Blue - Space
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A view from West Shore in Llandudno looking across the irish Sea / Conwy Estuary. The darker-coloured mountain in the background is Conwy Mountain (Mynydd y Dre). It’s famous for the remains of the Iron Age hillfort, Castell Caer Seion, at its summit.
The rounded headland further to the right that drops steeply into the sea is Penmaen-bach. If you’ve ever driven toward Conwy or Bangor, the A55 tunnel goes directly through this massive chunk of rock.
2026 Keith Jones All Rights Reserved
large / Gregor Halbwedl's Photos on Flickriver
stages
As every blossom wilts and youthful powers
Give way to age, each phase of life's duration,
Each stage of wisdom, too, each virtue flowers
In its own time and may not last tomorrow.
Prepared must be the heart at every station
For each farewell and every new assignment
So that it may with courage, not in sorrow,
To newer unions itself be giving.
A magic force pervades each new alignment
Protecting, helping us to go on living.
Serenely we should pass through all our spaces,
Not cling to any as a home forever,
Life's Spirit will not bind nor case us ever,
It wants to lift, expand us through our paces.
We barely feel at home in one surrounding,
When comfort is attacked by languor's trifles;
But those who stands alert for start's new sounding
May break away With force from habit's stifles.
Perhaps that even our dying hour
May young into new spaces us be sending,
The call of life to us is never ending ...
Arise then, heart! Say your farewell and tower!
Stufen
Wie jede Blüte welkt und jede Jugend
Dem Alter weicht, blüht jede Lebensstufe,
Blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede Tugend
Zu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
Es muß das Herz bei jedem Lebensrufe
Bereit zum Abschied sein und Neubeginne,
Um sich in Tapferkeit und ohne Trauern
In andre, neue Bindungen zu geben.
Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne,
Der uns beschützt und der uns hilft, zu leben.
Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
Er will uns Stuf' um Stufe heben, weiten.
Kaum sind wir heimisch einem Lebenskreise
Und traulich eingewohnt, so droht Erschlaffen,
Nur wer bereit zu Aufbruch ist und Reise,
Mag lähmender Gewöhnung sich entraffen.
Es wird vielleicht auch noch die Todesstunde
Uns neuen Räumen jung entgegen senden,
Des Lebens Ruf an uns wird niemals enden...
Wohlan denn, Herz, nimm Abschied und gesunde!
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), German poet and novelist
de nos jours encore, le pont fourmille de passants
Life will always throw us curves and we will hit many potholes, but we will find our purpose and meaning in it as long as we stay focused without bias to new possibilities.
The impact of water on health: new research suggests that 'blue space' can reduce stress and have a positive effect on wellbeing. Most of us recognise the calming effect of a walk by the river or along a beach. Victorian doctors used to prescribe the "sea air" as a cure for an assortment of agues and ailments. But while the health benefits of green space are now well known, thanks to the pioneering research of Roger Ulrich and the Kaplans among others, little analysis has been made of "blue space" – the impact of the sea, rivers, lakes, and even urban water features on our health and wellbeing. On Devon's south coast, Professor Michael Depledge and his team are attempting to put that right. Depledge was formerly the chief scientist for the Environment Agency before founding the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) in Plymouth in 2011, and launching the Blue Gym project in 2012 to study the health and wellbeing benefits of aquatic environments.Teaming up with environmental psychologist Mat White, Depledge began by repeating one of Ulrich's early studies. By showing photographs of a variety of landscapes to a group of participants, Ulrich was able to demonstrate that stress levels were lowered according to how much greenery was in the picture. The difference this time was that, "we started introducing water into the images", says Depledge, "going from a pond right through to a coastline, with increasing amounts of water in the images, and we found that people showed a strong preference for more and more water in the images."We repeated that with urban scenes, from fountains in squares to canals running through the city, and once again people hugely preferred the urban environments with more water in them."Images with green space received a postive response, as Ulrich has found. But images with both green and blue got the most favourable response of all.This was enough to suggest that they might be on to something and their next study, published in September, was more conclusive. Using data from Natural England with anonymous self-reported health information by postcode, a team from ECEHH were able to see if health varied according to proximity to water. "Self-reported health correlates very well with real health," says Depledge. "For the first time, we have had this information according to postcode, and we found that the closer you live to the English coast the healthier you are. There was some evidence that other aquatic environments helped too." Future research at the ECEHH includes studies looking at the effect of video screens showing aquatic environments in elderly care homes, and the benefits of views over sea or water from home or hospital windows. PhD student Deborah Cracknell is also looking into the effects of watching fish in aquariums and tanks. "There have been studies in the past looking at the health benefits of fishtanks, often in healthcare settings for Alzheimer's patients or the elderly, says Cracknell. "But we're also looking at the effect of what's in the tank, from a biodiversity aspect … We've looked at the effect of [aquarium] exhibits on heart rate, blood pressure and mood. Early results are quite encouraging. We even found that people responded well just watching the water without any fish." All of which prompts the question, why? Just what is it about water that attracts us in such a way that could improve our mental wellbeing and even our physical health? "The simple answer, is we don't know," says Depledge, "but we are trying to find out." "There are all sorts of intriguing possibilities. One is that human beings have evolved in intimate contact with nature, and it is only really in the last 200 years that people have been increasingly removed from nature. Professor Sir Alister Hardy first suggested that the big step in human evolution was not necessarily when hominids came out of the trees and into the savannah, but was when they got to the coast and were able to access sea food rich in omega 3 fatty acids … there is something deeply profound about water and humans, and it may reflect evolutionary history." Someone else who is trying to find the answer is Jenny Roe, lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. At the forefront of research into "green health", Roe is looking at cortisol as a physiological measure of how the body responds to different environments. "We've also just published a study using a mobile neural cap which taps into brain activity and can give an objective measure of stress in different [green] environments," Roe says. "But 'blue health' really lags way behind – it has started a bit like green health did, with laboratory experiments using photographic images and there's nothing wrong with that, but we've got other methods now, and that's what we're keen here in Scotland to press on with." Roe highlights the potential for geographic differences. "It does require geographic studies in specific climate zones to tease out whether the effect of water is as great under a cloudy sky as it is in sunny climes. The south-west of England is very different climatically to a country like Scotland.
