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Countless images have been from around this location over a number of years , the odd shaped structure in the background to the left is from the old Rotunda bar which has been present in many of those shots taken on West Stewart Street in Greenock. Not the best or most scenic backdrop but one that's been familiar to me for a good few decades . Short lived in the state as shown , it entered service on the 38s on the 7th July with silver painted wheels and fleet numbers attached.
I will forever be humbled by the countless sea stacks that stand the test of time on the Pacific Coast. With a constant crashing, pounding, and the relentless ocean dynamic, they remain standing for centuries upon centuries. I visited these stacks two mornings in a row, and had the location to myself for both shoots. I don't get over to the coast that often, so it was a real treat to be able to spend a couple mornings with these two old friends, the sea stacks at Garrapata State Park.
For this photograph, I chose to shoot a single shot for the waves, rocks and sky, but also shot another image focused on the foreground rocks to get more definition. This is always tricky business, as it also slightly changes the focal length, but I felt that this shot would be a relatively easy blend and it would benefit from having sharper rocks in the foreground... as the take up a good 1/3 of the shot.
The glow from the rising sun was brilliant, and I was able to witness a couple of rainbows behind these rocks as well. The power of the surf at this beach demands respect.
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @73mm
0.3 second exposure @ F16
Lee ND soft grad .75 + .9 filters
ISO 160
+ one shot focused on foreground
{Marie Laveau}
There are countless stories about the power of Marie Laveau as a voodoo queen, sorceress, healer, and psychic, but none of these are documented historically. Voodoo, brought to New Orleans by African slaves and immigrants from Santo Domingo and Haiti, has been practiced since the 1700s. Even today some people have voodoo altars in their homes and participate in voodoo rituals.
In time the name of Marie Laveau became distorted. Mothers threatened their children that she would put a curse on those who didn't behave. She was thought of as an evil witch, capable of causing unimaginable trouble. But there are also reports of her as a nurse. Others mention that small children went to her home every Saturday morning for the brown sugar sticks she would hand out.
{Legba}
As "Master of Crossroads" Legba is the god of every parting of the way--a favorite haunt of evil spirits and propitious to magic devices; and it is at crossroads that he receives the homage of sorcerers and presides over their incantations and spells. Because of his politeness and caring nature he is greeted as Papa Legba. He is a much loved loa.
The interpreter to the gods can deliver the messages of the gods in human language and interpret their will. He is the god of destiny, honored first at every ceremony, receiving first offerings. He is represented by a wooden or iron phallus mounted in a little mound of earth in front of every house. Legba is also known to hold the "key of the spiritual world".
Photographer: Giselle Chauveau
Special Thanks To Kaleidos Hope for the awesome serpent ♥
Poem.
Sandy paths worn by countless feet
mark the course of visitors and Pilgrims
to this sanctuary church, at the summit of this Wealden hill.
Beach-like sand weaving through mixed forest
makes for a gentle, shaded climb to, perhaps,
the most heaven-ward church in Surrey, at 525 feet.
A spider’s web of paths traverse
this wooded landscape to the North Downs
and other Greensand hills like
Pitch, Holmbury, Hascombe and Leith Hills.
But the church, perched on a hill,
has special views, very special.
Germany, Hamburg, “Speicherstadt” the historic Warehouses City harbour area built in 1883 at Hamburg’s over 825 Years old Harbour, Europe’s 3rd larges & the world’s 8th largest port. The major part lays under protection of historic buildings & monuments.
The “Kehrwiederfleet“, one of the waterways in the warehouse complex, is faced by modern offices & traders brick buildings, motor longboats are cruising the “Fleets” with tourist.
Most of this historic area host today offices, museums & tourist attractions, such as the “Hamburg Dungeon” next to the “Miniature Wonderland„ which is the largest model railway in the world & the most popular permanent exhibitions Germany. Connected to the “Speicherstadt” the new “Harbour City” with the impressive 136 mtr high Elb-Philharmonic, luxury apartments, bistros, cafés, restaurants, shops etc.
