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Installation entitled Ángulos del Vacio, "Vacuum angles", which was exhibited at the CCCC. Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània de Valencia. It is composed of 16 iron elements with fluorescent green paint / Mirrors different sizes / DM boards and fluorescent black light tubes. The authors are Carolina Ferrer and Encarna Sepúlveda.
The entrance of the shopping centre "ES" in Esslingen.
The third photo of the mini-series, entitled "Courage for creative blurring" Taken with the "Pentacon 1.8/50" and a 0,45x super wide angel lens adapted on Sony E-mount
Simple G's excellent work entitled "Life Passengers" is located in the center of Athens, at 36 Kolokynthous Street.
Inspired by this year's theme of the festival The Little Paris of Athens 2022 "In 1922, a pillar of today", the artist captures in the central face of the mural, the anxiety that exists for the new journey of life, the sorrow for what he left behind, while figures pass in front of him who may have the same fate. The passengers next to him are clearly devastated, like any person who is uprooted from his place.
I posted a picture entitled "Prince of the Forest" and a few of you said well if he was the prince what does the king look like. Here you go. This is a massive grizzly. I think they said he was in his 20's. He was courting the queen of the forest the infamous Grand Teton grizzly 399. Just to be clear as far as I know these two are not related but who really knows.
The Milky Way and the Constellation Scorpius rise over an Undisclosed Location.
Elitist or Entitled? which am I? I’m not sure where I fall…Hum let me see what the dictionary says:
Entitled- Definition….believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.
"his pompous, entitled attitude"
Elitist- Definition……..demonstrating a superior attitude or behavior associated with an elite.
"some that say he is a spoiled, elitist snob"
Neither sounds like a camp that I’d want to be in.
The motives for withholding locations are far ranging from “save the location”, to “save the animals” to “save the unprepared from themselves” undisclosed locations…….secret places, are we elitists or are we entitled? Those that cherish the outdoors have seen the ramifications of location over saturation, and they “are” concerned. Of course, it’s because these are the most beautiful places on Earth and they would like to see that future generations can enjoy them as well. Doesn’t sound bad to me? The problem than lies within the human spirit, the spirit to set out and seek what’s out there, to see and feel and smell it with our own senses and take in the scene in all it’s natural glory. If your an inhabitant of this planet than it’s you’re right to see it, of course it is!! The real problem is the person that just purchased a camera and has never been outside the city in his or her life, do i want to give out a location that I shot in the backcountry of the Grand Tetons? If I want to eliminate them than Yes, they would be grizzly scat by morning. But If I’m concerned for their safety or the preservation of the location than NO. How am I to decide who gets a location or not, by deciding am I than elitist? Man and his devices have traveled into the far reaches of this galaxy and beyond and found no solid evidence of life, and the fact that we have been on this planet for just the blink of an eye makes me think that this planet is a gift more than it is a privilege.
IMHO, This planet belongs to every human being but it is a gift and not a privilege!!! does that makes me elitist or just concerned? If you have no outdoor experience than please prepare yourself to see it safely and responsibly. :-)
For more information on how to prepare and behave in the wilds see the link below.
For more information about the LLL technique(LowLevelLighting) you can visit
Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my photos, I am always thankful for your views, comments, faves, and support, they are greatly appreciated!! Have a great day my friends!! :)
Always Respect Mother Nature And Your Fellow Man, So:
****TreadLightly>LeaveNoTrace> PackItIn/PackItOut****
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Copyright 2018©Eric Gail
The fifth photo of the mini-series, entitled "Courage for creative blurring" Taken with the "Pentacon 1.8/50" and a 0,45x super wide angel lens adapted on Sony E-mount
An art installation entitled 'spectra' by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda lights up the night sky as part of 'Lights Out', to commemorate the centenary of Britain's involvement in the First World War.
Spectra is a beam of light generated by 49 searchlights installed in a 20-metre grid at Victoria Tower Gardens. On Monday, 4 August, the centenary of the start of the First World War, it appeared at dusk, unnanounced, for Londoners and the South East to see in the skies.
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Client shot, entitled "Maggie May" only because it reminded me of the Rod Stewart Song of the same name :) Client is Ella, whom I have shot a few times.
