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My son text me about what looked like an awesome sunset developing and wanted to know if I had time to go shoot it with him. As we raced around to pick up his camera I could see the cloud bank on the horizon was thickening and was going to totally block out the sun... but we drove to the beach anyways and walked along the shore to take some pictures of the clouds because thats all that was left. Then as we stood there the clouds seemed to break apart just for us and a glimps of tomorrow broke through.
I prayed for a lot of specific things this past year... and not many things went as I wanted them. Today I slowed down long enough to reflect with a true friend some of the things that might have gone unnoticed, but were in fact direct answers to some of those prayers... sometimes the answers shine through clearly and other times it gets obscured with a few clouds. Today I realized that those clouds can be beautiful as well...
I am praying that we can all appreciate a few clouds in our lives this next year and look for God's answers in them as well...
Sunset scenery
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Exif data
Camera
Panasonic DMC-TZ41
Aperture
f/6.3
Focal Length
55.7 mm
Exposure
0.001 sec (1/2000)
Flash
Off,
Exposure Bias
-2 EV
ISO Speed
160
The girls were going off to school one morning and wow i saw this clouds and ran to get my camera , it was like the whole sky was on fire it was totally inspiring and a very special moment to be under this sky . when i say goodbye to the girls i nearly missed to say good bye as i was so so taken with this sky . i love the sky so so much it is my fave thing on the planet to photo . it is always changing and always beautiful no matter the weather or time of the year . i didnt do anything to this photo this is exactly what i saw how can you improve on nature like this i just put a frame and name on this .
Verrès castle (Aosta)-
An inscription carved in Gothic characters states that Ibleto of Challant began works in 1390. In 1536 Renato of Challant renovated the defence structures, adapting them for modern fire arms. On this occasion, a boundary wall with a battery, buttresses and five-sided attack towers, suitable for use with the canon and springalds cast in the Count of Challant’s fiefdom in Valangin, Switzerland. Further protection was given to the entrance with the addition of an inner gate, a drawbridge and loopholes. New cross windows were created in addition to the existing single-light and mullioned Gothic windows, and new gates with Spanish-inspired Moorish arches. The interiors were enhanced with new furnishings. Renato of Challant died leaving no male heirs in 1565, which is when the castle was taken over by the Savoys. In 1661 Duke Charles Emmanuel II ordered the dismantling of weapons and their transfer to the fortress in Bard, a strategic point in which the defence of Val d’Aosta was concentrated.
The Challant regained possession of the castle in 1696 and kept it until the end of the family line at the start of the 19th century. At that time the castle had been abandoned for almost two centuries: the roof, which was already in partial collapse, was demolished completely to avoid paying duty on the structure, and so the upper floors were exposed to the elements. Like the castles of Issogne and Fénis, this castle was rescued by a group of Piedmont intellectuals with a common love for the Middle Ages. ..After going through the outer door which opens in the fortified wall, also accessible on horseback across the drawbridge, you come to the guard’s building opposite the castle entrance. The portal leads onto a hallway with a protective machicolation disguised within the vault. A second door, formerly protected by a portcullis, provides access to the castle courtyard. Surrounding this square space, the body of the building is arranged in a ring on three floors, connected via a monumental stone staircase set on rampant arches. The regular geometrical structure and simplicity of the green and white stone decoration, are consistent with military character of the building and are also evidence of the excellent craftsmanship in Verrès.
