art and tourism such as Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Amalfi ... the reason for this great to wander? The answer will be known after their tragic ending: to look for a "beautiful place" where they can die ... They weren't married, they didn't behave like lovers or boyfriends do, they certainly were good friends, or maybe they were simply a so-called open couple. Physically and temperamentally they were the exact opposite: Cheryl was sunny, cheerful, decidedly nice, a little chubby, overweight, she loved to wear large handkerchiefs which she then tied on top of her head to form showy bows, Christopher instead was a bit skittish , closed and sad, of few words, thin, tall, with possibly gay attitudes, but both were very friendly, so much so that they had made friends above all with the hotel staff, indeed, to be honest, they made small gifts, they were objects of good workmanship that they had brought with them and bought somewhere, demonstrating their sincere attachment (they had chosen a famous hotel in Taormina, staying in a Junior Suite - Sea View, in Taormina they should have stayed a week, later they would go to Syracuse). On the day of departure, 02-October -2013, at 14.00, Cheryl and Christopher do not show up in the hall to hand over the keys to the room, with extreme embarrassment the assistant manager of the hotel and the housekeeper go to knock on their door , over and over again, and seeing that they do not answer, they open the door with the electronic passe-partout: as soon as they enter they see reflected in the mirror the shape of their bodies that appear stretched out in bed, motionless: quick and convulsive thousand questions pile up in the mind of the two women, the housekeeper is terrified and runs away, while the lady assistant director must be able to understand what is happening and approaches, what she sees is a surreal scene: they are clearly dead, lying and rigid on the bed, they are not hugging each other , however, they are lying next to each other, under them, to cover the blankets and sheets of the bed, they have placed a large sheet of cellophane, like the one used by painters, to prevent any the humors freed from lifeless bodies, could dirty; on the back of the bed hung a row of Halloween flags, with printed skulls, and, among these, other flags, those used for birthday parties, each with a letter forming the phrase "dance of death"; on the bedside table there were two empty bottles (200 - 300 ml), which each contained a lethal substance, there were keys (for the locks of the suitcases), and a letter, in which they reported their last wishes: they left the money to honor the hotel expenses, they donated the contents of their suitcases to the hotel, and finally asked forgiveness for the inconvenience that their extreme action would certainly have caused to the hotel. The scant news on the web at the time (all photocopies of a single article) reported that both suffered from serious health problems, but that was not the case, certainly there was some minor ailment, but nothing really serious and unsolvable. Cheryl and Cristopher now lie in the cemetery of Taormina, higher up, closer to the sky than to the earth, even with the high ladder it is not easy to get close, even if only to lay a flower, the Australian embassy was contacted, but no one asked that their bodies were repatriated to their homeland, Australia.
Saint Augustine does not seem to say "those who sing, pray twice", but it would be nice to think that I, in posting my photos and dedicating them to them, maybe I am praying for them.
Post Scriptum: I thank Mrs. Luisa, without her I would never have been able to reconstruct the last hours of their lives with some accuracy, the news on the web is imprecise and laconic; many thanks to mr. Bambara, a funeral director, who having buried their bodies in 2013, showed me, accompanying me in person, where exactly their location is.
All the photos I present were taken in the town of Taormina and its surroundings (Sicily); I made photos related to "street photography";
I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking down the street ... in search of fleeting moments ...
For some photographs I used a particular photographic technique at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production.
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Una storia di Taormina.
Lei si chiamava Cheryl ed aveva 65 anni, lui si chiamava Christopher ed aveva 59 anni, entrambi provenivano dall’Australia; prima di giungere a Taormina, in Sicilia, avevano girato in lungo ed in largo in vari paesi d’Europa, infine giunsero in Italia per visitare alcune città d’arte e turismo come Firenze, Roma, Sorrento, Amalfi… il motivo di questo gran girovagare? La risposta si saprà dopo il loro tragico epilogo: cercare un “posto bello” dove poter morire…Non erano sposati, non si comportavano come fanno gli amanti od i fidanzati, certamente erano dei buoni amici, o forse erano semplicemente una cosiddetta coppia aperta. Fisicamente e caratterialmente erano l’esatto opposto: Cheryl era solare, allegra, decisamente simpatica, un po’ pienotta, sovrappeso, amava indossare dei grandi fazzoletti che poi annodava in cima al capo a formare dei vistosi fiocchi, Christopher invece era un po’ ombroso, chiuso e triste, di poche parole, magro, segaligno, alto, con atteggiamenti forse da gay, però entrambi erano molto cordiali, tant’è che avevano fatto amicizia soprattutto col personale d’albergo, anzi, a dirla tutta, acostoro facevano dei piccoli regali, erano oggetti di buona fattura che avevano portato con se ed acquistati chissà dove, a dimostrazione del loro sincero attaccamento (avevano scelto un famoso albergo di Taormina, alloggiando in una Junior Suite –Vista Mare, a Taormina sarebbero dovuti restare una settimana, dopo si sarebbero recati a Siracusa). Il giorno della partenza, il 02-ottobre -2013, alle ore 14,00, Cheryl e Christopher non si presentano nella hall a consegnare le chiavi della stanza, con estremo imbarazzo la vicedirettrice dell’albergo e la governante vanno a bussare alla loro porta, più e più volte, e, vedendo che non rispondono, aprono la porta con il passe-partout elettronico: appena entrate vedono riflessa nello specchio la sagoma dei loro corpi che appaiono distesi nel letto, immobili: rapide e convulse mille domande si affastellano nella mente delle due donne, la governante è terrorizzata e fugge via, mentre la vicedirettrice deve poter capire cosa sta succedendo e si avvicina, quello che vede è una scena surreale: loro sono chiaramente morti, distesi e rigidi sul letto, non sono tra loro abbracciati, però sono coricati l’uno accanto all’altra, sotto di loro, a coprire le coperte e le lenzuola del letto, hanno posto un grande foglio di cellophane, come quello che usano gli imbianchini, per evitare che eventuali umori liberatisi dai corpi esanimi, potessero sporcare; sulla spalliera del letto era appesa una fila di bandierine di Halloween, coi teschi stampati, e, tra queste, altre bandierine, quelle che si usano per le feste di compleanno, ognuna con una lettera a formare la frase “dance of death” (la danza della morte); sul comodino c’erano due flaconi (200 – 300 ml) svuotati, che contenevano ognuno una sostanza letale, c’erano delle chiavi (per le serrature delle valigie), ed una lettera, nella quale riportavano le loro ultime volontà: lasciavano i soldi per onorare le spese dell’albergo, donavano all’albergo il contenuto delle loro valigie, ed infine chiedevano perdono per il disagio che il loro gesto estremo avrebbe certamente arrecato all’albergo. Le scarne notizie sul web di allora (tutti articoli fotocopia di un solo articolo) riportarono che entrambi soffrivano di gravi problemi di salute, ma le cose non stavano così, certo qualche piccolo malanno c’era, ma nulla di veramente grave ed irrisolvibile. Cheryl e Cristopher adesso giacciono nel cimitero di Taormina, in alto, più vicini al cielo che alla terra, neanche con la scala alta è facile avvicinarsi, anche solo per deporvi un fiore, fu contattata l’ambasciata australiana, ma nessuno chiese che i loro corpi venissero rimpatriati nella loro patria, l’Australia.