Even the crows are entitled to some celebrity in Tofino. Actually, I really like the way they looked against the green background of the forest and I felt that the tree canopy was filtering just enough light to highlight their beautiful dark plumage. They are extremely curious, and a few of these guys welcomed us in the parking lot of the place where we were staying. Every time we would go somewhere, they would show up while we were loading the vehicle and looking for opportunities. The cleaning services are using small golf carts to carry their equipment and the supplies for the cottage we were renting. As soon as the staff would enter one of the unit, the crow would make an attempt to steal a biscuit or something else from the cart... they are so smart and interesting to watch.
Posing for the camera, this is the same cow as seen in the previous picture entitled 'Horny'. Shot taken close to the Howwood Trout Fishery, just south of Howwood.
©Scott Foy
Orange and red variegated tulips. An army of them.
Photographed on Monday afternoon, 5th October, 2020.
At the Everglades Gardens. Everglades Avenue, Leura.
Blue Mountains. 90 minutes drive west of Sydney.
This is a re-edited version of the image I previously posted on Flickr in 2020, entitled 'Golden Years'.
My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lens.
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and PhotoPad pro by NCH software
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The sculpture, entitled Egg – The Unity of Diversity, is a stunning, three-dimensional art piece that you can walk through! As you explore the inside you’ll find a colorful collection of two-dimensional cut-outs and three-dimensional relief sculptures – all celebrating the diversity of life on earth. Photo taken at the Calgary Zoo. Artist: Brower Hatcher
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. It is located in the wider Temple area of London, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London. As a liberty, it functions largely as an independent local government authority.
Construction of Middle Temple Hall began in 1562 and was completed in the early 1570s. Its hammerbeam roof has been said to be the best in London. Queen Elizabeth I visited the hall in 1578, unannounced, to inspect the new building and listen to a debate between barristers. This is the earliest known visit of a reigning monarch to an Inn of Court. One of the tables at the end of the hall is traditionally said to have been made from the timbers of the Golden Hinde, the ship used by Sir Francis Drake to circumnavigate the world. Above the table is a massive painting of King Charles I thought to be a copy by Peter Lely of the original by Anthony van Dyck, and also portraits of Charles II, James II, William III, Elizabeth I, Queen Anne and George I. On the walls are panels bearing the coats of arms of Readers (senior members) dating back to 1597.
The first recorded performance of Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night occurred in the hall on 2 February 1602. Shakespeare himself was probably present.
The hall survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was damaged by bombing in the Second World War.
Middle Temple Hall is at the heart of the Inn, and the Inn's student members are required to attend a minimum of 10 qualifying sessions, 6 of which must be attended in person at the Inn. Qualifying sessions, formerly known as "dinners", combine collegiate and educational elements and will usually combine a dinner or reception with lectures, debates, mooting, or musical performances.
Middle Temple Hall is also a popular venue for banqueting, weddings, receptions and parties. In recent years, it has become a much-used film location—the cobbled streets, historic buildings and gas lighting give it a unique atmosphere.
Entitled by Rich Levine
My Deep Biophilia
Our secret language
Project "The Traveler"
"The Traveler" Photo Book/Store
www.blurb.com/b/6600290-the-traveler-skin-soul
Instagram Projects:
www.instagram.com/skin_soul_projects/
FB.
Entitled By: Rich Levine
My Deep Biophilia
Our secret language
Project "The Traveler"
"The Traveler" Photo Book/Store
www.blurb.com/b/6600290-the-traveler-skin-soul
Instagram Projects:
www.instagram.com/skin_soul_projects/
FB.
As I've entitled this, this is the Highway 14 Bridges at Cass Street, as taken from Riverside Park, located in downtown La Crosse. The bridges may have another name they go by, I don't know. I've taken several pictures of this through the years; I just thought it was time to upload one of them! This is the Mississippi River that it spans over, and this is actually the dividing line between Wisconsin and Minnesota. Hope you all enjoy!
The Highway 14 Bridges at Cass Street
La Crosse, Wisconsin
070725
© Copyright 2025 MEA Images, Merle E. Arbeen, All Rights Reserved. If you would like a copy of this, please feel free to contact me through my FlickrMail, Facebook, or Yahoo email account. Thank you.
***************
This photograph has achieved the following highest awards:
DSLR Autofocus, Hall of Fame (5)
Build Your Rainbow, L6, LIGHT BLUE
Entitled by Rich Levine
My Deep Biophilia
Our secret language
Project "The Traveler"
"The Traveler" Photo Book/Store
www.blurb.com/b/6600290-the-traveler-skin-soul
Instagram Projects:
www.instagram.com/skin_soul_projects/
FB.