👉 One World one Dream,
...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
9 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
Countless Alco switchers were rebuilt with Caterpillar or Cummins engines, and sold to small mine operations throughout Appalachia. Most had their cabs removed or sealed shut, and operated by remote control, or from a utilitarian control stand. They were known generically as “bug slugs”, in deference to having a Caterpillar engine.
From what I have been able to piece together, at least two were built for the Kentucky-Ohio Transportation Company of South Shore, Kentucky. They were built by Johnson Railway Services of Taylorsville, North Carolina in 1980. The rebuilt units had a control stand on the steps, as is evidenced by the “phone booth on the former cab end steps. Somehow, this unit ended up in Baltimore, Maryland, by 1985.
I spent a lot of time at Washington Grove over the years...countless hours spent by the tracks in all kinds of weather, and at all hours.
Some very fond memories of time spent with Papa, and friends, and others. And just like I always dreamed about as a kid, I also spent time here while in the right-hand seat of something.
Once, I stopped my Q415 here to pick up a care package from my grandparents. My conductor couldn't believe what was happening, but his tune quickly changed once we broke into the Tupperware filled with grandma's cookies.
About a dozen years ago, Papa was standing on this very platform, holding up a train-order hoop clipped with a change of clothes; mine were soaked from an early morning storm that got me doused while switching at Derwood.
When I was a kid, I waved to engineer CE Banks on Saturday mornings as he ran the D765 west. He was going slow enough he could yell a greeting out the window to us, always with a big wave and smile. Years later, I was his regular conductor on that very same job, enjoying the view from the cab of my old stomping grounds.
I once spotted a guy with his son watching us roll through one afternoon. After work, I drove to Washington Grove and gave them my timetable and all of my rulebooks. A decade later, I brought my future wife to this place to show her the "Grove". There was the same father and son from years prior who I had given the rulebooks to. They were spending a final parting afternoon at Washington Grove before the kid went off to college.
My parents came to watch me bring my first eastbound loaded coal train through as an engineer.
Papa would get a heads-up any time I was to come through during a reasonable hour, and while he could still drive, made it a point to come to the Grove and wave to us.
I spent some late nights here too, pondering life's meaning. And although I don't live around the corner anymore, my mind still lingers in this place.
My mind still longs for the way things used to be as I grieve through the loss of my grandfather, the man who gave me so many things. He is with me every time I visit.
Speaking of the way things used to be, this is train M407-08, but we all really know it's Q400 or Q416 depending on how you want to split hairs over the blocks.
It's still a beautiful place to be, no matter what the train symbol is.
The "Jardin des Yak’s" is a private garden (22 ares), furnished with countless varieties of flowers and shrubs, small ponds and fountains, and a varied and original decoration.
The name "Jardin des Yak’s" (Yak's Garden) was given because of a very important collection of Yakushimanum Rhododendrons.
Normally closed to the public, once a year the owner organizes a open day, for interested amateurs.
Countless photographs have been taken of this site, but I can't help but share this beautifuly intriguing spot. - Mexico.
Countless stone fences crisscross Inisheer in the Aran Islands of Ireland. Many of the fields have no visible gate but there will be a place where the farmer can take down a segment of stones, put a cow in to graze, and put the stones back up. Very efficient and actually quite fast, too. The Aran Islands have thousands of miles of fences like these, and are famous for the soil in their fields, largely manmade by hauling seaweed up from the shores.
©Jim Richardson All rights reserved. You can see more of my photography at: www.jimrichardsonphotography.com
In the middle of the countless stars, I hope I can meet you...
in the end, it can't just be a coincidence...
The miracle's Sailor Moon!'
Moonlight Densetsu (Korean Version)
How can I commemorate the Crystal Heart event without at least one iconic Sailor Scouts picture? Sailor Jupiter was always my favorite, so I decided to pick her! Panda in the middle as a more alternative pink version of Moon and our friend Mira as Mars! And because I don't remember growing up watching Sailor Moon in high definition, I wanted to do an old VHS style picture just to change things up a bit!