------La storia
Costruito su un picco roccioso che domina il sottostante borgo, il castello è citato per la prima volta nel 1287 come proprietà dei signori De Verretio. Un’iscrizione scolpita in caratteri gotici attesta che fu Ibleto di Challant nel 1390 a porre mano ai lavori che fecero assumere all’edificio l’aspetto attuale. Nel 1536 Renato di Challant rinnovò l’apparato difensivo del maniero, adattandolo all’uso delle moderne armi da fuoco. In questa occasione venne costruita una cinta muraria munita di cannoniere, di speroni a contrafforte e di torrette poligonali da offesa, idonei all’impiego delle spingarde e dei cannoni fusi nel feudo che il conte di Challant possedeva a Valangin, in Svizzera; l’ingresso fu reso più sicuro mediante la realizzazione dell’antiporta con il ponte levatoio e l’apertura di feritoie. Si provvide inoltre ad aprire nuove finestre a crociera, in aggiunta a quelle a tipo gotico a monofora e a bifora già esistenti, e nuove porte ad arco moresco, di evidente influsso spagnolo; gli interni furono arricchiti con nuovi arredi. Alla morte di Renato di Challant (1565) senza eredi di sesso maschile, il castello venne incamerato dai Savoia. Nel 1661 il duca Carlo Emanuele II ordinò di smantellare gli armamenti e di trasferirli al forte di Bard, punto strategico dove si concentrava la difesa della Valle d’Aosta.
Gli Challant riottennero il possesso della rocca nel 1696 e lo mantennero fino all’estinzione della casata, ai primi del XIX secolo. A quell’epoca il castello era abbandonato da quasi due secoli: il tetto, già in parte crollato, era stato demolito del tutto per evitare il pagamento del canone erariale, così che i piani superiori erano esposti alle intemperie e invasi dalle erbacce. Il salvataggio di questo castello, come per quelli di Issogne e di Fénis, si deve all’interesse di un gruppo di intellettuali piemontesi accomunati dalla passione per il Medioevo.
24 more days, but who is counting? There is something about being able to look out the window and see the ocean, being able to hear the waves all night long and feel the cool ocean breeze. Something that makes it possible to get up before the sun and sit outside on the rocks waiting to watch it come up. Total peace and quiet (because NO ONE else will even consider getting up that early!) I was invited back to my brother-in-law’s parents’ house on Schooner Head for a week in July. My sister can't go, so I was invited to go again... wait... that sounds so wrong! I would have been invited even if she were able to go, but my brother-in-law didn't want to drive up there all alone, so he was only going to go IF I were able to go, too. I can’t wait! The next three weeks at work are going to be hell (or at least more “hellish” than usual). Thinking about my Maine vacation might be the only thing that will get me through them.
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The crows were everywhere and were enjoying the new little pine cones. They didn't mind me being under their trees but they made a cacophony of crows when Benni got close. (That should be spelled cawcawphony.) There are 5 eating and one flying away.
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Camera Model : Canon EOS-1D Mark III
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Focal Length : 192 mm
I'm starting a fifty-two week project.
I can't commit to a 365 day project.
I'm too busy during the summer.
I have a meeting today to discuss a trip I am going on during spring break next year.
My marching band is going to Disney World.
I am so excited!
I haven't been there since I was eight.
Today is also my first day of summer vacation.
It's been a good, relaxing day. :D
taken last year....i was browsing my photos last year when i saw this one...reminds me to be always thankful for what i have..."COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS"...these flashed in my thoughts...even faced with a difficult situation always be reminded that there's always someone else whos having a much harder time than you...like this guy, he's quite old but he still needs to play in the streets of hua quiang bei, SZ....for him just to survive...
“Taormina cemetery: the monumental funerary complex of Count Otto Geleng, at the top presents the bust of his son Ermanno, the presence of symbolisms such as the hourglass, the rooster, the book (the Holy Bible) and the god Mercury, makes me believe that Count Otto was part of the Masonic lodge of Taormina, at the time the mayor of Taormina was also part of it, dr. Cacciola and his wife Lady Florence Trevelyan: in his palace, Dr. Cacciola, built a temple, which became the first Masonic lodge in Taormina: the "Renaissance" (1904)”
"cimitero di Taormina: il complesso monumentale funerario del conte Otto Geleng, in alto presenta il mezzobusto del figlio Ermanno, la presenza di simbolismi come la clessidra, il gallo, il libro (la Sacra Bibbia) ed il dio Mercurio, mi fa ritenere che il conte Otto facesse parte della loggia massonica di Taormina, all’epoca ne faceva parte anche il sindaco di Taormina, dott. Cacciola e sua moglie Lady Florence Trevelyan: nel suo palazzo il dott. Cacciola, realizzò un tempio, che divenne la prima loggia massonica di Taormina : la "Rinascimento" (1904)"
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The photographer Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden: and some "secret stories” of Taormina ...