Sant’Agostino sembra non disse “chi canta prega due volte”, ma sarebbe bello pensare che io, nel postare le mie foto e nel dedicarle a loro, forse io stia ugualmente pregando per loro.
Post Scriptum: ringrazio la signora Luisa, senza di lei non sarei mai riuscito a ricostruire con una certa accuratezza le ultime ore della loro vita, sul web le notizie sono imprecise e laconiche; ringrazio il sig. Bambara, impresario di pompe funebri, che avendone tumulato i loro corpi nell’anno 2013, mi ha indicato, accompagnandomi di persona, dove si trova esattamente la loro ubicazione.
Tutte le foto che presento sono state realizzate nella cittadina di Taormina e nei suoi dintorni (Sicilia);
ho realizzato foto riconducibili alla “street photography”;
ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per la strada ... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...
Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.
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Happy to announce that this image of a White-throated Dipper taken in Kuusamo, Finland got Highly Commended in the Birds in their Environment category in the Bird Photographer of the Year 2018 competition. It seems that the website is not in perfect order, but got the confirmation per email today and the image will also be published in the respective Bird Photographer of the Year 2018 book.
Bird Photographer of the Year is a global photographic competition; a celebration of avian beauty and diversity and therefore proud to be among the commended photographers.
Background info:
Went with a good friend of mine (Tapio Kaisla) to Kuusamo in Finland. Placed just against the Arctic Circle its a pure magic place during the Winter... well and I suppose during the Summer as well, but haven't been there yet during that part of the year.
Arrived in Kuusamo when it was below -20°C and climbed up a small hill called Konttainen to photograph stars. Not happy with any of the results so my first upload is an image from the 2nd day. After visiting Myllykoski in the Oulanka National Park we drove to Käylänkoski, which is a rapid that doesn't freeze during the cold Winter. There are therefore lots of White-throated Dippers (Cinclus cinclus) and counted 10-15 different individuals on this particular day. As usual when photographing 'Dippers' I try to use a slow shutter speed. Those birds are active and don't sit still for a very long time.
Hard work... but happy with this result, and it seems I wasn't the only one who enjoyed this image.
Featured on BBC Nature homepage and flickr BLOG. Cheers guys.
'Highly Commended' by the Mammal Society in their 2013 Photographic competition: wildlifekate.moonfruit.com/#/mammal-society-results/45737...
"I had rented a camera for the weekend to photograph a friend's wedding, and so had planned to get my money's worth by visiting Richmond Park that Sunday morning long before knowing what the weather conditions were likely to be. I traveled with a friend and luck was on our side. We were treated with tall frozen grass and dense fog that lit up golden as the sun rose in to a cloudless sky. As a herd of red deer made their way into a wooded area this stag and two females hung back for a few minutes. Richmond Park is large enough to compose shots that hide any trace of human presence, however this is my favourite shot of the morning: the stag stood facing into the sun mirrored in the tower blocks on the distant hill, their television antennae mirroring his antlers."
Once again I am pleased to announce that I have been commended for this year’s Landscape Photographer of the Year awards. But more importantly, for me, this is the 4th year I have been commended and the 5th time I have had my work published in this prestigious awards book.
Congratulations to all who got in the book!
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All images are copyright © John Finney Photography.
Don't use without permission.
Please contact me here before using any of my images for any reason. Thank you.
A very small solitary Bee bathing in a Dandelion, you can get an idea of how small this little one was by looking at the stamens with the pollen on them, I found lots of Bees today and not much else, despite the sun making brief appearances it was still cold for the time of year, still no Damselflies to be seen, most disappointing.
I liked this one though, reminds me of warmer times, thinking I should buy a ticket to somewhere further south, hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, I will try and upload a photo soon and not comment on the weather LOL :o)
ID thanks to Mark Johnson, Andrena chrysosceles :0)
Got Highly Commended in the 2013 BWPA :o)
VIEW ON BLACK
El Capitan emerging from clouds, Yosemite
Natural Landscape Photography Awards Winners Announced
I'm thrilled that two of my photographs won awards in the inaugural Natural Landscape Photography Awards competition. El Capitan Emerging From Clouds (shown here) won first place in the Grand Landscape category, and Stars, Mist, and Three Brothers earned a “Highly Commended” in the Nightscape category.