As before, all the items can be found at Crystal Heart! Our outfits are from Sweet Thing, boots are from Phedora, gloves are from the Curless set, the backdrop is from CMYK, and our wands are from Saille/Body Language's gacha machine! The bonus flying bunny guardian is from Half-deer! If there was anything else you'd like to inquire about, please let me know below!
After countless hours manually opening and closing the Pop-Up Book to show people how it works, I finally designed a motorized stand to automatically do it for me.
Video: youtu.be/okYCgNjWW4o
Countless shops of cheap and quality food are one of the attractions for the tourists round the year. This photograph was taken in front of such a shop.
There are countless thousands of miles of these walls all over Northern England; I've seen an estimate of 100,000 miles in the country overall, and the criss-crossed pattern they impose over gently rolling hills is one of the most picturesque impressions of the region.
They are called "dry" because they have no mortar or other agent to bond the stones together. Their construction has to be very precise and is also extremely laborious. In the rugged Lake District, it is particularly striking to see them cross a valley and then head impossibly far up and over a mountain before dissappearing out of sight.
I think most were originally constructed hundreds of years ago when labor input calculations were very different. For the most part newer fences appear to be done in barbed wire, which requires relatively little work to roll out. Even maintaining the stone walls must require considerable effort. In the relatively depopulated areas of the high fells they are often partially collapsed, and in many places one often sees an old partially-crumbling dry stone wall topped with barbed wire as a means to keep it functioning without constant maintenance. However, we did actually meet a fellow hiker who still built dry stone walls for a living. He also told us that he lived in a 15th century house, which I thought had a certain symmetry. Dry stone wall on the Coast to Coast Walk near Patterdale, Cumbria, England.
Hair : Dura-B110
Earring L : QUIXE Dandy Earring
Earring R : QUIXE Lyvs Earring
Top : Mug Men Brad Jerkey
Bottom : Mug Men Brad Jeans
This Picture was taken at maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Violentia/184/123/28
Viewing the visitors on one of the countless mesas and buttes, in this area of Canyonlands National Park, it is easy to understand how this part of the park was named Islands in the Sky.
The canyons, mesas and butts were formed by the erosion of the colorful Colorado Plateau by the Colorado and Green Rivers. The park covers more than 300,000 acres and seems much less crowded (at least during the summer when it is hot) than other national parks. Utah Juniper and Pinyon Pines grow throughout the park with evidence of past lives frequently seen. Arches National Park is also located near Moab. The La Sal Mountains are seen in the distance.
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 at 35 mm
f/13 ISO 100
Five capture HDR
July 25, 2016
Though countless people love her work, I'm still her number one fan! Cheers DEB GIRNIUS! If the Polaroids could only sing!
Often overlooked despite their countless benefits, ladybirds are true friends of farmers — nature’s gentle allies in keeping the balance of life. Yet in recent years, these colourful beetles have faced increasing challenges due to the climate crisis. Rising temperatures, habitat loss, and shifting seasonal cycles affect their survival and hibernation.
In the United Kingdom, the Seven-Spotted Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) remains one of the most widespread native species, thriving in gardens, meadows, and farmlands across Britain. But warmer winters and competition from invasive species such as the Harlequin Ladybird are slowly reshaping their presence.
This morning, while clearing dry maple leaves in our small backyard, I noticed one slowly making its way across a white geranium flower. I captured this close-up with my 105mm Nikon macro lens while it was still in motion — a fleeting pose that caught my eye.
A small reminder of nature’s resilience and fragility. I hope you enjoy it.
Britain’s Ladybirds — Distribution and Notes
In the United Kingdom, there are around 46 recorded species of ladybirds, though the most familiar and widespread is the Seven-Spotted Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata).
It is commonly found across England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, inhabiting gardens, meadows, hedgerows, parks, and farmlands.
They are active from spring through late autumn, feeding mainly on aphids and small insects — making them invaluable allies for farmers and gardeners. As temperatures drop, they seek shelter in tree bark crevices, leaf litter, or even inside houses to hibernate through winter.