Entitled by Rich Levine
The boy who wanted to learn to use the wings.
But their roots would not let him fly.
The boy knows that flying has a sweet scent of freedom,
and if he be taken over by is roots he dies and leaves a fruit tree.
My Deep Biophilia
Our secret language
Project "The Traveler"
"The Traveler" Photo Book/Store
www.blurb.com/b/6600290-the-traveler-skin-soul
Instagram Projects:
www.instagram.com/skin_soul_projects/
FB.
Perhaps I should entitle this, "pseudo-winter". Since we have no snow, the closest thing I can find to winter is the ice that forms around the local waterfalls. Which has now disappeared because we have had mild spring weather this week
I had entitled this shot "Do you have a flag?" in reference to the Eddie Izzard bit, but it seemed less appropriate and/or overly esoteric.
I recently finished a book entitled "A Life Wild and Perilous." The book chronicled the lives and times of the mountain men who blazed the trails that enabled the opening of the American West for settlement. These dudes possessed major wilderness survival skills and could track a ghost through a blizzard. I found it all quite inspirational, and decided to give my own tracking skills a go. I found some tracks in the woods and followed them. It was actually pretty easy. Go figure.
Nevada County CA
This statue in red stone, entitled "La Méditerranée", by the Marseille based sculpter Louis Botinelly (1883 - 1962) can be found on a building in the Panier district (2nd arrondissement) of Marseille on the corner of Rue Henri Tasso and Avenue Saint-Jean.
The inscription on the platform below the sculpture "Et sur les flots d'azur, Phocée jeta à nouveau ses nefs" refers to the founding of Marseille by Phoenician merchants in 600 BC.
This work is entitled ‘’Hermes exits Sliema’ by SeaPuppy and is on the wall at the base of the promenade at Qui si Sana, Sliema, Malta.
The following is an extract from the artists webpage…..
My name is Christian de Souza Jensen, otherwise known as "SeaPuppy". I've been doodling & painting since I was very young.
I originally studied Classical animation & fine Arts and eventually graduated from Ballyfermot College of Further Education (B.C.F.E.) in Dublin, Ireland.
I currently reside on the Island of Malta, Europe.
This project entitled Pigment was created using 3 models, 2 female and 1 male model. With the female models, pigment powder was sprayed into their hair which they then whipped backwards, creating this 'swirl' of pigment, and using a black background the color really pops.
The background was created by covering the white wall with black crate paper. For lighting I used two speed-lights and a reflector to light everything.
The famous cafe entitled with the name of Pierre Loti, a famous French writer, is reached on getting to this ridge on which the perfect view of Golden Horn can be watched.
The real name of Pierre Loti, who lived in Istanbul for long years and was a real Istanbul lover, was Julien Viaud.The historical cafe is the most ideal place to watch this mentioned view.
It is said that, in those years Pierre Loti used to come this cafe often, named as “Rabia Kadın Kahvesi” in those years, and write his novel “Aziyade” overlooking Golden Horn.Today, this district, still kept as an original Turkish settlement by being restorated, consists of many spaces serving as a tourist facility.The district is also mentioned in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname ( travel book) as “Idris Köşkü Mesiresi”. There are many historical artifacts and building in Pierre Loti, commonly visited by tourists and travelers who come to Istanbul in 19th century. Double-epigraphed, wooden “Kaşgari Tekkesi”, dated 1813 and located on the way from the tourist facility to Eyüp Mosque, is one of these structures.Another important Persian-epigraphed building, at the right corner of the service area and located at a trivium, is “Çolak Şeyh Hasan Türbesi.” A part of this building is çilehane(çilehane is a place in which a dervish undergoes and suffers to strength his patience.) and Çolak Hasan Dede’s grave is here too.The historical building, on the same way with “Çolak Şeyh Hasan Tekkesi”, is “Sıbyan Mektebi” or a nursery school in today’s context. (Today, that school is used as a prayer room that belongs to the service area.)The grave of a whirling dervish called “Iskender Dede”, passed away in 1589,takes place in Pierre Loti Tourist Facility located forefront Sıbyan Mektebi that was built by Ottoman history writer İdris-i Bitlisi.One of the two water wells infront of Iskender Dede is the famous “Dilek Kuyusu” (a water well for wishes) Evliya Çelebi writes about this water well in his Seyahatname and says: the people who look in to the well, can see their own wishes they keep in their hearts. There is also a drinking fountain next to the frontage of Sıbyan Mektebi.In addition, a cistern, supposed to be built in Byzantine period, survives in the middle of the garden area in the tourist facility.
