View allAll Photos Tagged Existence
Season of Tilt
Week 16, Wednesday
This is the front door of a certain church in my home town. Speaking of religion is not my favorite thing because it's a subject that gets heated so easily. I have no misconceptions about the existence of God nor do I feel myself sinner. I knew my position from very early on, but even today I feel irritated about the subject. As soon as I see this particular door, it reminds me of my youth and all the ambivalent feelings I have towards religion. The thing is, when I was young I felt strong moral need to testify organized religion to be hogwash. Being young and inexperienced, I thought science as something opposite of it and tried to use it to bring evidence to the table. It was a stupid idea as are also most of the atheist manifestations today. Being older now I feel certain freedom to be out that need to a 'moral soldier'. I can also openly admit that my moral beliefs come largely from Christianity, even if I don't care about the institution and its authority. So even if I have no belief in god nor I care about the institution, I still have very personal, deep and unspoken relation to thing that awaits behind that door - and with world we live in there is no room that kind feelings because everyone needs to choose their side. I believe I'm not the only one with these feelings.
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One of the most interesting thing with the Lensbaby optics is the controversy of the distinct look they provide. I've noticed that people some, perhaps those who approach photography as something natural and objective, find it distracting. Then there are others how have been searching similar effect and just love it when they finally find via Lensbaby. I'm not saying who is right, because there are more than one approach to photography. But it makes me think how certain photographic effects have been considered to be failures before large masses (and photographers!) have approved them finally. Thin depth of field, obstacles in front of subject, subject movement, out of focus etc. have all been something avoidable before they have become tools for telling a story in photography. I'm sure there are similar things happening today too, and I could categorize Lensbaby effects under it - which makes them just more interesting in my eyes. Another example might be the distinctive HDR-look, but that just got to be rubbish right? You know, because those who make HDRs don't realize that (blah blah) ... And so it goes! :D
Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com
How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.
BARRY LOPEZ
(Ref:DSCN4884A)
My photographs are © Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved. None of these photos may be reproduced and/or used in any form of publication, print or the Internet without my written permission.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2011
Normal people with extraordinary lifestyles
Along with smile and the gloomy, here life has its own rhyme, has its own colour.
Time passed by, humanity changed along with its history...
But these people remained here tolerating the hardest truth of existences
..........its their story of extraordinary existences.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka. A very interesting place for all of us to visit. Culture and customs of old Dhaka are the tribute to the ancient history of Bangladesh. Peoples still living in 100 years old building from generations after generations. With the reflection of their religious beauty Old Dhaka attracts peoples from here and abroad.
Shakhari Bazaar is one of the oldest mohallas (a traditional neighbourhood) in Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka), located near the intersection of Islampur Road and Nawabpur Road;the two main arteries of the old city and only a block away from the Buriganga River. Shakhari Bazaar stretches along a narrow lane, lined with thin slices of richly decorated brick buildings, built during the late Mughal or Colonial period. Despite rampant modifications, accretion, extension over time, even redevelopment, many still bear the testimony of a rich tradition.
Shakhari Bazaar is the manifestation of the irrational policies, lack of adequate development control rules and distorted legal framework, all of which have left their indelible mark on this precious little mohalla that shares a long history of more than 400 years with Dhaka city itself.The history of Shakhari Bazaar goes back to the pre-Mughal days if not earlier. The first mention of Puran Dhaka can be found in the writings of Mirza Nathan, the general turned historian, who traveled with Subahdar Islam Khan. He mentioned Puran Dhaka, as the area between Dholai Khal and Buriganga river covering Shakhari Bazaar, Tanti Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Lakhsmi Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Kamar Nagar, Sutar Nagar, Goala Nagar, etc. Each mohalla belonged to separate communities depending on their craft and trade. The influences of the Mughal vocabulary in the planning of the spaces are literally evident in the use of Persian names to identify different spaces..
1936 Packard Twelve Boattail Speedster by Fernandez & Darrin
This 1936 Packard Fernandez & Darrin Speedster is one of the most stunning Packards in existence; exquisitely designed, beautifully executed, and perfectly restored. It is a one-off, V-12 Packard sports car, and has recently completed a 3-year, 7,000 hour, restoration, at a cost in excess of $450,000. It is certainly one of the finest Classic Era motor cars, of any marque, ever built. Its jet-black finish is unblemished; its taupe ostrich-leather and Wilton wool interior is flawless; as is its interior and exterior brightwork; its instrumentation all works properly; it runs and drives as new.