At the age of about 11-12, I made a very particular discovery, I found a fair number of ancient photographs (they had been well hidden by my grandmother) inside an ancient chest of drawers in our house in Taormina, for me it was a huge surprise, the a taste for the forbidden appeared in me for the first time, they were black and white photographs, they portrayed naked boys, or only partially dressed in drapes or sheets, they were posed to imitate certain statues (or drawings) of the Greco-Roman period; I was very intrigued by them, every now and then I went to look at them, without ever feeling discomfort, I did not consider them vulgar photographs. Some of the photos were the size of a postcard, others of various sizes increasingly larger, up to a format similar to A3; on the back there were stamps, there were also, inside small red cardboard boxes, glass plates, not large, looking at them against the light, they let us glimpse images of naked boys, or only partially dressed: they were photographic negatives made on glass plates. What was that particular photographic material hidden by my grandmother in the dresser of our house? Let's take a step back in time let's teleport to April 2, 1787 when the German poet, narrator, playwright Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) lands in Palermo, following his Grand Tour in Italy (the word "tourism" derives from it) he will say of Sicily that it is a place of splendor, beauty and harmony, but at the same time a place of poverty, suffering, misery and social injustice; Goethe wrote the book "Journey to Italy", revealing himself to be one of Italy's most passionate admirers, stating that "Sicily is the key to everything" (the incredible resemblance of thought with the great Sicilian writer and journalist Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) who published in 1979 the book entitled “Sicily as a metaphor”). At the time of Goethe (and for a long time to come) the knowledge of Sicily was made up of stereotyped ideas, it was considered a land of mysteries, a den of brigands, which aroused fear in travelers, tourism did not exist, very few knew a foreign language, journeys with carriages were slow, nothing strange therefore that Taormina was an unknown village at the time. Garibaldi, in the year 1860, frees Sicily from the domination of the Bourbons. In February 1863, Count Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939) arrives in Taormina from Germany, he is a landscape painter, he begins an intense pictorial activity, thus succeeding in making Taormina and its landscapes known in the various cultural circles of Germany and France. Count Otto thus invites the then painter (who later became a photographer) Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) to come to Taormina to treat his "subtle ache", pulmonary tuberculosis, which would have benefited from the mild climate of Sicily. Von Gloeden, twenty-two, arrived in Taormina in 1878, became passionate about photography by taking lessons from the local engineer and photographer Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), perhaps also a teacher of Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), landscape photographer friend of von Gloeden, Crupi himself could also have contributed to the training as a photographer of the young von Gloeden. Like Otto Geleng's paintings, the photographs of the young Wilhelm also began to entice the then bourgeoisie across the border to come to Sicily: in the last 20 years of the 1800s the foundations were being laid for tourism in Sicily. The photographs taken by von Gloeden had as their subject young Sicilian adolescents dressed in the old-fashioned way with drapes, or completely naked, at most adorned with wreaths of flowers or laurel leaves placed on their heads, the young models assumed well-studied poses under the directed by the photographer baron, designed to create scenes that wanted to reconstruct the atmosphere of the mythical Arcadia (bucolic landscape of ancient Greece). In his poetics we can find the interest in disguise and transvestism, the young fisherman is made ambiguous by making him wear a wig, made resembling a young Sicilian girl; the images are not produced for the sole and mere trade, they are works that will be published in various famous magazines (such as "The National Geographic Magazine" or "the photographic progress", A. Stieglitz publishes his nudes on “Camera Notes"), also participating in international photographic exhibitions. The young models are filmed among ancient ruins, in rocky environments, outdoors, eliciting a spiritual feeling full of nostalgia, which follows