Mural entitled "Imagine" by Stefano aka @stefanoalcantaraart, seen at 371 NE 12th Street in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Top to Bottom
Hair: Exile - Gemma (The Fifty)
Head: Genus Project - Baby Face W002
Skin: Eudora Beauty - Kayla
Brows: Simple Bloom - ShieldsHunter
Lashes: Michan - Lala
Eyes: Avi-Glam - Lover's
Body: Maitreya - Petite
Necklace: Yummy - Love Birds (The Fifty)
Top: Coco - Floral Print (Uber)
Jeans: Rouly - The Ripper
Sandals : Ohemo - Gladiator
Location: DenDen (open for photography)
Entitled “I am Queen Mary, this “23-foot statue is inspired by Mary Thomas, a Caribbean woman who led a fiery 19th-century revolt against Danish colonial rule.
Seated on a wicker throne, the statue stares solemnly ahead, her head crowned in a head wrap, her feet bare, a torch in her left hand, a tool used to cut sugar cane in her right.” I was impressed by both the amazing work of art and the story behind the statue. It is found in Copenhagen, Denmark. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Thomas_(labor_leader)
Entitled "The Accountants Nightmare"
Intitule "Le cauchemar du comptable"
When I'm not out with my camera, I am usually painting this is one of many.
View large.
Cambridge artist Natalia Davey's portrait entitled "ABD" at the recent Cambridge Drawing Society exhibition at the Guildhall. I can SEE why it was voted "Favourite Picture 2008". It's simply amazing!
Natalia Davey (Nee Tolpekina) is a famous Russian artist but now lives in Cambridge: www.vip-portrait.co.uk/page4.htm (where you can see a full version of this work in her "portrait gallery"). I didn't discover you were not allowed to take photos at the exhibition until I reached the exit door:-) I did tell the organisers but they smiled and thanked me for owning up! "As it's you Sir Cam... " :-))
The other day, my friend BKHagar *Kim* posted a beautiful photo of a wonderful half-doll that she has acquired who has a very Spanish feel. The photograph is entitled "Waiting for the Matador" and can be seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/bkhagar_gallery/55289897194/in/date... or in the first comment below. I remarked that I was sure I had the same Spanish beauty, and lo, so I do! I just hadn't posted my photograph of her! So here is my photograph of my Spanish beauty, which I dedicating to my dear Flickr friend and fellow Half-Doll devotee and club member, BKHagar *Kim*.
Last month, I received a new and beautifully hand painted half-doll made by the renowned German porcelain manufacturing company company Fasold and Stauch wearing a bolero hat, with red roses in her hair, earrings at her lobes and a striking black and pink frock. Luckily it was lovely and sunny around the time I received her, so I photographed her in the beautiful light.
I decided that my Spanish beauty needed some pieces from my vintage haberdashery collection in dramatic colours of red, black and gold. Thus she stands, surrounded by gold satin from France, beautiful vintage black floral lace from America and some old Victorian trim from England which featured little black jet beads woven throughout it. You will also notice a splendid red satin rose in the background, which matches the red roses in my Spanish beauty's hair. An antique gold tone and black painted butterfly brooch from early 1900s Spain features to the right of the photograph. In front of my Spanish beauty, a spool of white "Hercules" No. 18 Carpet Thread from the 1890s is nestled amongst the black lace. At the front of the photograph are scattered a selection of 1920s Art Deco red glass beads, all with gilding, whilst to the far right of the photograph is a sterling silver floral thimble made by Henry Griffith and Sons in 1897. There are several needle packets with gilded lettering in the background, including one made by Wells and Company which contains bodkins, which are thick, blunt needles used for threading elastic, ribbon, or cording through casings and eyelets.