According to America’s Packard Museum, this coachwork was designed and executed by the fabled Howard “Dutch” Darrin in Paris, in 1936, when he was in partnership with J. Fernandez, a wealthy banker and furniture manufacturer. It is one of a group of either five or six speedsters (history is a little vague on this point) which Darrin built on various chassis, including Packard, Duesenberg, Delage, and Buick (and perhaps another) in the 1936/1937 time frame, and shortly before Darrin shut down the Paris operation and returned to Hollywood, California in mid-1937. It is believed that the Buick example exists today and the Delage was spotted on national television with President Jimmy Carter riding in the car.
These particular speedsters were all produced by using a cache of Auburn Speedster “bodies-in-white” which Darrin had been able to acquire from the financially troubled Auburn Distributor in Paris, as a starting point.
This example is believed to have been originally commissioned by Parisian playboy Count Armand de La Rochefoucauld, Darrin’s polo-playing pal. Howard Darrin’s passion for polo was shared by La Rochefoucauld, who, though not having Darrin’s skill, was still an aficionado of the sport, and owned many of the ponies ridden by Darrin. It is reported that by early 1937 La Rochefoucauld owned not only a Fernandez & Darrin Town Car, executed on a Hispano-Suiza chassis, but the Packard Twelve Speedster as well.
This magnificent motor car, like many others, has acquired over the years a “Legend” in which it is claimed that a Mr. Dick Saunders, in upstate New York, built this piece of rolling art, “in his backyard” using a rope, a tree limb, a dis-used Auburn boattail body, and a Packard Twelve chassis and engine. Or maybe it was first on a Marmon chassis, either with or without a Marmon V-16 engine, depending on who is telling which version of the Legend. Or maybe the Packard Twelve was in the Marmon chassis. Or maybe the Marmon V-16 engine was in the Packard chassis.
Documentation reveals that Mr. Saunders owned 116 Packards throughout his lifetime. He was one of the forefathers of Packard hot rodding and had created many different custom Packard Speedsters over the years. Mr. Saunders was in inveterate tinkerer, whole loved to play “mix and match” with various engines, chassis and bodies. It is documented that Mr. Saunders owned two or more Packard Speedsters fitted with custom Auburn bodies.
After Saunders’ death, his boattail was acquired from his estate by a Mr. Harold Sliger, from Illinois. Sliger was smart enough to seek out and find Mr. Darrin, for advice in restoring his car to its original glory. Mr. Darrin agreed to help Sliger, and advise him on what had to be both done and/or undone, or both, to restore the car to its original configuration. Sliger spent many nights on the telephone with Darrin and his son Patrick, consulting on these matters. When his trucking would take him to California, he would personally visit with both of them for the same purposes. Patrick recalls these visits and calls as he participated in them. Patrick recalls that his father told both him and Mr. Sliger that the car was his creation, in Paris.
As anyone who has ever attempted to address vague assertions and innuendo once they are in circulation knows, it is more difficult to gain a hearing with facts to set the record straight than it is to create doubt and cast aspersions. Nevertheless, the Packard Museum offers the following facts for your consideration to show that the 1936 Packard Twelve could only have been created by a master designer and craftsman of Dutch Darrin’s caliber rather than by an avid customizer whose specialty was mixing and matching parts from various makes and models in an effort to revive the great classics of the 1930s.
So how do we reconcile the conflicting beliefs and documents held by two parties of good faith in this dispute? We list the undisputed statements of fact from both sides to fully disclose all known information.
Statements of Fact Provided by America’s Packard Museum
1 - The issue of authenticity was addressed and should have been laid to rest as a result of the research conducted by respected automotive historians Ed Blend and Robert Turnquist, with Dutch Darrin when he was still alive, and later published in the in the AACA magazine in Vol 52, No 4 (1988) article by Mr. Blend.
2 - In that article, and based upon extended interviews with Dutch Darrin himself, and others, Mr. Blend concludes, as follows: “With total restoration/reconstruction completed, it has been proved beyond doubt—Darrin’s number system, plus stamped and cast parts bearing his logo, and his personal attestment as well—that the car is authentic and of true heritage.”
3 - Dutch Darrin wrote a letter of authentication in 1978 that states: “I would like to authenticate the validity, and vicissitude, of Harold Sliger’s, 1936 Packard Twelve: Fernandez & Darrin Boattail Speedster as being one of my creations.”