pictorial models of German romanticism. In the photographic book "Verga photographer" (created on the discovery of 327 glass plates and 121 celluloid frames), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) great Sicilian narrator, it is possible to observe his photographs interwoven with "realism", while in the photographs of von Gloeden the symbolism andthe spiritualism predominate, however Wilhelm will also produce documentary-type photographs, photographing the terrible earthquake (and tsunami) of Messina (and Reggio Calabria) of 1908. Von Gloeden seems fully integrated into the Taormina society , nevertheless suffers heavy homophobic attacks from the local press and from important characters from Taormina, including Otto Geleng himself, who will be sued by the baron, which will then be withdrawn upon payment of 896 lire, and a restorative declaration published in the "Gazzetta di Messina" . Von Gloeden worked in his house-studio in front of the Hotel San Domenico Palace, with him lived his sister Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), daughter of his mother's first husband, who helped him manage the house-studio, and in the to receive the illustrious guests who visited him (such as Oscar Wilde, FA Krupp, Richard Strauss, the German emperor Wilhelm II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden died on February 16, 1931 at the age of 74, he was buried in the non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina, his heir was his all-around assistant Pancrazio Buciunì known as "il moro" (1879-1963) ("u 'moru", family nickname), which continues the activity, selling the prints: he undergoes two searches in full fascist regime with partial seizure and destruction of the photographic material that belonged to von Gloeden (fascism persecuted homosexuals, the repression of homosexuality was entrusted to the fascist police, which confined many homosexuals to the islands of the Mediterranean, Lipari was one of these, see the beautiful film by Ettore Scola "a special day"), Buciunì undergoes two trials for detention of obscene material, and, despite an adverse appraisal by the appointed expert prof. Stefano Bottari, holder of the chair of history of medieval and modern art at the University of Messina, who declares much of the seized material obscene, the Court of Messina, demonstrating tolerance and open-mindedness, acquits Buciunì. At this point in the story we return to my grandmother's dresser and reveal the little mystery: the hidden photographs belonged to my great-grandfather Don Gaetano D'Agata (1883-1949), von Gloeden's assistant photographer, also on the baron's teaching, he made nude photographs, as well as landscape or portrait photographs; Don Gaetano was a globetrotter, in our family album he is portrayed in various parts of the world, always in the company of beautiful women: but I will never know if those "forbidden photos" were taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano or by Von Gloeden himself, because my grandmother, having understood that I was going to peek at them in secret, made them disappear permanently, and I never heard anymore of that photographic material. For my part, it is only right to mention other figures who contributed to making Taormina the current destination for international tourism. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), was Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting, she was then sent into exile in various parts of the world by Queen herself, she arrived in Taormina and stayed there forever, she was a woman of exceptional gifts, endowed with great sensitivity and humanity, animal rights activist, philanthropist, passionate about esotericism, she was married to the then mayor and doctor of Taormina dr. Salvatore Cacciola, she were one of the first women admitted to world Freemasonry (her husband Cacciola also belonged to Freemasonry): I have already talked about it previously in one of my photographic stories. On the occasion of the XXI festival of the two worlds in Spoleto, in 1978, the essayist and literary critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980) curated an exhibition entitled "Wilhelm von Gloeden", with interventions by artists such as Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto and J. Beuys. Finally, Raffaella Perna, Researcher in History of Contemporary Art at the University of Catania, underlines in her book on "Wilhelm von Gloeden, disguises, portraits, tableaux vivants", of how LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe are the contemporary artists who they are indicated as heirs of von Gloeden's poetics.