The "half-doll" is a dainty porcelain or bisque figurine, fashionable in the early Twentieth Century with an upper body, head, arms, but no legs. These dolls were produced in the thousands at the height of their popularity by German factories such as Dressel and Kister, Heubach, Goebel and Kestner. Later they were produced in France, America and later still, in Japan. They commonly served as handles and toppers for fabric covers made for powder boxes on ladies’ dressing tables and small brushes, however they were also made for jewellery boxes, pincushions, tea cosies and other covers. In this case, I suspect that my romatic Spanish beauty would have been made for a lady’s boudoir and was most likely the topper for a jewellery box or powder bowl, or a powder puff or brush. She has been beautifully hand painted, as Fasold and Stauch were well known for.
Fasold and Stauch was a renowned German porcelain manufacturing company that operated from the early 1900s until 1972. Based in Bock-Wallendorf, in the historic Thuringia region of Germany, their work is highly celebrated by antique collectors today for their exceptionally detailed porcelain figurines, half-dolls, and Art Deco decorative items. The factory was established in the Thuringian Highlands on purpose, as it is an area with a high abundance of clay, wood, and water resources. The area is famous for its dense concentration of legendary ceramic and porcelain makers, including Goebel, Heubach, and Wallendorf. Fasold and Stauch officially began production at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Following the Second World War, the factory fell into the Soviet-occupied zone of East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, or GDR). Despite nationalisation and structural changes under the communist regime, production continued mid-century, with the factory eventually closing or being absorbed into a larger state-run combine around 1972.
"Hercules" No. 18 Carpet Thread was manufactured by John Dewhurst and Sons (based in Skipton, Yorkshire). John Dewhurst and Sons used the distinct "Crest and Motto" logo featured on this label. The central design includes a Maltese cross emerging from a crown flanked by wings, above a banner displaying their corporate motto: "Progress, Uniformity, Excellence." This specific line was marketed as Hercules Carpet Thread, a heavy-duty, multi-ply cotton designed to withstand the high friction and tension required for sewing or repairing thick household carpets.
Wells and Company was a prominent British manufacturing firm active throughout the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries in Redditch, to take advantage of the region's specialised wire-drawing mills, highly skilled steel temperers, and advanced packaging lithographers. In the highly competitive Redditch market, manufacturers constantly rushed to register new designs to outdo their rivals. The "Grooveless Patent" featured on this packet was a design concept utilised by a few premium Redditch firms—most notably Henry Milward and Sons (one of the largest operations in the town)—to market needles that wouldn't catch or tear delicate fabrics. Wells and Company produced their own competing packets using this regional patent layout to appeal to professional dressmakers.
The floral thimble is sterling silver and was made by silversmiths Henry Griffith and Sons in Birmingham in 1897. Henry Griffith and Sons commenced in 1850, was continued as Henry Griffith & Sons (until 1898) and later as Henry Griffith & Sons Ltd. They were well known for their manufacture of silver thimbles, and later for their silver and gold jewellery. They closed their doors in 1982. Thimble making was part of the Griffith family heritage. The father of Henry Griffith was a thimble maker and was put in charge of the thimbles departments at the beginning of his son's activity. The Griffiths became one of the leading producers of silver thimbles and were one of the only silversmiths who marked some of their thimbles with 'Sterling Silver' instead of having them hallmarked.
so I feel I'm entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they're like plants they won't really flourish unless you talk to them. I haven't gone that far - not yet anyway :-)
Robert Doisneau
HFF! Character Matters!
prunus mume, white japanese flowering apricot, 'Big Joe', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
„Postcard from Callisto” was accepted by the Glasgow Gallery of Photography for the ABSTRACT exhibition. The Glasgow Gallery of Photography can be found at 279-281 High Street, Glasgow. Exhibition Date: 5th - 30th August 2026
www.glasgowgalleryofphotography.com/
„Cant be true” and „Postcard from Callisto” in section Creative (Experimental) photograhy were accepted by the jury organized by Unlimited Photo Association, Podgorica, Montenegro, the 8th International Salon Capodimonte 2026.
The event was held under the patronage of: FIAP 2026/212; GPU L260031; MAPA 2026
The series of 3 photographs entitled "Farewell" (Postcard from Callisto; Samsara; Cant be true) has been qualified for the post-competition exhibition "XLIII Konfrontacje Fotograficzne," organized by the Photographic Society Gorzów Wlkp. in Poland, 2026. After viewing 69 sets containing 265 photos by 40 authors, the jury qualified 39 sets consisting of 133 photos by 33 authors for the exhibition.
Intitulado CCCLXXI
Allá, al final de este horizonte palpable,
Aquí, en esta inaccesible cercanía,
Enloquecen risas que lloran,
Llantos que ríen.