4 - During one of their interviews, Mr. Darrin provided to Mr. Blend and Mr. Turnquist an extensive listing of particular Packard and Fernandez & Darrin parts and numbers which were among those used in the 1936 Speedster, and were still there.
5 - It is undisputed that Patrick was a part of these discussions and that he witnessed the personally, and that his father, on several occasions either with Sliger or himself, spoke at length about it being “his” car.
6 - If Mr. Darrin had not built this magnificent motor car, in Paris; if, indeed it had been cobbled together in somebody’s back yard in Upstate New York; if Darrin had no previous connection with it; how, then, would he have had such a document?
7 - It is undisputed that Dutch Darrin bought five or six Auburn boattail bodies-in-white from the Paris Auburn Distributor during the throes of the Great Depression. One became a Duesenberg speedster, another a Packard Eight, a Buick, and a Delage. No one seems to know with certainty if a sixth car was purchased by Darrin, or, if so, what became of it.
8 - It is undisputed that the 1936 Twelve Boattail contains features that are Darrin’s own styling cues such as: the stamped or cast “D” for Darrin on door hinges, bumper back bars and clamping devices; evidence of the European method of lead-filled body moldings with nail-heads soldered in place in the tailback; several body alternations that would require the use of special sheet metal tooling; reverse bent 90 degree sheet metal that would be impossible to perform by hand and require a coach builder’s genius and tooling to accomplish; and also significantly the Darrin-patented “jiffy top” across the back of the seat
9 - It is undisputed that according to Robert Turnquist, at the time the world’s greatest living Packard authority, and a personal friend of Howard Darrin, Darrin and Turnquist had a lengthy visit in the mid-to-late 1970’s, and covered a number of subjects, including the provenance of this car. Darrin related to Turnquist that when he first saw the LeBaron Twelve Boattail Packard in 1934, he thought it was “quite striking” although “a little bob-tailed in the rear end”. Turnquist remembered Darrin telling him that he hoped, at that time, that someone would commission him to do a Packard Twelve Boattail, “So that I could show LeBaron how it should have been done.” And, indeed, he did.
10 - One last statement the America’s Packard Museum believes to be certain: No one, not even Dutch Darrin himself, could create this magnificent Speedster in his backyard using a rope, a tree limb, and a dis-used Auburn boattail body!
Statements of Fact Provided by Friends of the Dick Saunders Estate
1 - It is undisputed that a family close to the Dick Saunders Estate holds voluminous automobile documentation from the estate that reveals this engine had been installed in more than one Packard chassis.
2 - It is undisputed that Mr. Saunders owned more than 100 Packards in his lifetime and was an avid customizer who experimented with custom bodies and had a taste for custom European-built coachwork.
3 - It is undisputed that Mr. Saunders was mentioned in the July 1951 issue of Hot Rod with a photo of a Packard with an Auburn Speedster body described as a hybrid classic built by Dick Saunders.
4 - It is undisputed that Mr. Saunders was mentioned in the October 1952 issue of The Automobilist with a photo of a hybrid special built from Packard, Auburn and Studebaker components.
5 - It is undisputed that Mr. Sliger worked with Dutch Darrin to accurately restore the car and in the process, the body was mounted on a restoration chassis.
6 - This vehicle was previously sold at auction and represented with “replica coachwork”
7 - The friends of the Dick Saunders Estate believe this automobile was a special speedster creation built by Dick Saunders in the late 1940s.
Source: MECUM Auctions
Afterword: You be the judge my friends. Is this an authentic Dutch Darrin creation or a Dick Saunders “back yard mix and match”? In my opinion only Dutch Darrin could have designed such a magnificent looking automobile.
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May I point out that this picture is Copyright protected under U.S. copyright law.
U.S. copyright law protects creators of original, creative works from having their intellectual property used by others. Copyright infringement is the reproduction, distribution, or alteration of a creative work without the owner’s permission. Common examples of copyright infringement against you might include:
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without attributing you.
The images you will see are my free and personal photographic reinterpretation of a fantastic phenomenon that fascinated me and whose existence I learned about some time ago, during my research on the various uses of X-ray plates.