However, climate change has begun to alter their patterns: warmer winters can disrupt hibernation, while shifting seasons and habitat loss affect their population balance and open the way for invasive species such as the Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), which competes for food and shelter.
I hope you'll enjoy the my images as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Thank you so much for visiting my stream, whether you comments , favorites or just have a look.
I appreciate it very much, wishing the best of luck and good light.
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One of countless Z trains slither upgrade through the curves of Riordian on a typical southwest winter day. Now a mere month later, it's 60F in Flagstaff, and there is no snow in this area save for the Snowbowl Ski Resort up in the San Francisco Peaks. We are going to be in for another long, hot summer up here.
Here in the Orion Nebula, countless newborn stars are soaking up the surrounding clouds of gas and debris to become grown-up stars that may one day coalesce solar systems like ours.
Speaking of stars, today marks the beginning of my 36th trip around our own star. I don't know, 36 years ago, if my own nursery was stellar or not but I do know my parents were stellar people, just trying to do what they thought was best in their own Journey around the sun. It wasn't perfect but I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything.
During the good-times you learn trust and experience Joy. During the bad stuff you gain independence and build mental strength.
Kinda like the elementary particles colliding in the cosmic crucible pictured here. :)
Space is freaking awesome.
This is a long exposure I took overlooking Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks on a clear autumnal night. I quite like how the light pollution in the distance painted the lake and the sky.
Countless tags and lifetime vows are carved into the abundant growths of bamboo within the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens.
Mt Chephern in Banff Park has been photographed by me and countless others countless times. It's a classic mountain. I had seen an image of the mountain taken from a position that I was not familiar with, so I decided to explore the area. I had searched various locations previously, slogging through swamps and dense brush without success as I searched for the perfect location. I should point out that I enjoy slogging through difficult terrain, or at least that is what I tell myself.
In August of 2015 I arrived at this spot. And with wet feet. It was a rather unpleasant day, with the air filled with smoke from forest fires in British Columbia, combined with a periodic spitting drizzle, added to the general level of comfort.
On arriving home, I discovered that the white balance on my camera was incorrectly set. I fooled around with some of the images but then just gave up. I'm more comfortable with the computer now, so I reset the white balance on the raw files. The above is a panorama assembled from 4 HDR panels taken in portrait format, followed by the usual post-mage capture fiddling.
I must return to this location.
In the countless years I've visited Moab, Utah this particular shop has never been open. If one peers into the darkness inside, remnants of a once eclectic store sit on dusty and crowded shelves. These sparkling jewels and crystals hang visible in the windows drawing my attention and I stop to see if anything has changed. It never does. I think about the shop owner.
Horace Pippin (1888-1946) was, by any measure, a disadvantaged man.
His grandparents were slaves. Like countless other blacks of his generation, he was poor and poorly educated. He left school in the third grade. In battle during World War I he lost the use of his right arm. Occasionally he drank. When he worked he held the most menial of jobs, junk gatherer, warehouse man, hotel porter. Later he delivered laundry that his wife took in.
Nothing in his biography explains how he became an extraordinary painter. No one gave him lessons or showed him the old masters. He said he "came to art the hard way." He taught it to himself.
Pippin's gifts were recognized at once. Between his first and second local shows, his pictures were "discovered," purchased or applauded by the artist N.C. Wyeth, the collector Albert Barnes (of the Barnes Collection), and by the Museum of Modern Art.
Pippin's art is magical. The beauty of his colors and the power of his pictures will be sensed at once by all who pay a visit to the Horace Pippin retrospective, which will be on view through March 27 at the Phillips Collection here.
Like other self-taught masters, like the poet William Blake, the Douanier Rousseau or his fellow Pennsylvanian the limner Edward Hicks (1780-1849), Pippin received visions. The pictures "come to me," he said. "I do over the picture several times in my mind and when I am ready to paint it I have all the details I need." Whether painting saints or landscapes, the war, Abe Lincoln or John Brown, Pippin's pictures demonstrate unshakeable conviction.