Congratulations to all the winners and commended images! You can see all the award-winners here:
naturallandscapeawards.com/gallery-2021/
And also, kudos to the organizers and judges for creating a competition that celebrates natural image-making. You can read more of my thoughts about image manipulation, and the essential art of photography, in my blog post:
www.michaelfrye.com/2021/11/01/natural-landscape-photogra...
Thrilled to share that 2 of my images have been highly commended in the 2015 British Life Photography Awards !
This image is from the 'rural life' category - was taken in the South Downs on a fabulous, misty summer morning.
This is the second year running that 2 of my images have been highly commended - I've also made the book and both my images will be in the exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London from 7th - 13th March.
The British Life Photography Awards is a photographic competition that showcases contemporary and imaginative images that capture the essence and spirit of British life.
My submissions in this competition were in the 'Street Life', 'Urban Life', 'Rural Life' and 'British Weather' categories.
Please visit the Mall Galleries for what will certainly be a beautiful collection of quintessentially British photographs. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Illusions*
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Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.
(Sigmund Freud)
***a candid shot taken at al corniche, doha-qatar. thanks for viewing guys and have a nike friday to all.
I've had to sit on this news for a couple of months, but really pleased to now say that this image of mine has been awarded Highly Commended in this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards.
Taken on Shetland last year, this view of a Kittiwake colony was photographed from a boat in a somewhat choppy North Sea and the shapes caught my eye when I ran through them later, so decided to give it a punt in my submission.
This photo, along with the other winners will be showcased in print in the BWPA touring exhibition, starting at the Mall Galleries in London where I'm looking forward to going to the awards evening on Wednesday. It will also be in this year's awards portfolio book, available to buy.
All pictures in my photostream are Copyrighted © Paul Shears All Rights Reserved
Where You Can Find Me:
My Website | 500px | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Getty |
Best seen on black, so hit the "L" key
Equipment:
. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
. Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM
Exposure:
. Hand-held
. 16mm @ f/4, ISO 400 & 1/5 Second
I'm over the moon to have this image commended in this years LPOTY. It has won a place in the awards book and will be part of the Waterloo Station exhibition which starts on December 1st.
<a href="http://www.scottbaldockphotography.co.uk"
Last month I was Highly Commended in the Travel Photographer Of The Year Awards for a series of 4 images that I shot in Algeria.
This is the third image from that series.
This arch was so deep that it was almost a short tunnel. Photographing these rock arches in Algeria was great fun, but searching for them was just as enjoyable. We usually just drove in the direction of mountains or large rock formations and used our binoculars to scan the horizon, searching for small dots of light that could indicate the presence of an arch.
After a couple of weeks we became really good at recognizing the best kind of rock for arch formation and at spotting them from great distances. Some of the arches took us an entire day to get to, as the terrain is almost impossible to cross with a car. With this one we were quite lucky, as it was easy to get to.
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If you're interested in joining us on one of our photo tours, please check out my website for more tour dates, images, video clips, and more:
Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops
Marsel
©2015 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
UPDATE July 2013 - Winner of the landscape category in the 2013 bestshots.co.uk competition. 8000 entries, 10 categories, 750 shots shortlisted, 100 selected.
This images was selected to appear in the 2010 NEMPF exhibition and received a Highly commended award.
Silent reflections and a still day
This received a commended award in Landscape Category section of The Scottish Landscape Photographer of the year 2014
I was fortunate to have 3 images displayed at the British Wildlife Photography Awards this year.
This image was 'highly commended' in the BWPA 2016 in the 'Habitat' category. I took his photo earlier this year in Spring. The light was incredible that morning and this was one the last shots I took as the mist was slowly being burnt off by the sun. You can see that some of the branches are bare while the others have just started flowering with onset of Spring.
This year the BWPA has a much larger space at the Mall Galleries so they are able to exhibit some of the previous years' winning and highly commended images including mine from last year 'A Flutter in the Woods' (winner Wild Woods category in 2015). The displayed images are also on sale so if you would like to own some absolutely let stunning wildlife pictures, make your way to the gallery before 10th September.
Fantastic setting for the exhibition - if you have the chance, please visit the Mall Galleries - exhibition on until 10th September. Then it tours the UK - you can see details here: www.bwpawards.org/c/galleries/exhibitions
Thank you everyone for all your comments, likes and messages over the past few days. Appreciate it very much!
Or contact me on email: chaitanya.d.photography@gmail.com
Cat wrapped in red and white scarf. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. 18 October 2020 Black and white version.
2025-26: Crowd 6th and judge highly commended out of 998 entries in Photocrowd ' Framing the Subject' in October 2025. Crowd 35th out of 2390 entries in Photocrowd 'Domestic Cats' in October 2025 Crowd 36th out of 4542 entries in Photocrowd 'Solo Pet Portraits' in November 2025 Crowd 12th out of 1022 entries in Photocrowd 'Pets that can be difficult to Photograph' in November 2025. crowd 22nd out of 5119 entries in Photocrowd 'The Colour Red' in December 2025. 2025-26: Crowd 10th out of 3435 entries in Photocrowd 'Animals Looking Towerds the camera ( in colour)' in December 2025.
2024-25: Expert merit award out of 2024 entries in Photocrowd 'Perfection' in September 2024. Crowd 31st out of 2809 entries in Photocrowd 'Expressions in the Animal Kingdom' competition in January 2025. Judge merit award and crowdd 30th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Domesticated Pet Cats' in March 2025. Judge highly commended and crowd 99th out of 2000 entries in Photocrowd 'Your Favourite Photo' competition in March 2025. Crowd 2nd out of 793 entries in Photocrowd 'Dogs and Cats with Blankets' in June 2025. Expert highly commended out of 5500 entries in Photocrowd 'Pet Portraits' in June 2025.