P.S. Von Gloeden's photographs were made by photographing both the large panels with gigantographic reproductions of von Gloeden's works, which are located at the entrance of the Mocambo bar in Taormina, and in the shop-bazaar of the photographer from Taormina, my late friend, Nino Malmbrì (owner of the baron's original photographic material). The photographs of Gaetano D’Agata, were taken from my family album: in a photo a little damaged, but exceptional for its historical and emotional value, my great-grandfather, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata, here very young, holds his daughter "Ninitta" (a of the four children, had by three wives), she is my paternal grandmother; in another photo, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata poses next to her a few years later, with my grandmother already a young girl; always made by great-grandfather D'Agata there is both a portrait photo, a close-up, of my very young grandmother "Ninitta", and there is a photo of her posing as a peasant girl, with a painted backdrop behind her, as if used in studio photos; finally I put two photos taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano "en plein air" of bathers, "the location" is the beach of Mazzarò (Taormina). The photographs of the tombstones of the characters mentioned in the story were taken in the Catholic and non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina; the monumental funerary complex of Count Otto Geleng at the top presents the bust of his son Ermanno, the presence of symbolisms such as the hourglass, the rooster, the book (the Holy Bible) and the god mercury, makes me believe that Count Otto was part of the Masonic lodge of Taormina, at the time the mayor of Taormina was also part of it, dr. Cacciola and his wife Lady Florence Trevelyan: in his palace, Dr. Cacciola, built a temple, which became the first Masonic lodge in Taormina: the "Renaissance" (1904).
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Il barone fotografo Wilhelm von Gloeden: ed alcune “storie segrete” di Taormina …
Io, all’età di circa 11-12 anni, feci una scoperta molto particolare, trovai un discreto numero di antiche fotografie (erano state ben nascoste da mia nonna) dentro un antico comò in casa nostra a Taormina, per me fu una enorme sorpresa, il gusto del proibito si affacciò in me per la prima volta, erano fotografie in bianco e nero, ritraevano ragazzi nudi, o solo in parte vestiti con drappi o lenzuoli, messi in posa imitavano certe statue (o disegni) del periodo greco-romano; io ne ero rimasto molto incuriosito, ogni tanto le andavo a riguardare, senza mai provare disagio, non le consideravo fotografie volgari. Alcune foto erano della grandezza di una cartolina, altre di varie dimensioni sempre più grandi, fino ad arrivare ad un formato assimilabile all’A3; sul retro c’erano impressi dei timbri, c’erano anche, dentro dei piccoli scatoli in cartoncino di colore rosso, delle lastrine in vetro, non grandi, guardandole in controluce, lasciavano intravedere immagini di ragazzi nudi, o poco vestiti: erano i negativi fotografici realizzati su vetro. Cosa ci faceva quel materiale fotografico, così particolare, nascosto da mia nonna nel comò di casa nostra? Facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo teletrasportiamoci al 2 aprile 1787 quando a Palermo sbarca il poeta, narratore, drammaturgo tedesco Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), in seguito al suo Grand Tour in Italia (turismo deriva da esso) dirà della Sicilia che essa è luogo di splendore, bellezza ed armonia, ma al tempo stesso luogo di povertà, sofferenza, miseria ed ingiustizia sociale; Goethe scrive il libro “Viaggio in Italia”, rivelandosi uno dei più appassionati ammiratori dell’Italia, affermando che “la Sicilia è la chiave di tutto” (incredibile la rassomiglianza di pensiero col grande scrittore e giornalista siciliano Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) che pubblica nel 1979 il libro dal titolo “la Sicilia come metafora”). Ai tempi di Goethe (e per molto tempo ancora) la conoscenza della Sicilia era fatta di idee stereotipate, era