Because his forms are so robust, because his compositions are so daring, the painter Romare Bearden, who met Pippin only once, was astonished to hear Pippin say his paintings "were completely realistic . . . To him these images were not distortions, but perfectly literal translations of the literal world."
Such terms as "folk art," "popular," naive," seem somehow condescending when applied to the sophistications of Horace Pippin's art. Look, for instance, at his clouds, at his sunsets and his skies, or at the way his pattersn interlock and echo in the battle-blasted wall of "Shell Holes and Observation Balloon: Champagne Sector," a scene of the great war which the artist did from memory in 1931.
There are other splendid paintings here, the Whitney Museum's "Buffalo Hunt" of 1933, "West Chester Courthouse," of 1940. "The Amish Letter Writer," with its amazing interplay of diagonals and circles. "The Squirrel Hunter" of 1940, and "John Brown Going to His Hanging" of 1942.
Pippin's grandmother was a witness to that execution. While a crowd stares at the martyr in the Pennsylvania Academy's paiting, she turns her face away.
Look closely at that picture's colors, at how the red scarves of the white men accentuate the blue-and-white grid pattern of her dress. Two color systems operate in Pippin's finest pictures. One is based on small zones of brilliant hue, the other is an extraordinary subtle play of close-toned grays and blacks.
The grandmother's shawl and bonnet are painted in the grays of the clapboard wall behind her. "One can tell a true colorist by how he handles grays," writes the Phillips' James McLaughin. "By this standard Pippin shows himself a master colorist."
Pippin painted with difficulty. Because his arm was ruined, he had to support his right hand with his left when he used the brush. When new his pictures sold for $50 or $100.Some now cost as much as $50,000.
Commentary.
Lomond, Long, Fyne and countless other stretches of loch and sea-loch twist like a writhing serpent, unerringly, for the full length of Argyll.
At twenty, thirty and forty miles from the Atlantic swell,
harbours like Lochgilphead, Tayvallich, Crinan, Inveraray, and here at Arrochar nestle on calm shorelines between the intervening hills.
Before 05:30 on an inviting summer’s day the village lights still smear the waters as the dawn light grows.
Lingering clouds are yet to fully dissipate over the peaks as the warmth rises.
For now, the day is unwritten,
but for this peaceful scene.
Now silent, countless workers have poured through these turn styles at the Gautier Plant of the Cambria Iron Co. in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Read bout the Cambria Iron Co. here:
“To countless people the wilderness provides the ultimate delight because it combines the thrills of jeopardy and beauty. It is the last stand for that glorious adventure into the physically unknown that was commonplace in the lives of our ancestors and has always constituted a major factor in the happiness of many exploratory souls.” Robert Marshall
Countless exotic cars show up for bid at RM Sotheby Auctions, Monterey!
I'm going to rework this one from scratch. The colors and shading appear to be odd.
Countless photos of the San Francisco Bay Bridge have been taken from this location so of course that means I had to try something different.
on one of my countless trips walking back and forth from the apt. this past weekend, I noticed my first hummer buzzing by, so I quickly made up a batch of nectar and hung a feeder out for her.
It didn't take long for her to find it!
So the hummers are back on the farm. And so am I! 8-)
I slept my first night back in my own bed this past Sunday.
I can't tell you how wonderful it was to wake up in my own bedroom!!
Larry is still staying at the apt....he'll probably make the move over this coming weekend.
I still haven't moved my kitchen over yet....we still need to put the new counter and sink in at the house....so any food prep is still going on at the apt....not that there's much of that going on either....we've been going out to eat a lot!
But, slowly and surely my belongings are finding their way back home.
I hope I"ll be able to catch up with everyone soon. I miss my Flickr time, but I have to keep going here.......we have to get it all together and be ready to head off to Wildwood by Memorial Day! Time's flying!!