2023-24: Expert merit award and crowd 90th out of 10413 entries in Photocrowd 'Solo Pet Portraits' in October 2023. Judge 1st out of 1500 entries in Photocrowd 'People or Animals Framed' competition in December 2023. Judge comments: 'Love this idea! really great shot and the way the blanket frames the cats face fulfills the prompt perfectly. I especially was drawn to this photo because of the clarity in the eyes of the subject. The detail and shades really jumped out at me. Really great shot!' Reviewed by Steven Broadben. Crowd 4th out of 2736 entries in Photocrowd 'People or Animal Staring at Something' competition in January 2024. Expert commended out of 4482 entries in Photocrowd 'Pets Being Cute ' in March 2024. 2023-24: Crowd 4th out 1846 of entries in Photocrowd 'Selective Colour' in April 2024. Crowd 6th out of 1826 entries in Photocrowd 'Headshot Portraits of Domestic Cats' in May 2024. Judge highly commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Pets' in June 2024. Judge merit award and crowd 81st out of 1837 entries in Photocrowd 'Low Key Portraits of People or Anaimals' in July 2024. Crowd 35th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Cats' in August 2024. Expert highly commended out of 4903 entries in Photocrow 'Our Brilliant Pets' in August 2024. 2023-24: Judge commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Iconic Images' in August 2024.
2022-23: Placed crowd 36th of 1500 entries in Photocrowd 'The colour Red' competition in October 2022. Judge commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Eyes' competition in February 2023. 2022-23: Crowd 36th out of 2649 entries in Photocrowd ''Pets ' competition in February 2023. 2022-23: Crowd 2nd out of 556 entries in Photocrowd ''Cosy People and Animals in Blankets and Throws' competition in March 2023. Judge commended and crowd 6th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Domestic Cats' competition in May 2023. Judge commended and crowd 30th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Cats' competition in May 2023. Crowd 5th out of 2085 entries in Photocrowd 'Pet Cats' in May 2023. Expert commended and crowd 122nd out of 8557 entries in Photocrowd 'Our Amazing Pets' in May 2023. Judge highly commended and crowd 24th out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Felines' in June 2023. Crowd 3rd out of 2397 entries in Photocrowd ' The Eyes: Windows of the Soul' in June 2023.
Judge highly commended out of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'Animals in Macro or Closeup' in July 2023. Crowd 1st out of 2066 entries in Photocrowd 'Colour Pop' in August 2023. Expert commended out of 4830 entries in Photocrowd 'Looking into the Camera' in August 2023
2021-22: Judge commended of 1000 entries in Photocrowd 'A Shot You are Proud Of' in January 2022. Crowd 3rd out of 2445 entries in Photocrowd 'Color Popping/Selective Color' in March 2022. Crowd 4th and Judge 5th out of 1500 entries in Photocrowd 'Creative Lighting (in colour)' in May 2022. 2021-22: Judge Highly commended and crowd 37th out of 500 entries in Photocrowd 'A Splash of Colour' in June 2022. Expert Merit award out of 3572 entries in Photocrowd 'Pet Portraits' in August 2022.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. press L to enlarge;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi L per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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All the photos I present were taken on the beaches of Taormina and its surroundings (Sicily-Italy); I made photos related to "beach photography" (a genre similar to "street photography");
... I photographed young and old people ... with a great desire for the sea and a great desire to dive into the sea to swim (even if the sea water is still a little cold now ...); I made some photo-portraits of people I didn't know, I thank them very much for their sympathy and their availability; I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking along the beaches ... in search of fleeting moments ...
I used a particular photographic technique for some photographs at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production
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Tutte le foto che presento sono state realizzate sulle spiagge di Taormina e dintorni (Sicilia-Italia); ho realizzato foto riconducibili alla “beach photography” (un genere affine alla “street photography”);
ho fotografato persone giovani e meno giovani…con tanta voglia di mare e tanta voglia di immergersi in mare per fare qualche nuotata (anche se l’acqua del mare adesso è ancora un po’ fredda…); ho realizzato dei foto-ritratti di persone che non conoscevo, le ringrazio veramente tanto per la loro simpatia e la loro disponibilità; ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per sulle spiagge... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...
Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.---------------------------------------------------------
Piero's war
You sleep buried in a wheat field
it's not the rose, it's not the tulip
watching on you from the shadow of ditches
but it's a thousand red poppies (...)
Faber
La guerra di Piero - Fabrizio De André
La guerra di Piero
Dormi sepolto in un campo di grano
Non è la rosa, non è il tulipano
Che ti fan veglia dall'ombra dei fossi
Ma sono mille papaveri rossi (...)
Faber
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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“A story exists only if someone tells it.”