In Cold War Russia, during the 1950s, the Communist regime had everything in hand, deciding the lifestyle, what to allow or not to allow the population, including what music should be listened to. The advent of jazz and rock'n'roll music in the United States, considered a symbol of contamination of capitalism, was immediately boycotted by any means; listening was forbidden and also punished with arrest.
A group of young rebels, the "stilyagi" (stylish), devised an absolutely original method to circulate Western music by smuggling: using rudimentary recording machines, with instruments made from old phonographs, they thought of reproducing very original records: the grooves were engraved on thin X-ray films in disuse rather than on the plastic material (vinyl, rigid and in any case too expensive); the central hole was made rudimentary by burning the plate with a cigarette. X-ray plates lent themselves very well to the purpose, being made of cheap material and easily available in all hospitals that had to dispose of them as they are flammable and potentially dangerous. In addition, the radiographs also had another characteristic, that of being flexible: the discs, which still had a rather low sound definition, were hidden in the sleeves of the coats, so that they could circulate rather easily. The price at which they were sold was modest, one ruble against five vinyl records of music authorized by the regime; so it could happen that on painful images (shins, ribs, skulls, vertebrae, etc. ..), one would secretly dance in the cellars with songs by Elvis Presley or Duke Ellington before, or on the Liverpool beat after. The phenomenon that lasted until the end of the '70s with the advent of the first cassette tapes, was called "The ribs of rock" and also "The music of the bone", then causing prices to skyrocket in the collecting market of the now unobtainable engraved radiographic supports.
The images I produced are the result of the digital union between real X-ray plates and original vinyls, using the covers, or details of them, as labels for the discs. However, I have reserved and added my personal interpretation which consists in having created a correspondence between the parts of the body imprinted on the plates and the images detected in the covers.
Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a 605-metre limestone ridge.
Montepulciano is a major producer of food and drink. Renowned for its pork, cheese, "pici" pasta, lentils, and honey, it is known world-wide for its wine. Connoisseurs consider its Vino Nobile, which should not be confused with varietal wine merely made from the Montepulciano grape, among Italy's best.
According to legend, it was founded by the Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Chiusi; recent findings prove that a settlement was already in existence in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. In Roman times it was the seat of a garrison guarding the main roads of the area.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it developed as a religious center under the Lombards. In the 12th century it was repeatedly attacked by the Republic of Siena, which the Poliziani faced with the help of the Perugia and Orvieto, and sometimes Florence, communes. The 14th century was characterized by constant struggles between the local noble families, until the Del Pecora family became rulers of the town. From 1390, Montepulciano was a loyal ally (and later possession) of Florence and, until the mid-16th century, lived a period of splendour with architects such as Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, Baldassarre Peruzzi, Ippolito Scalza and others, building luxurious residences and other edifices here.
After the unification of Italy and the drying of the Val di Chiana, the town remained the most important agricultural centre in the area, while the industrial activities moved mostly next to Chiusi, which was nearer to the railroad being built in that period.
The main street of Montepulciano stretches for 1.5 kilometres from the Porta al Prato to the Piazza Grande at the top of the hill. The city is renowned for its walkable, car-free nature. In the Piazza Grande, there are several stalls as of 2014, which offer the ability to taste wine from the local vineyards. The Cantina Contucci is off the Piazza Grande, where you can view how the city's jail was converted into a wine cellar. The Contucci family claims to have made wine and owned vineyards for over 40 generations, or over 1000 years in the Montepulciano area.
(Wikipedia)
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I returned to Tuscany after several years during a prolonged August weekend to explore famous hilltop settlements and enjoy Chianti & Montepulciano red wines.
Montepulciano is one of those picturesque hilltop settlements that shouldn't be missed - really a lovely place to lazily stroll around and enjoy the slow-paced atmosphere of summer evening.
Our car ran at Le Mans in 1966, the only race in its competition history. It is one of the most original GT40s in existence.
Church of St. Winwaloe, East Portlemouth Devon sits at the top of the steep slope commanding views of the estuary below - It now consists of a nave, north and south aisle and transept, north porch and west tower.
It seems likely that there would have been an earlier 10c wooden church on this site built in the reign of King Athelstan, King Alfred’s grandson who had close contacts with Brittany, the birth-place of St. Winwaloe (462-532) who was a Celt whose parent had fled to Brittany from Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxons - The oval shaped shape of the churchyard is characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon period and the existence of a manor house here in 1086 mentioned in the Domesday Book supports this.