- Nikolai Gogol.
|| insta || blog || photostream ||
During our last visit to Death Valley National Park, I challenged myself to use only one lens - a 100-400mm telephoto lens at the Mesquite Flats dunes. I was secretly terrified about this plan since it was the first location on our itinerary, and I didn’t want to waste the morning. However, I kept telling myself I could return the next day if I messed up. This would mean sacrificing another location, and I am unsure if I would have done that. With few breaks from work these days, photography trips are rare, and it’s tough to take risks with the few times we actually managed to get out.
As I began to take photos, I quickly realized the benefits of using the telephoto lens. The eastern section of the dunes did not have many large dunes, but with the telephoto focal lengths, I could capture multiple layers in my frames, resulting in some fantastic shots. I was particularly pleased with the images that showed the contrast between light and shadows that morning.
What could be more romantic and inspiring than a place that looks like a backdrop for a fairy tale? The medieval overtones of Bruges' cobblestone streets lead to countless historical, architectural and artistic wonders. Marvel at ornate houses lining intricate canals, and understand why this is a favorite destination for all types of travelers. The whole city emanates an appreciation of the past, a love of the present, and enthusiasm for the future.
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country.
Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once the chief commercial city in the world.
Orion complex
Behind this recognizable constellation are countless objects and regions of interest, immense clouds of gas and dust keep behind them new generations of forming stars. Visible in the center of the image are the Flame and Horse's Head nebulae, on the right side within Orion's Sword are the Great M42 Nebula and the Running Man Nebula. The reddish color present in a large amount denotes the presence of ionized hydrogen whose emission is characteristic of these star-forming regions
Taken at bortle 2 skies at cochiguaz, Coquimbo, Chile
Gear and image:
81x3min 135mm f/2 ISO 1600 with the Canon 6D and Samyang 135 f/2
29x2min at 135mm f/2 ISO 1600 with the 7D Mark II and Samyang 135 f/2, process Pixinsight 1.8.9, Photoshop CC 2023 and Topaz Denoise
Composed with 2021 images of the Orion sword for extra detail of highlights
Mount Skywatcher Star adventurer
Im Stadel des Bauernhofs Neuwiesinger wurde für deren Gasthaus "Mohnwirt" ein zusätzlicher Gastraum eingerichtet, um alle Gäste unterbringen zu können. Die Wände des Stadels sind mit zahllosen Mohnmühlen in allen möglichen Farben dekoriert. Kurios !
In the barn of the Neuwiesinger farm, an additional guest room was set up for their "Mohnwirt" inn to accommodate all the guests. The walls of the barn are decorated with countless poppy mills in all kinds of colours. Curious !
One of countless rerouted trains due to this year's flooding is this H-KCKLAU1-15, which is taking the long way to Laurel, via the Emporia Sub. This is at Holliday, KS, which is where the Topeka Sub (at left) splits off from the Emporia Sub.
Just recently, countless people were sharing images like this all over the web. Illustrating an important message and encouraging the masses with a single photo. But since then things have changed drastically and that message seems to be old news.
So here's a photo and a message as a reminder. Yes, social distancing is still a thing, and yes it is still super important.
Image with my Hasselblad 500cm.
I have driven past Eilean Donan Castle countless times but can only think of a couple of times when I've stopped to take any photographs. I think it's because I've seen so many excellent photos of the castle that I didn't see the point of adding another to the list unless it was going to be equally brilliant. I had been living on Skye for four years before I took a single photo of the Old Man of Storr for similar reasons. Now I'm not claiming that either of these photos is brilliant. They are nice enough but not exceptional. However, we were in the area, had some time and I was keen to try out my new to me Leica M-P Typ 240, so here they are. Please note that the lenses recorded on the exif data are not correct. The ones I tag are the right ones.
Finally. After countless attempts, it worked and the fog was exactly where I wanted it to be: only the castle protrudes from it, the entire mountain cone remains hidden underneath. The whole thing happened very early, about three quarters of an hour before sunrise, the stars were just beginning to fade and the sky showed the very first light of the morning. After that, the fog sank significantly. The new goal now is to capture this situation, this height of fog at the peak of the dusk just before sunrise...