TITIAN TERZANI
... this aphorism to introduce this photographic story, which begins in Germany close to the Second World War, to end tragically in Sicily: the main protagonist of this "photographic" story is of German origin, his name is Carl Ludwig Hermann Long (known as Luz Long), but this story could not exist without another great protagonist, American, his name is Jesse Owens. Let's start in order, Luz Long is a brilliant law student at the University of Leipzig, he represents the incarnation of the Aryan man, he is tall, blond, has an athletic physique, his great passion is the long jump, he is a natural talent, this allows him to enter in a short time among the best long jumpers of the time (so much so that he won third place at the 1934 European Championships); Long will be one of the favorites in the long jump at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, whose historical context is that of Nazi Germany which would soon unleash the Second World War, including the racial hatred that resulted in the extermination camps with the Holocaust. Luz Long is remembered both for his great sportsmanship gesture towards his direct American opponent Jesse Owens, who, thanks to Long's unexpected help, will win the long jump competition, thus winning the gold medal (one of the four gold medals he won), while Long finished second by winning the silver medal, but Long is also remembered for his sincere friendship with Jesse, free from hatred and racial prejudice. The Berlin Olympics represent an extraordinary propaganda to the ideals of the Third Reich, it is a very important historical moment to show the superiority of the Aryan race to the whole world; the sports facilities were built with the utmost care by the architect of the Nazi regime Albert Speer (with architectural references from Ancient Greece), the sporting event was about to turn into an ideological tool of the regime, the documentary film " Olympia" of 1938 was also shot for this purpose directed by Leni Riefenstahl (author of films and documentaries that exalted the Nazi regime), where many innovative cinematographic techniques were used for the time, with unusual and original shots, such as shots from below, extreme close-ups, to the platforms in the Olympic stadium to photograph the crowd. Hitler wanted to demonstrate the supremacy of the Aryan race with the Olympics, the Aryan athlete had to correspond to a statuesque stereotyped figure, tall, blond, athletic, fair complexion, blue eyes, Luz Long was the ideal incarnation of him. Forty-nine countries participated in the Olympics, a number never reached before; German-Jewish athletes were expelled from all sports; even African Americans were discriminated against in their country, but they were allowed to compete, even if in smaller numbers, one of them was called James Cleveland Owens, but everyone knew him as Jesse (due to an error of interpretation by the his professor); it was his athletic abilities that allowed him to achieve several records, an important moment was the meeting with Larry Snyder, a good coach, and so thanks to his victories he had the opportunity to compete in the Berlin Olympics: he will be the protagonist of the Olympic Games, a 23-year-old boy originally from Alabama, who in a few days will win 4 gold medals, the 100m race, the 200m race, the 4x100m relay race and the long jump race in which there will be the story that will be worth all the gold medals in the world with Luz Long). Let's get to the point, on the morning of August 4, 1936 Luz qualifies for the long jump final, for Owens the qualification takes place in conjunction with the races of 200 mt. plans, Ownes is engaged in both races, the simultaneity of the two events, and a different regulation between the European and the US one entails him two null jumps, the first jump he thought was a test to test the terrain (as per the US regulation) , instead it was a valid jump for the competition, the second jump sees him very demoralized and makes the worst jump of his life. the elimination is now one step away, but Long interprets with great depth of mind the psychic state of prostration of his direct opponent, he sees him transformed into a face, dejected, Luz approaches him in a friendly way and suggests him to disconnect 20-30 cm before the serve line (and shows him the exact point by placing a handkerchief right next to the platform, at the height of the ideal take-off point, even if not all those who report the event in their chronicles remember the detail of the handkerchief), but also exhorts him by telling him that a champion like him shouldn't be afraid to take off first for the jump: for Owens the third jump if it had been void would have meant his elimination from the competition (and the certain victory of Luz), but, thanks to the suggestion of a technical nature (and perhaps the laying of the handkerchief...), but also affective-psychological ( !) by Luz, Owens following the advice of his direct rival, makes a formidable jump, which allows him to qualify. Long is the first to congratulate Jesse, both on the occasion of qualifying and after him with his final victory, which will result in his fourth gold medal. A deep, true friendship is born between Long and Jesse, in the videos available of the time it is really exciting to witness their handshakes and their embraces in those first moments, under the stern gaze of the Führer, a friendship that will consolidate in the following days, making a habit of dating in the olympic village. After the 1936 Olympics, in 1939 he became a lawyer, in 1941 he married, shortly after his son Kai was born, in 1942 he was called up as an officer of the Luftwaffe and sent to the front line, in April 1943 he was assigned to the Herman armored division Göring and the following month he was sent to Sicily immediately after the Allied landing on the island (Operation Husky): Long dies at the age of thirty, he is in Niscemi with the armored division, and is thus involved in the fighting for the defense of the Biscari-Santo Pietro airport; the causes of death are not certain, the most plausible is that of an aggravation due to wounds sustained in combat against the Anglo-Americans, he was found by a fellow soldier on the side of a road, from here he was transported to the nearby field hospital, where he died on July 14, 1943. He was first buried in a temporary cemetery, then his body was exhumed and then transferred in 1961 to the German military cemetery of Motta Sant'Anastasia while it was still under construction, now it is there that Luz Long rests: crypt 2 “Caltanissetta”, plate E, his name engraved on the slate slab preceded by the rank “Obergefreiter-dR" (Appointed of the Reserve), followed by the dates of birth 27 IV 13 and of death 14 VII 43; it is what remains of Luz Long, one of the 4,561 German soldiers who died in Sicily during the Second World War and are buried here. In his last letter to his friend Owens, Luz magining its end near, he asks him to go to her son and tell him who had been his father; his friend Jesse did as requested and even went to his son's wedding. And Owens….? … Jesse returned to his homeland did not have the respect he deserved after winning 4 gold medals (!), Those were the times when black people were considered "second class" (!); indeed, although with a nod the fuhrer saluted him (as Owens himself declared), the behavior of the American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unspeakable, he did not even deign to welcome the Olympic winner to the White House as tradition required (! ). Back in the United States, Jesse had to adapt to doing the most varied jobs, including being a boy at a gas station. To make a living he raced against horses, dogs and motorcycles, as a freak show; many years would pass before his value was recognized; he said «all the medals I have won could be melted down, but the 24-carat friendship that was born on the platform in Berlin could never be reproduced».
Postscript:
Long did not share the Nazi objectives and ideology, he was in complete antithesis with them, endowed with great sensitivity and profound nobility of mind, he was very far from the fanatical and cruel creed of Hitler's Germany, as demonstrated by the words he wrote in 1932 in a letter sent to his grandmother: “all the nations of the world have their heroes, the Semites as well as the Aryans. Each of them should abandon the arrogance of feeling like a superior race."
On his tombstone (as well as on others), under which his remains rest closed in a box, next to his name, today there are some small stones, they are small symbols, which recall the Jewish custom of leaving, instead of flowers, a pebble on the graves of the deceased, to demonstrate that his story has not been forgotten, it is a message of peace and brotherhood of which Luz was a promoter in life, his thoughts also reach us through his burial place, because, as stated on the plaque placed at the entrance to the German military cemetery of Motta Sant'Anastasia "the graves of the fallen are the great preachers of peace" (Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize).