Not surprisingly no trace of an earlier church remains above ground. Anglo-Saxon churches did however sometimes have rooms under them and, in 2006, Stratascan carried out a survey using ground penetrating radar. This appeared to suggest there was indeed a room under the central part of the nave. However this was not supported by a series of core samples taken in 2012 nor by a second radar scan.
The first known reference to the church was in July 1181 in a Bull of Pope Alexander III listing the churches owned by Missenden Abbey. It is not known when the Abbey acquired St Winwaloe’s but Lady Alice de Dodbrooke successfully claimed it back in 1219.
This original 12c stone cruciform church had a nave, chancel and transepts but no tower, and was probably finished between 1150 and 1181 .taking about 10 years to build. This was possibly under the patronage of Hamo Fitz Ruald (born c1116), the father of Lady Alice
The two stage crenallated tower which has a five sided stair turret, was built between 1400 and 1450 - 5 bells were recast in 1912 by Taylor’s of Loughborough but the heaviest has hung in the tower since it was built and bears the Latin inscription, in 15c script, "Me melior vere non est campana sub ere" (There is no better bell than me under the heavens).
The two side aisles were added shortly after, followed by the porch. The external steps at the side of the porch lead to the parvis or priest’s room. As Portlemouth did not always have a resident priest, this room was used by visiting priests who came on horse-back to lead worship (the mounting block is in the bank opposite the lych gate)..
East Portlemouth used to be a much larger and more flourishing place than it is today; it was a port and ship-building was an important industry. It provided 4 ships and 90 men for the Crécy and Calais campaigns of 1346 and contributed at least one ship to chase the Spanish Armada in 1588. The ship-building, farming and fishing community would have provided the wealth to construct and maintain the church and Roger Champernoun, who became its patron in 1450, is thought to have provided the money for its rebuilding.
The glory of the church is the 15c medieval rood screen with good painting of 26 saints but the coving has been removed. Its early colour remains and the top of its arches are decorated by Tudor roses. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/5905B20P27 It was restored in 1934 under the direction of Sir Charles Nicholson . The new oak used in the restoration can be seen in several areas of the screen. This is most apparent on the chancel side as are burn marks on the wood near the top of the screen; these may indicate an attempt to destroy the screen by the Cromwellian forces encamped on Rickham Common in 1643-44. In its original form, vaulting would have projected forwards and possibly backwards to support a deck strong enough to carry choir boys for some services. Fragments of this decorative vaulting survive, nailed to the front of the screen arches.
The font is mid-late 15c and is carved with quatrefoils and shields www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/YH7dV15p72
There are no monuments or memorials
The church is approached through a churchyard whose graves include those of ship-wrecked sailors and smugglers. One 18c tombstone describes the murder of Richard Jarvis of Rickham by his apprentice girl who was burnt as a witch.
Near the lych-gate, is a 15c preaching cross, since converted to a sun-dial. The cross used to stand by the Rectory but was moved here in the 1980s. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/dU7Ai941Fr
In 1879 the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland re-organised the whole village. Many fishermen’s cottages were destroyed and their tenants dispossessed, while several farms and smallholdings were amalgamated into three 200 acre farms at East Portlemouth Village, Rickham and Holset. At its peak, the village had a population approaching 500 but this was drastically reduced by the re-organisation.
www.google.co.uk/local/place/fid/0x486cdf746214581d:0x475...
Sunday afternoon in Washington DC
All rights reserved. Please do not use or reproduce this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my permission.
The remaining three-digit ‘linkbus’ Solos in CT4N’s fleet continue to eke out an existence on the Locallink routes; the L2/X2, L4 and L14 are all that remains of the Locallink network, unless I’m forgetting one? Locallink livery is well and truly dead, so only the ‘L’ prefix to the route number indicates back to what was once a large and well publicised system of local bus routes.
Given that the 9XX-numberd Solos almost never stray from Locallink anyway, I don’t particularly see why they needed to be painted into CT4N’s commercial grey and blue, as they could have quite easily stayed in the more familiar two-tone green so that the colour of the buses still matched the branding on the timetables. I wonder if it was more to do with Locallink being swept under the rug that the livery was eradicated than the Council/CT4N worrying about Locallink buses getting used on commercial routes... after all, they happily used the Medilink branded Optares on basically anything.