"For me, [the research] needs to ground itself in issues of climate change. Our scoping study looked at the psychological trauma of living in a flood risk zone and the effect on very vulnerable populations so it's not just the positive, health-improving benefits of being close to or having access to water, it's also about how we manage that water flow and how we use sustainable design strategies to minimise the risk of flood-damaged communities."
Both Roe and Depledge are keen to look at the impact of water within urban environments too, with potential practical applications for planners and developers. Depledge argues that, "we have spent a lot of time putting green spaces into urban environments – and 85% of the UK population now live in urban environments – but are we paying any attention to designing in blue space?" She adds: "I think water features in general are beneficial; fountains in cities, ponds in parks … Birmingham restored the canal running through the city, and that has been hugely successful." Roe also cites Sheffield and Manchester as cities that have introduced popular water features to their city centres with potentially regenerating effects. There is also the prospect of economic benefits. Both ECEHH and Heriot-Watt University are enlisting the help of health economists to understand the cost benefits of access to green and blue space if the benefits effects are such that they reduce GP visits. It's a tantalising prospect, but there's a long way to go. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
Shot with Nikon D700 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1,8G at Karlsruhe.Model: Veriko Modebadze www.veriko-modebadze.de . More Pictures from BLUESPACES PHOTOGRAPHY at www.bluespaces.de
Ein vorbeifahrendes Tuc Tuc in Bangkok. Fotografiert mit Nikon D700 und Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1,8 G. Unbearbeitetes Foto, direkt aus der Kamera. Mehr Fotos auf www.bluespaces.de/ .
Hilton Head Island,South Carolina,United States of America, Earth, The Solar System, Orion Arm, The Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Cluster, Virgo Super-Cluster, Universe.
Frankfurt am Main. Shot with Nikon D700 and Tokina AT-X PROII 28-70mm F2,6-2,8. Download this picture free on www.bluespaces.de/
Kerzenhalter im Kloster von Bodbe bei Sighnaghi in Kachetien, Georgien. Fotografiert mit einer Nikon D700 und dem Tokina AT-X PRO 28-70 f/2.6-2.8. Unbearbeitetes Foto, direkt aus der Kamera. Dieses und weitere Fotos auf www.bluespaces.de/ .
Stäffelsbergturm im Pfälzer Wald. Download this picture als resized wallpaper in different resolutions for your desktop free on www.bluespaces.de/
Shot with Nikon D700 and Nikon AF Nikkor 28-70mm F3,5-4,5 D.
Holzeinschlag im Pfälzer Wald. Fotografiert mit Nikon D700 und Tokina AT-X PRO 28-70 f/2.6-2.8. Unbearbeitetes Foto, direkt aus der Kamera. Dieses und weitere Fotos auf meiner Website BLUESPACES PHOTOGRAPHY: www.bluespaces.de/ .
Die Kolmerkapelle nahe Dörrenbach. Fotografiert mit Nikon D700 und Nikon AF Nikkor 28-70mm F3,5-4,5 D.
Ford Mustang. Fotografiert mit Nikon D700 und Nikon AI Nikkor 28mm F2,0.
Dieses und noch mehr Fotos von mir auf www.bluespaces.de/ .
Fotografiert im Kloster Maulbronn im Klosterhof. Kamera: Nikon D700 mit Tokina AT-X PRO D MACRO 100mm F2,8 bei F/5.6. Weitere Fotos auf www.bluespaces.de/ .
Ushguli in Svanetien. Blick zum Kaukasus in der Abenddämmerung. Hintern den Bergen ist bereits Russland. Unbearbeitetes Foto, direkt aus der Kamera. Fotografiert mit einer Nikon D50 und einem Tokina AT-X Pro DX 12-24mm F4.
Shot on the parking lot of a mall in Karlsruhe with Nikon D700 and Nikon AI Nikkor 28mm F2.8. Modell: Veriko Modebadze (www.veriko-modebadze.de). More pictures from BLUESPACES PHOTOGRAPHY on www.bluespaces.de .
Mt. Ushba near Ushguli, Georgia. Shot with Nikon D50 and Tokina AT-X PRO DX 12-24 F4, convertet with Lightroom 4.2.
Blick auf den über 5000m hohen Kazbeg von der Gergetis Sameba, Nahe Stephansminda. Fotografiert mit einer Nikon D700 und dem 50mm F1,8G. Dieses und andere Fotos als Wallpaper gibts auf www.bluespaces.de/ .