considerata terra di misteri, covo di briganti, il che incuteva timore nei viaggiatori, il turismo non esisteva, pochissimi conoscevano una lingua straniera, i viaggi con carrozze ertano lenti, nulla di strano quindi che Taormina fosse all’epoca un villaggio sconosciuto. Garibaldi, nell’anno 1860, libera la Sicilia dalla dominazione dei Borboni. Nel febbraio del 1863, dalla Germania giunge a Taormina il conte Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939), egli è un pittore paesaggista, inizia una intensa attività pittorica, riuscendo in tal modo a far conoscere Taormina ed i suoi paesaggi nei vari circoli culturali della Germania e della Francia. Il conte Otto invita così l’allora pittore (poi divenuto fotografo) barone Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) a venire a Taormina per curare il suo “mal sottile”, la tubercolosi polmonare, che avrebbe tratto giovamento dal clima mite della Sicilia. Von Gloeden, ventiduenne, nel 1878 giunge a Taormina, si appassiona alla fotografia prendendo lezioni dall’ingegnere e fotografo locale Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), forse anche insegnante di Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), fotografo paesaggista amico di von Gloeden, il quale Crupi stesso potrebbe anche aver contribuito alla formazione come fotografo del giovane von Gloeden. Così come i dipinti di Otto Geleng, anche le fotografie del giovane Wilhelm incominciarono ad invogliare l’allora borghesia d’oltre confine, a venire in Sicilia: negli ultimi 20 anni dell’800 si stavano gettando le basi per il turismo in Sicilia. Le fotografie realizzate da von Gloeden avevano come soggetto giovani adolescenti siciliani vestiti all’antica con drappi, o completamente nudi, tutt’al più adornati da coroncine di fiorellini o foglie d’alloro messi sul capo, i giovani modelli assumevano pose ben studiate sotto la regia del barone fotografo, atte a realizzare scene che volevano ricostruire l’atmosfera della mitica Arcadia (paesaggio bucolico dell’antica Grecia). Nella sua poetica possiamo riscontrare l’interesse per il travestimento ed il travestitismo, il giovane pescatore viene reso ambiguo facendogli indossare una parrucca, reso somigliante ad una giovane ragazza siciliana; le immagini non vengono prodotte per il solo e mero commercio, sono opere che verranno pubblicate su varie riviste famose (come “The National Geographic Magazine” o “Il Progresso fotografico”, A. Stieglitz pubblica i suoi nudi su “Camera Notes”), partecipando anche ad esposizioni fotografiche internazionali. I giovani modelli sono ripresi tra antichi ruderi, in ambienti rupestri, all’aperto, elicitando un sentimento spirituale carico di nostalgia, il che ricalca modelli pittorici del romanticismo tedesco. Nel libro fotografico “Verga fotografo” (realizzato su ritrovamento di 327 lastre in vetro e 121 fotogrammi in celluloide), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) grande narratore siciliano, è possibile osservare le sue fotografie intessute di “verismo”, mentre nelle fotografie di von Gloeden predomina il simbolismo e lo spiritualismo, purtuttavia Wilhelm produrrà anch’egli fotografie di tipo documentaristico, andando a fotografare il terribile terremoto (e maremoto) di Messina (e di Reggio Calabria) del 1908. Von Gloeden sembra pienamente integrato nella società taorminese, ciononostante subisce pesanti attacchi omofobi dalla stampa locale e da importanti personaggi taorminesi, incluso lo stesso Otto Geleng, i quali verranno querelati dal barone, querela che verrà poi ritirata dietro pagamento di 896 lire, ed una dichiarazione riparatoria pubblicata sulla “Gazzetta di Messina”. Von Gloeden lavorava nella sua casa-studio di fronte l’Hotel San Domenico Palace, con lui viveva sua sorella Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), figlia del primo marito di sua madre, che lo aiutava a governare la casa-studio, e nel ricevere gli illustri ospiti che lo andavano a trovare ( come Oscar Wilde, F.A. Krupp, Richard Strauss, l’imperatore tedesco Guglielmo II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden muore il 16 febbraio 1931 all’età