Se mudan las plazas detrás de sus prófugas estatuas,
También se marchan las sombras diurnas,
Las nocturnas arrodilladas contemplan este horizonte,
Y la inaccesible cercanía...
Los ecos que aún sobreviven te imitan ¡Inútilmente!
Como la lluvia a tus imperdonables dedos,
La brisa a tu aliento de alma.
Leandro Rodríguez Linárez
Mural entitled 'To Melbourne' by artist Steen Jones, Duckboard Place, Melbourne.
You usually dry off on a duckboard, but it rained so much the day I took this image I was about as far away from being dry as it is possible to be.
This artwork entitled "The Hunted" was created on the promenade in Eastbourne. Redundant shelters have been boarded up and this work has been created by Sarah Gillings (aka (S.o.S) assisted by Zara Wilkins.
It has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund, via the Welcome Back Fund.
For more info visit Sarah's website www.iamsos.com
some random shots from my portfolio, KeefH Web Designs
for 124 cat 21, best K
see my AI tribute entitled "a clash of cultures" Panda Vs Police Cruiser
I've often joked with people on here that I have a book entitled "101 rain dances for the keen photographer" but obviously no such book exists. But if it does, and you know where to get a copy of it, drop me a line... However I do think I've cracked the cheat code to getting amazing weather when out and about - you invite Dom Haughton along with you. As many of you know Dom has recently been over to Sweden to visit, before we headed off to Rondane in Norway for five days of photography. We've been so lucky with the weather and conditions that it is only logical to conclude that Dom is in fact a weather god disguised in that Cornish body of his.
However, celestial being or not, he's not a morning person and the dread on his face when I declared we were getting up early Saturday morning for a sunrise photo was priceless. Poor Dom, he was tired after his flight was delayed over an hour and a half resulting in a mad dash to my neck of the woods to photograph the setting sun once he arrived. Sadly Dom was a little disorientated after sitting on the tarmac at Heathrow so hadn't quite tuned in his weather-whispering capabilities just then. The next morning though was something else..... We stood at the top of Havstensklippan and watched a pretty cool sunrise before things kicked off that resulted in us running around like headless chickens and me repeatedly saying phrases like "wow" and "Holy Moly" as mother nature kept on giving. I used those phrases a lot in the coming week as Norway really delivered in spades but those photos will have to wait. Another phrase I used a lot was "white Tesla" but that's another story for later. As for my lucky weather charm, my children have asked Dom to come back for December this year so we can be guaranteed a white Christmas....
I found this poem by Thoreau, entitled Smoke:
Light-winged Smoke! Icarian bird,
Melting thy pinions in thy upward flight;
Lark without song, and messenger of dawn,
Circling above the hamlets as thy nest;
Or else, departing dream, and shadowy form
Of midnight vision, gathering up thy skirts;
By night star-veiling, and by day
Darkening the light and blotting out the sun;
Go thou, my incense, upward from this hearth,
And ask the gods to pardon this clear flame.
***
I was reluctant to photograph smoke which seemed an insensitive choice at a time when we were grieving, after the New Year tragedy in Crans-Montana. Then I remembered the smoke of incense that can be healing in a way, and that watching it unfurl and drift away and disappear could help to disspiate the entanglement of emotions of grief and disbelief, of sorrow and bewilderment, of overwhelming heartbreak and smouldering anger-
So this is as gentle as I can make it, The background is black but somehow turned to a more subtle blue.
I recently finished reading a very interesting collection of short stories entitled Save Me Stranger, by Erika Krouse. The stories are pretty wild and go in all different directions with quite a large variety of main characters and settings. Many really made me think more deeply about life situations and reality.
In any case, the collection starts out with the following quote from Anaïs Nin:
"Stories are the only enchantment possible, for when we begin to see our suffering as a story, we are saved."
I've been thinking about that quite a bit and I immediately start thinking about how when you are going through a traumatic incident, it is sometimes helpful to picture yourself removed from your body, as if seeing it all from an existential distance.
How will we understand and tell our own stories with this huge change in history...this turmoil, these atrocities currently happening in our names. And, of course, the "winners" are the ones who get to write those stories but none of us are winning here. Some of us may be lucky to survive but that's about all. What we've all collectively lost is immeasurable, whether we write it down or not.
**All photos are copyrighted**