While I have countless photos from the famous south portal of the Portage Tunnel like this: flic.kr/p/2iCkzvL I have very few of the north.
And this is why....the ground level view was always just a bit too brushy for my liking. However, for whatever reason on this day I decided to give it a try and here is a going away shot of the southbound Glacier Discovery from Anchorage with GP40-2 3009 bringing up the rear. They are at about MP F6.8 on the Whittier Branch as they duck into the 5050 ft long Portage Tunnel. After they emerge from the other side they'll cross Bear Valley on less than a mile of track before plunging into 2 1/2 more miles of darkness beneath the mountains to tidewater at the head of Passage Canal on Prince William Sound. In the foreground are the silvery blue silt laden glacial waters of Portage Creek.
Portage Valley, Alaska
Monday August 24, 2015
Alfred 23 Harth’s artistic trajectory began in early childhood with an imaginative impulse that combined construction, performance, and visual play. As a boy he dreamt of becoming an architect, spending countless hours in his parents’ garden where he built small huts in ever-changing variations, a practice that anticipated both his restlessness for experimentation and his sense of structure as form-in-process. A decisive moment arrived in 1958, when his elder brother Dietrich—later to become a literature professor—took him to a Dada exhibition in Frankfurt am Main. Harth himself has described this encounter as his initiation into art. Among the works he saw, the piece titled The Navel—simply a black dot centered on a white sheet of paper—struck him with lasting force. Its stark minimalism revealed to him the intellectual tension between a textual title and the conceptual reduction of an artwork to pure gesture, a confrontation that laid bare the simultaneity of seriousness and play which would remain central to his understanding of the avant-garde.
Through the following years Harth’s ambitions in the arts deepened. At school he immersed himself in art courses, quickly mastering a variety of techniques and beginning to dramatize small situations in public and private settings, often appearing in phantasy costumes of his own invention. At the age of twelve his father gave him his first photo camera, which became an outlet for experimentation alongside a growing dedication to pencil drawings. These were often portraits of jazz musicians, figures whose biographies he devoured and whose artistic freedom served as inspiration. By the age of fifteen he turned to oil painting, marking a further expansion of his visual vocabulary. His family supported his emerging musical life as well. Having already played the clarinet for several years, he received his first tenor saxophone from his parents, the instrument that would become central to his later career.
The final years of school were formative in a concentrated sense. He moved to the Goethe Gymnasium, where he specialized in art studies within an advanced curriculum. This provided him not only with a technical foundation but also with a robust overview of international avant-garde movements, complemented by the thriving artistic exchange active in Frankfurt during the 1960s. Harth’s creativity spilled beyond the classroom: together with his friend Hubertus Gassner—who would later become director of the Hamburg Kunsthalle—he staged happenings and other art events. Harth founded the centrum freier cunst, an experimental initiative served as a platform for events ranging from concerts of his own free music ensemble Just Music to exhibitions of conceptual art and cross-disciplinary interventions. Simultaneously, he began producing short films and working with conceptual strategies that blurred traditional boundaries between art forms, while maintaining an intense parallel involvement in both music and school life.
After completing the Abitur in 1968, Harth initially enrolled at the Werkkunstschule Offenbach to study design, connecting his experiments in visual and spatial arts with the applied fields of form and communication. Yet the pull of pedagogy and the broader theoretical grounding offered by academia led him to switch to Goethe University, where he began training as an art teacher. Throughout this period, he never ceased his musical explorations, continuing to perform and to extend his personal synthesis of experimental art, music, and theory—a foundational blend that would define his multifaceted trajectory in the decades to come. Alfred Harth's focus on synästhetic creation was indeed a significant aspect of his artistic approach at that time. He was interested in exploring synaesthesia beyond traditional media like TV, film, or theater, aiming to realize multisensory or synästhetic works that integrated sound, visual elements, and space in novel ways. This approach reflected his broader interest in breaking conventional boundaries of artistic disciplines and engaging the audience in immersive, multi-layered experiences that could not be confined to a single medium or format.