di 74 anni, viene sepolto nel cimitero acattolico di Taormina, il suo erede è il suo assistente tutto fare Pancrazio Buciunì detto “il moro” (1879-1963) (“u’ moru”, soprannome di famiglia), che ne prosegue l’attività, vendendone le stampe: il quale subisce in pieno regime fascista due perquisizioni con parziale sequestro e distruzione del materiale fotografico che apparteneva a von Gloeden (il fascismo perseguitò gli omosessuali, la repressione dell’omosessualità fu affidata alla polizia fascista, che confinò molti omosessuali nelle isole del mediterraneo, Lipari fu una di queste, vedi il bellissimo film di Ettore Scola “una giornata particolare”), Buciunì subisce due processi per detenzione di materiale osceno, e, nonostante una perizia avversa da parte del nominato perito prof. Stefano Bottari, titolare della cattedra di storia dell’arte medioevale e moderna dell’Università di Messina, che dichiara osceno gran parte del materiale sequestrato, il Tribunale di Messina dimostrando tolleranza ed apertura mentale, assolve il Buciunì. A questo punto del racconto ritorniamo al comò di mia nonna e sveliamo il piccolo mistero: le fotografie nascoste appartenevano al mio bisnonno don Gaetano D’Agata (1883-1949), assistente fotografo di von Gloeden, anch’egli sull’insegnamento del barone, realizzò fotografie di nudo, oltre che di paesaggio o ritratto; don Gaetano era un giramondo, nel nostro album di famiglia lui è ritratto in varie parti del mondo, sempre in compagnia di belle donne: ma io non saprò mai se quelle “foto proibite” erano realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano o da Von Gloeden stesso, perché mia nonna, avendo capito che le andavo a sbirciare di nascosto, le fece sparire definitivamente, e di quel materiale fotografico non ne seppi più nulla. Da parte mia, è doveroso citare altre figure che contribuirono a rendere Taormina l’attuale meta del turismo internazionale. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), era dama di corte della regina Vittoria, dalla stessa regina Lady Florence fu poi mandata in esilio in varie parti del mondo, giunse a Taormina e qui vi restò per sempre, era una donna dalle doti eccezionali, dotata di grande sensibilità ed umanità, animalista, filantropa, appassionata di esoterismo, fu sposa dell’allora sindaco e medico di Taormina dott. Salvatore Cacciola, fu una delle prime donne ammesse alla massoneria mondiale (apparteneva alla massoneria anche il marito Cacciola): ne ho già parlato in precedenza in un mio racconto fotografico. Robert Hawthorn Kitson (1873-1947) era un pittore britannico omosessuale, egli lasciò l’Inghilterra a causa dell’emendamento Labouchere, che rendeva illegale qualsiasi atto omosessuale nel Regno Unito (1885), giunse a Taormina e qui si stabilì, costruendo nel 1905 Casa Cusani, una villa con vista sull’Etna, oggi casa museo; nella sua sala da pranzo si trovano gli affreschi “proibiti” realizzati da Frank Brangwyn, essi narrano dell’amore omosessuale tra Kitson ed il suo compagno Carlo Siligato: nel 1908 in seguito al terremoto che distrusse Messina (e Reggio Calabria), essi adottarono un bambino che era rimasto orfano, divenendo di fatto una famiglia omosessuale, all’epoca assolutamente proibita; gli affreschi di Casa Cuseni sono ispirati alle fotografie di von Gloeden, così come nella villa, si trova una “autocromia a colori” del 1910, realizzata da von Gloeden, documento eccezionale che testimonia la volontà del barone di sperimentare nuove tecniche. In occasione del XXI festival dei due mondi di Spoleto, nel 1978, il saggista e critico letterario Roland Barthes (1915-1980) cura una mostra intitolata “Wilhelm von Gloeden”, con interventi di artisti quali Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto e J. Beuys. Infine, Raffaella Perna, Ricercatrice in Storia dell'arte contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Catania, sottolinea nel suo libro su “Wilhelm von Gloeden, travestimenti, ritratti, tableaux vivants”, di come LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe siano gli artisti contemporanei che vengono indicati come eredi della poetica di von Gloeden.