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“La storia esiste solo se qualcuno la racconta.”
TIZIANO TERZANI
… l'aforisma per introdurre questo racconto fotografico, che inizia in Germania a ridosso della seconda guerra mondiale, per poi terminare in maniera tragica in Sicilia: il protagonista principale di questa storia “fotografica” è di origine tedesca, si chiama Carl Ludwig Hermann Long, detto Luz (meglio conosciuto come Luz Long), però questa storia non potrebbe esistere senza un altro grande protagonista, lui è statunitense, si chiama Jesse Owens. Iniziamo con ordine, Luz Long è un brillante studente di legge all'Università di Lipsia, rappresenta l’incarnazione dell’uomo ariano, è alto, biondo, ha un fisico atletico, la sua grande passione è il salto in lungo, è un talento naturale, ciò gli consente in breve tempo di far parte dei migliori saltatori in lungo dell’epoca (tanto da conquistare il terzo posto agli Europei del 1934); Long sarà uno dei favoriti nel salto in lungo alle Olimpiadi di Berlino nel 1936, il contesto storico è quello della Germania nazista che da lì a poco scatenerà la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, incluso quell’odio raziale che porterà ai campi di sterminio con l’Olocausto. Luz Long viene ricordato per un suo grande gesto di sportività verso il suo diretto avversario statunitense Jesse Owens: egli grazie all’inaspettato aiuto di Long, riuscirà a vincere la gara del salto in lungo, conquistando la quarta medaglia d'oro ! mentre Long arriverà secondo (con la medaglia d'argento), Long però viene ricordato anche per la sua sincera amicizia verso Jesse, scevra da odi e pregiudizi raziali, una vera rarità visto il contesto storico della Germania nazista. Le Olimpiadi di Berlino rappresentano una straordinaria propaganda agli ideali del Terzo Reich, è un momento importantissimo per mostrare al mondo intero la superiorità della razza ariana; le strutture sportive vengono realizzate con la massima cura dall’architetto del regime nazista Albert Speer (con riferimenti architettonici dell’Antica Grecia), la manifestazione sportiva diviene uno strumento ideologico del regime, a tale scopo viene girato il film-documentario “Olympia” del 1938, diretto da Leni Riefenstahl (che oltre ad essere attrice, regista, fotografa, diventa autrice di film e documentari che esaltano il regime nazista), nel docu-film delle olimpiadi vengono impiegate molte tecniche cinematografiche innovative per l'epoca, con inquadrature insolite ed originali, come le riprese dal basso, con primi piani estremi, l'utilizzo di binari nello stadio olimpico per riprendere la folla. Hitler vuole dimostrare attraverso le Olimpiadi la supremazia della razza ariana, l’atleta ariano deve corrispondere ad una figura stereotipata statuaria, deve essere alto, biondo, atletico, carnagione chiara, occhi azzurri, Luz Long rappresenta la sua incarnazione ideale. Alle Olimpiadi partecipano quarantanove Paesi, un numero mai raggiunto prima; gli atleti ebreo-tedeschi vengono espulsi da tutte le discipline sportive; anche gli afroamericani, sono discriminati nel loro paese, negli USA, però ad essi viene concesso di gareggiare, anche se in numero minore rispetto ai bianchi, uno di loro si chiama James Cleveland Owens, ma tutti lo conoscono come Jesse (per un’errore d’interpretazione da parte del suo professore, per tutti sarà sempre Jesse); sono le sue capacità atletiche a consentirgli di realizzare diversi record, un momento importante è l’incontro con Larry Snyder, un bravo capace allenatore; a Jesse grazie alle sue vittorie si presenta l’opportunità di gareggiare alle Olimpiadi di Berlino: sarà lui il protagonista ed il favorito dei giochi olimpici, un ragazzo di 23 anni originario dell’Alabama, che in pochi giorni si aggiudicherà ben 4 medaglie d’oro, la corsa dei 100, dei 200, la corsa a staffetta dei 4x100 e quella del salto in lungo nella quale ci sarà la nota vicenda con Luz Long che varrà tutte le medaglie d’oro del mondo, come dichiarerà Jesse molti anni dopo !). Veniamo al dunque, la mattina del 4 agosto 1936 Luz si qualifica per la finale del salto in lungo, per Owens la qualificazione si svolge in concomitanza con la gare dei 200 mt. piani, Ownes è impegnato in entrambe le gare, la contemporaneità dei due eventi, ma anche un diverso regolamento sportivo tra quello Europeo e quello Statunitense gli comportano due salti nulli, il primo salto egli pensa fosse di prova per saggiare il terreno (come da regolamento Statunitense), invece quello che effettua è un salto valido per la gara, col secondo salto le cose vanno ancora peggio, lui è profondamente demoralizzato e finisce col compiere il peggiore salto della sua vita, l’eliminazione è oramai ad un passo, però Long interpreta con grande profondità d’animo lo stato psichico di prostrazione del suo diretto avversario, lo vede trasformato in volto, abbattuto, Luz gli si avvicina con fare amichevole e gli suggerisce di staccare 20-30 cm prima della linea di battuta, gli mostra il punto esatto dove staccare poggiando un fazzoletto proprio di fianco alla pedana, all’altezza dell’ideale punto di stacco (non tutti coloro che