Here, 930 is seen turning onto Hucknall Road from the Valley Road roundabout with an L14 on 5.12.24. The road cambers here but the classic Solo body roll has made it so it’s bolt upright (check the angle of the front axle), and the wonky destination screen is actually leaning even further to the right! And this is CT4N so of course there is black tape holding part of it together.
YJ10 EZM
The world class boanical collections in Waimea Valley owe there existence to Mir. Keith Woolliams, a dedicated botanical horticulturist who was trained at the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, on the outskirts of London.
Keith led a rich life traveling around the globe studying botanical collections in England, Japan, Papua New Guinea and Bermuda. He brought to Hawaii his expertise and knowledge of uncommon horticultural treasures, and he acquired seeds, plants, and cuttings from remote places and botanical gardens all over the world. In pre-internet days dozens of letters and packages were dispatched and received daily.
His theme of "Conservation Through Cultivation" resulted in a balance of rare and useful native and Polynesian-introduced plants among exotic horticultural specimens.
What was once an ungroomed valley, filled with koa haole and ravaged by feral cattle was transformed into what you see today by Keith and the many dedicated people he inspired. They oversaw the design, landscaping and construction of the pathways, stone walls and stairs that frame the gardens. Keith's high standards for record keeping and signage persist to this day. He left us in 1998 with a library full of his propagation knowledge, cultivation practices and plant lore which survives to ensure that the precious life forms brought to this valley will thrive here long into the future.
Keith was an inspiring advocate for Hawatian plant conservation and he influenced many young people across the state. He connected Waimea with state, federal and international agencies such as the Center for Plant Conservation, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the Botanical Gardens Conservation International - partnerships that Waimea Valley continues to uphold today.
Keith was instrumental in bringing in critically endangered plants from Japan's Ogasawara Islands, hibiscus relatives from all over the world, and with international colleagues he tried to assemble wild-source collections of every species of Erythrina in the world. In the periodical, "Notes from Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden" published twice a year until 1992 he stated "Waimea is a labeled and documented collection of plants for educational and scientific purposes, a living gene pool for future generations".
It is with great honor and gratitude that we remember Mr. Keith Woolliams and his dedication to Waimea Valley.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka, 2011
Normal people with extraordinary lifestyles
Along with smile and the gloomy, here life has its own rhyme, has its own colour.
Time passed by, humanity changed along with its history...
But these people remained here tolerating the hardest truth of existences
..........its their story of extraordinary existences.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka. A very interesting place for all of us to visit. Culture and customs of old Dhaka are the tribute to the ancient history of Bangladesh. Peoples still living in 100 years old building from generations after generations. With the reflection of their religious beauty Old Dhaka attracts peoples from here and abroad.
Shakhari Bazaar is one of the oldest mohallas (a traditional neighbourhood) in Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka), located near the intersection of Islampur Road and Nawabpur Road;the two main arteries of the old city and only a block away from the Buriganga River. Shakhari Bazaar stretches along a narrow lane, lined with thin slices of richly decorated brick buildings, built during the late Mughal or Colonial period. Despite rampant modifications, accretion, extension over time, even redevelopment, many still bear the testimony of a rich tradition.
Shakhari Bazaar is the manifestation of the irrational policies, lack of adequate development control rules and distorted legal framework, all of which have left their indelible mark on this precious little mohalla that shares a long history of more than 400 years with Dhaka city itself.The history of Shakhari Bazaar goes back to the pre-Mughal days if not earlier. The first mention of Puran Dhaka can be found in the writings of Mirza Nathan, the general turned historian, who traveled with Subahdar Islam Khan. He mentioned Puran Dhaka, as the area between Dholai Khal and Buriganga river covering Shakhari Bazaar, Tanti Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Lakhsmi Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Kamar Nagar, Sutar Nagar, Goala Nagar, etc. Each mohalla belonged to separate communities depending on their craft and trade. The influences of the Mughal vocabulary in the planning of the spaces are literally evident in the use of Persian names to identify different spaces..
Pinned to a post above Wimbleball reservoir on Exmoor.
Any ideas what beast this skull belongs to? Some good canine teeth there.
(On reflection I think it might be a dog's skull?! It would kind of explain why it's pinned to a post in a sheep-farming area; to act as a warning to owners to keep their dogs on leads?!)
In an alternative existence, Ingrid has grandchildren dandering on her knee. She rocks quietly in her chair in the evening, a cat purring gently by the fireside, But in this reality, Ingrid is homeless, wrapped in layers of woollies, living cold and alone on the streets of Bristol. I dread to think what may or may not happen to her at night.