parlano della gara riportano nelle loro cronache il particolare del fazzoletto), Luz incoraggia Jesse dicendogli che un atleta come lui non deve certo temere di staccare prima per il salto, qualche centimetro perso per lui che è un campione non è certo un problema !; per Owens il terzo salto è l'ultima possibilità di qualificarsi, se non dovesse farcela di sicuro la vittoria sarebbe di Luz ! ... però proprio in virtù del suggerimento tecnico-affettivo-psicologico (e forse anche grazie alla presenza del fazzoletto...) operato da Luz, Owens compie un formidabile salto che gli consente di qualificarsi. Long è il primo a congratularsi con Jesse, sia in occasione della sua qualificazione, sia dopo, quando ci sarà la sua vittoria finale. Tra Long e Jesse nasce una profonda, vera, grande amicizia, nei video disponibili dell’epoca è emozionante assistere alle loro strette di mano, ai loro abbracci durante la competizione, questo sotto lo sguardo severo e contrariato del Führer, amicizia tra i due che si consoliderà ancor più nei giorni successivi, frequentandosi nel villaggio olimpico. Dopo le Olimpiadi del 1936, nel 1939 Luz diventa avvocato, nel 1941 si sposa, poco dopo nasce suo figlio Kai, nel 1942 è richiamato alle armi come ufficiale della Luftwaffe e spedito in prima linea, nell’aprile del 1943 viene assegnato alla divisione corazzata Herman Göring, il mese successivo è inviato in Sicilia subito dopo lo sbarco degli Alleati sull’isola con l'Operazione Husky: siamo oramai all'epilogo, Long si trova a Niscemi con la divisione corazzata, viene coinvolto nei combattimenti per la difesa dell'aeroporto di Biscari-Santo Pietro, viene ferito, e poco dopo morirà, all'età di trent'anni. Le cause della morte non sono certe, la più plausibile è quella di un suo aggravamento dovuto alle ferite riportate nel combattimento contro gli Anglo-Americani, viene trovato ferito da un suo commilitone sul ciglio di una strada, da qui viene trasportato nel vicino ospedale da campo, dove morirà il 14 luglio 1943. Dapprima viene sepolto in un cimitero provvisorio, poi la sua salma viene riesumata e quindi trasferita nel 1961 nel cimitero militare germanico di Motta Sant'Anastasia mentre è ancora in costruzione, adesso è li che Luz Long riposa: cripta 2 “Caltanissetta”, piastra E, il suo nome inciso sulla lastra di ardesia preceduto dal grado “Obergefreiter-dR" (Appuntato della Riserva), seguito dalle date di nascita 27 IV 13 e di morte 14 VII 43; è quanto resta di Luz Long, uno dei 4.561 soldati tedeschi morti in Sicilia durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale e qui sepolti. Nell'ultima lettera all'amico Owens, Luz immaginando che il suo destino a presto si sarebbe compiuto, gli chiede di andare, a guerra finita, da suo figlio e dirgli chi è stato suo padre; l'amico Jesse farà quanto richiesto, anzi, andrà persino alle nozze di suo figlio.
Ed Owens che fine ha fatto….? … Jesse rientrato in patria non riceve dal suo Paese il rispetto che merita dopo aver vinto ben 4 medaglie d'oro (!), sono i tempi in cui le persone di colore vengono considerate dai bianchi di “serie B” (!); addirittura, sebbene con un solo cenno, il Führer saluterà Owens dopo le sue vittorie (lo dichiara lo stesso Owens), mentre il presidente americano Franklin Delano Roosvelt mostra un comportamento inqualificabile, non si degna di accoglierlo alla Casa Bianca, lui che è il vincitore olimpico, come invece prevede la tradizione (!). Tornato negli Stati Uniti, Jesse deve adattarsi a fare i lavori più umili e disparati, fa anche il garzone in una pompa di benzina. Per guadagnarsi da vivere gareggia contro cavalli, cani e motociclette, come fenomeno da baraccone; passeranno molti anni prima che gli venga riconosciuto il suo reale valore; egli ebbe a dire parlando di Luz Long «si potrebbero fondere tutte le medaglie che ho vinto, ma non si potrebbe mai riprodurre l’ amicizia a 24 carati che nacque sulla pedana di Berlino».
Post Scriptum:
Long non condivideva gli obiettivi e l'ideologia nazisti, lui era in completa antitesi con esse, essendo dotato di grande sensibilità e profonda nobiltà d’animo, lui era lontanissimo dal credo fanatico e crudele della Germania di Hitler, lo dimostrano le parole che egli scrisse nel 1932 in una lettera inviata a sua nonna: “tutte le nazioni del mondo hanno i propri eroi, i semiti così come gli ariani. Ognuna di loro dovrebbe abbandonare l’arroganza di sentirsi una razza superiore".
Sulla sua lapide (così come su altre), al di sotto della quale riposano i suoi resti chiusi dentro una cassetta, accanto al suo nome è posta oggi qualche piccola pietra, sono dei piccoli simboli, che ricordano l’usanza ebraica di lasciare, al posto dei fiori, un ciottolo sulle tombe dei defunti, per dimostrare che la sua storia non è stata dimenticata, è un messaggio di pace e di fratellanza del quale Luz è stato promotore in vita, il suo pensiero ci giunge anche attraverso il suo luogo di sepoltura, perché, come riporta la targa posta all’entrata del cimitero militare germanico di Motta Sant’Anastasia “i sepolcri dei caduti sono i grandi predicatori della pace” (Albert Schweitzer, premio Nobel per la pace).