I met her in the centre, sat in the alcove of a door, surrounded by carrier bags. Were they all her worldly goods in there or where they just as they appeared to be - trash? But those piles of old newspapers were precious to her.
Homelessness is tragic whatever the person's age or sex. But an old woman out there seems particularly wrong.
This is a new edit of a shot from 2015. The statistics indicate this lady is dead now. Average life expectancy for homeless females is just 52 years old so Ingrid was already on borrowed time when I shot this,
This is an unposed street shot of Ingrid. She broke into a big grin when I asked her name. Bag ladies don't have names usually. Maybe their names goes when the dreams go. How bloody sad.
(Don McCullen, whose work I have long admired, famously did the Marine in Vietnam with the Thousand Yard Stare which my title pays homage to and references.)
Don't look for love, beg for love or suffer for love.
Sorry that I cannot spend much time on Flickr recently but will try to catch up with you all my dear friends.
This photo was taken as the sun was going down, from the Giardini Marinaressa, on the Riva dei Sette Martiri, near the Arsenale, Venice, Italy. The words "TIME SPACE EXISTENCE" appear on a sign at the right. They are the title of an exhibition sponsored by the European Cultural Centre. The Giardini Marinaressa was one of the exhibition's three venues.
P7048353.
Encore un curieux petit insecte dont je ne soupçonnais même pas l’existence avant qu’il passe devant l’objectif !
Il s’agit d’un psoque, catégorie d’insectes peu évolués qui existaient déjà il y a plus de 250 millions d’années, et particulièrement d’un Graphopsocus cruciatus, reconnaissable au motif croisé de ses ailes (d’où son nom) et à sa large tête à bande brune. On le trouve en Europe, en Amérique du Nord et en Asie et il peut survivre dans des climats relativement frais.
C’est une espèce commune mais méconnue, que l’on trouve sur un grand nombre d’arbres et d’arbustes (plutôt en milieux humides) où elle se nourrit de champignons et de lichens, jouant à ce titre un rôle important dans l’écosystème. Sensible à la pollution, Graphopsocus cruciatus constitue un bon indicateur de la qualité de l’air.
La taille des adultes (4-6 mm pour le mâle et 5-7 mm pour la femelle) varie selon l’environnement et le régime alimentaire. Le cycle de vie varie de 60 à 100 jours.
Another curious little insect that I didn't even know existed before it passed in front of the lens! It is a psocid, a category of little-evolved insects that already existed more than 250 million years ago, and particularly a Graphopsocus cruciatus, recognizable by the crossed pattern of its wings (hence its name) and its large head with a brown band. It is found in Europe, North America and Asia and can survive in relatively cool climates. It is a common but little-known species, found on a large number of trees and shrubs (rather in humid environments) where it feeds on fungi and lichens, thus playing an important role in the ecosystem. Sensitive to pollution, Graphopsocus cruciatus is a good indicator of air quality. The size of adults (4-6 mm for the male and 5-7 mm for the female) varies according to the environment and diet. The life cycle varies from 60 to 100 days.
Time, Space and Existence are universal abstract principles
embodying most Work. Sincere consideration of the fundamental
elements, Time and Space, unify them as properties of physical
Existence and lend thought to further development of position and
sequences in making. Mechanics of the arrangement, as in music,
suggest exposition, development and redefinition.
sequence
Time can be measured when patterned sequences are formed. These
cycles in Time are expressed through an Existence. Material charac-
teristics of dichroics and mirroring transmit and reflect. Movements
and light undulate through the Work.
The Work is also an additive process of unit grouping and organization.
The orchestration is reflected durations of the assembled components.
Time is a quality that can be manipulated like other dimensions of
Space; Mirrored, folded and cyclically repeated. Time divisions are the
day, season, year and era.
Position
The assemblage of mirrored and dichroic acrylic units is an
interpretation of ‘Time Space Existence’ through geometric and
spatial constructs. In using basic geometric forms, translated color
and unit orientation, complexity and less inherent rhythms emerge.
It develops a landscape grounded in mathematical concepts of
symmetry operations.
orientation
Generated upon reflection about a datum line, the Work establishes a
translated reflected pattern. The construction of the units account for
change in orientation and environment.
MANIFOLD was established by Karen Lemmert and David Naill as a
collaborative practice engaged in the development of conceptual
work within the physical landscape. They believe the dialog of
material properties to systems of construction takes place within
organized fields of energy that can be utilized by alignment of
tectonic constructions with manifolds of distillations and dispersals. – MANIFOLD
PLUS
Walking along the coasts, on sea cliffs hit by the wind and stormy
sea. Indistinct destiny.
Sailing. Far from the banks, in the Mediterranean Sea, into the Ocean.
The vessel gets under way, leaving the noise and the artificial light of
the mainland. Its only landmark, the horizon. And then consciousness
opens, projected to infinity, sensing a possible truth that demands
form and silence.
The negative, photography, is for me the natural unconditional
response to this experience. Profile of my journey into the world, it
represents the living space, image by image, through which a
collective memory could be interpreted.
I am the witness.
The sea is the trace of human movement; the ship is the history of
research, and conquest. Trade, slaves, pirates, emigrants are
characters of this tale, a story of love and separation, of ghosts and
monsters, suddenly emerging in my vision, and disappearing
afterwards. Images of distant lands, into the dark and into the light,
enigmatic lines of the unconditional absoluteness of existence.
THRU SANDHYA is an ancient Sanskrit word, moment of transition
between day and night, symbiosis instant with the elements, thought
and reflection on the state of things.
THRU SANDHYA is a possible answer for the soul, an invitation to
re-emerge from the bottom of the sea, to find air, rhythm, breath, again.
Be there, not anywhere else, transported, in transit, transformed. And
finally understand. – Ivana Boris
Your existence depends on a sequence
of infinite decisions
about grass. There is no shortage
in these fields, only variety
in texture, sweetness. You saunter
apparently at random, doodling
in green. The track of your slow day
would draw on acres
vast dialectical zig-zags,
loops, wheels and varying ontological angles
(Sarah Day)
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Fabulous texture by Ro-Stock
Lisboa
This Beautiful being, planet earth, unceasingly and unconditionally supports the lives of each one of us! Despite this, we wreak havoc and destruction on it. I believe the only way to stop this madness, is a change, a revolution if you will, in the hearts of all human beings." P.S.
The photo above is a scan of an actual, tangible object. It is the only one in existence. Years from now, when the zeros and ones that exist on some server, allowing you to view it, have been deleted, I'll still be able to see, smell, and feel it.
I've known Polaroid since I was old enough to know anything. The family albums, going back into the 50's, are dominated by Polaroid photos, beginning with stiff peel-apart shots adhered to cardboard mounts, followed by pale SX-70 integral prints, and eventually giving way to the rectangular frame of Spectra shots. Judging by the familiar looks and smiles I get from people who notice the SX-70 or 250 I carry around, Polaroid is a significant part of many others' lives as well. I delightedly re-discovered Polaroid in recent years thanks to my then-girlfriend (now fiancee) and her Big Shot. I relive that pleasure every time I watch someone peel a print from the negative in amazement for the first time in decades or, perhaps, ever. It's sad that this unique component of American culture which I previously had taken completely for granted is in danger of being relegated to "The History of American Culture - 1940's to 2000's". I imagine I'll have to explain why these photos I have look so different than others if I have kids or grandkids although there's a distinct possibility they won't care without experiencing the magic first-hand, a thought that troubles me.
I took this photo of myself at a birthday party for my fiancee. We set up a photo booth using a tripod-mounted Spectra (dug out of a closet at my parents' house) and a Spectra wireless remote control we won at auction online. People went nuts when they saw the pictures coming out of the "booth" and loved that they could actually take the pictures home. Most of these people brought digital cameras with them but few, if any, digital pictures were taken that night, those being easily overshadowed by the visceral and social nature of the Polaroids. No substitute for this experience exists that is as accessible, even if it is currently less-so than in previous decades, and to lose Polaroid now will be hard to swallow.
That being said, I'll buy and shoot Polaroid until the last pack is sold and, perhaps, stash a few packs in hopes that they last long enough to some day demo that Polaroid magic for my kids one last time.
-Nick Zamora
People who lead a lonely existence always have something on their minds that they are eager to talk about.
- Anton Chekhov
I had no idea of the existence of this ship class until I started to work on my new Italian Navy Display. This was a small but interesting design which has a large number of details cramped into a tiny hull. I'm actually amazed that a ship with less than 60meters carried a crew of 110 men onboard.
The model is made at 1/200 scale like my other Italian Warships.
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Einon