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Jesse Owens e Luz Long, un'amicizia più forte della guerra
La Grande Storia CampioniJESSE OWENS LUZ LONG mp4
Greatest Olympic Moment Gone with the Winds
Luz Long a Motta Sant'Anastasia (CT), TG1, cimitero dei tedeschi, Jesse Owens e Adolf Hitler
Jesse Owens e Luz Long, quando Berlino '36 diventò fratellanza
FEDERICO BUFFA RACCONTA JESSE OWENS BERLINO 1936
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Race Movie CLIP - Sportsmanship (2016) - Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis Movie HD
Race extrait 2 beers with Luz Long
Race Movie 2016 100m Sprint 1936 Berlin Olympics
Race - Il colore della vittoria - Trailer italiano ufficiale [HD]
Race Movie CLIP - I See It Coach (2016) - Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis Movie HD
| RACE || MOVIE FIRST SCENE BETWEEN JESSE OWENS AND HIS COACH
Race Movie CLIP - Do You Want to Win? (2016) - Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis Movie HD
A Motivational Video - Race hollywood movie scene | Motivational Video for students | Dreams
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or…. press L to enlarge;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
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www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. press L to enlarge;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi L per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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This summer 2021 was hit by a very strong heat wave, it was called Lucifer, an African subtropical anticyclone, with temperatures in southern Italy that reached very high values, in some centers temperatures of 47 ° C were recorded and more (the European record was recorded in Syracuse with + 48.8 ° C): due to the great heat, the African subtropical anticyclone was given the name of "Lucifer", but we are sure that the Great Poet Dante Alighieri, father of Italian language, and today is the 700th year from the date of his death, is it okay to have chosen the name of Lucifer for this incredible heat wave ??! ... Lucifer was the most beautiful and luminous angel of creation, rebelled against God out of pride and envy in league with other rebel angels, he was defeated by the Archangel Michael, fell down from heaven until he reached the center of the earth, transforming himself into a hideous monster and causing the funnel-shaped chasm that will become the seat of Hell; Dante describes Lucifer in Canto XXXIV of Hell of the Divine Comedy, he (and this was what I wanted to arrive at) is stuck from the waist down "in the ice" ..! ... in fact the King of Hell is in a frozen lake fed by the Cocito river, and even the damned who are in that place are immersed in the ice ..! ... Dante and Virgil will use the body of Lucifer as if it were a ladder climbing high clinging to it, Dante and Virgil will thus walk a path hidden and will finally go out into the open air "to see the stars again".
All the photos I present were taken on the beaches of Taormina and its surroundings (Sicily-Italy); I made photos related to "beach photography" (a genre similar to "street photography");
... I photographed young and old people ... with a great desire for the sea and a great desire to dive into the sea to swim (even if the sea water is still a little cold now ...); I made some photo-portraits of people I didn't know, I thank them very much for their sympathy and their availability; I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking along the beaches ... in search of fleeting moments ...
I used a particular photographic technique for some photographs at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production
Questa estate 2021 è stata colta da un'ondata di caldo molto forte, è stata chiamata Lucifero, causa di ciò un anticiclone subtropicale africano, con temperature nel meridione d’Italia che hanno toccato valori molto alti, in alcuni centri si sono registrate temperature di 47°C e più (a Siracusa è stato registrato il record europeo con +48.8°C): per via del grande caldo all’anticiclone subtropicale africano è stato dato il nome di “Lucifero”, ma siamo sicuri che il grandissimo Poeta Dante Alighieri, padre della Lingua Italiana, ed oggi ricorre il 700° anno dalla data della sua morte, sia d'accordo con l’aver scelto il nome di Lucifero per questa incredibile ondata di caldo??!...Lucifero era l’angelo più bello e luminoso del Creato, ribellatosi a Dio per superbia ed invidia in combutta con altri angeli ribelli, fu sconfitto dall’arcangelo Michele, precipitò giù dal cielo fino a raggiungere il centro della terra, trasformandosi in un mostro orrendo e causando la voragine a forma di imbuto che diventerà sede dell’Inferno; Dante descrive Lucifero nel Canto XXXIV dell'Inferno della Divina Commedia, egli (ed era a questo che desideravo arrivare) è conficcato dalla cintola in giù “nel ghiaccio”..!...infatti il Re dell’Inferno si trova in un lago ghiacciato alimentato dal fiume Cocito, ed anche i dannati che si trovano in quel luogo sono immersi nel ghiaccio..!...Dante e Virgilio useranno il corpo di Lucifero come se fosse una scala salendo in alto aggrappati ad esso, Dante e Virgilio percorreranno così un sentiero nascosto ed usciranno all’aria aperta finalmente «a riveder le stelle».
Tutte le foto che presento sono state realizzate sulle spiagge di Taormina e dintorni (Sicilia-Italia); ho realizzato foto riconducibili alla “beach photography” (un genere affine alla “street photography”);
ho fotografato persone giovani e meno giovani…con tanta voglia di mare e tanta voglia di immergersi in mare per fare qualche nuotata (anche se l’acqua del mare adesso è ancora un po’ fredda…); ho realizzato dei foto-ritratti di persone che non conoscevo, le ringrazio veramente tanto per la loro simpatia e la loro disponibilità; ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per sulle spiagge... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...
Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.
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Non è un paese per giovani Trailer - il nuovo film di Giovanni Veronesi
Non è un paese per giovani | tutte le clip e trailer compilation
Non è un paese per giovani - I consigli di Nino Frassica
Non è un paese per giovani - Il pescatore
Non è un paese per giovani - Sandro, Luciano e Nora
Non è un paese per giovani - intervista a Rubini, Serraiocco e Scicchitano
Non è un paese per giovani Soundtrack list
Non è un paese per giovani - Clip: "L'aiuto di un padre"
Non è un paese per giovani - Il Backstage
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This photograph has been commended in the 2016 Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition "Small World" category and is published in the book. The book was released yesterday.
huge congratulations to Stian Nesoy, the overall winner.
Excerpt from the plaque:
Given that the Chan Ancestral Hall on the central axis has three halls, the cluster of buildings came to be known as “Sam Tung Uk”, which literally means “a building with three ridge purlins”, with tung being the ridge of a hall. The Middle Hall was used for the gatherings of the Chan clan. A pair of screen doors helps avoid direct sight from the ancestral altar in the rear of the hall. Suspended above the screen doors is a plaque inscribed with the Chinese characters for “Greatly Respected Patriarch” (replica), which was bestowed by the Qing court on Chan Kin-sheung, to commend him for his good moral virtue and contributions to the area.