P.S. le fotografie di Von Gloeden sono state realizzate fotografando sia i grandi pannelli con gigantografiche riproduzioni delle opere di von Gloeden, che si trovano all’ingresso del bar Mocambo di Taormina, sia nel negozio-bazar del fotografo taorminese, compianto mio amico, Nino Malmbrì (possessore di materiale fotografico originale del barone). Le fotografie di Gaetano D’Agata, sono state prese dal mio album di famiglia: in una foto un pò rovinata, ma eccezionale per il suo valore storico e per me affettivo, il mio bisnonno, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata, qui molto giovane, tiene in braccio sua figlia "Ninitta" (una dei quattro figli, avuti da tre mogli), lei è la mia nonna paterna; in un'altra foto, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata posa accanto a lei qualche anno dopo, con mia nonna già ragazzina; sempre realizzate dal bisnonno D'Agata c'è sia un foto-ritratto, un primo piano, di mia nonna "Ninitta" molto giovane, e c'è la foto di lei mentre posa come contadinella, con dietro un fondale dipinto, come si usava nelle foto da studio; infine ho messo, due foto realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano "en plein air" a delle bagnanti, "la location" è la spiaggia di Mazzarò (Taormina). Le fotografie delle tombe dei personaggi menzionati nel racconto, sono state fatte nel cimitero cattolico ed acattolico di Taormina; il complesso monumentale funerario del conte Otto Geleng in alto presenta il mezzobusto del figlio Ermanno, la presenza di simbolismi come la clessidra, il gallo, il libro (la Sacra Bibbia) ed il dio mercurio, mi fa ritenere che il conte Otto facesse parte della loggia massonica di Taormina, all’epoca ne faceva parte anche il sindaco di Taormina, dott. Cacciola e sua moglie Lady Florence Trevelyan: nel suo palazzo il dott. Cacciola, realizzò un tempio, che divenne la prima loggia massonica di Taormina : la "Rinascimento"(1904).
Imagine my delight at spotting an Orange-tip in powered down mode resting on a Dandelion clock. Wow!
#70743
After I took this picture, I gave the man a dollar. He thanked me, put the money in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. OH WELL
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"When you're tired ...
And you can't sleep ...
Count your blessings,
instead of sheep ~"
(from White Christmas; sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney)
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flickr ADVENT 2014
DAY 25: !!! We made it !!!
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Z is for ZABRINA ... and for getting your Z-Z-Z's ...
before the big Event when Santa arrives on your rooftop!
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ZABRINA ZADORA is a Saffy encore (I did her face and gave her neon hairs) ...
Wearing her pj's from Iva Boyer; Robe by Blythe Fifth Avenue;
Rob & Sioux bow-headband;
American Girl size IKEA bed.
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Dryope sylvan hairstreak (satyrium sylvinus dryope) at Pinnacles National Park photographed during a butterfly count. This species spends the afternoon perched on willows. Pinnacles, which has an amazing number of species of willow, has in several years found more dryope hairstreaks to count than any other butterfly count circle.
©Binish Malloossery.
All images are the property of Binish Malloossery.
Using these images without permission is in violation of international
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All materials may be not copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded,
displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic,
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Counting money occupies quite a lot of time in Uzbekistan. 1000 som is the equivalent of about 60 US cents, so currency exchange and simple purchases often took on a life of their own. Soon I realised that the locals were just as bemused, and could often be seen checking out their currency holdings!! Another version of the great money count in the comment box.
copyright: © varenne. All rights reserved. Please do not use this image, or any images from my photostream, without my permission.
The QLCS storms on June 10th have just had three more tornadoes added to the count:
"Tree damage reported in the Huntsville area. Satellite imagery review of the storm track revealed a tornado damage path starting on the eastern shore of Mary Lake and ending in a forested area northeast of Dwight. Damage assessed as EF2, with an estimated max. wind speed of 190 km/h, track length of 24.6 km and max. path width of 540 m.
Tree damage reported in the Baysville area. Satellite imagery review of the storm track revealed a tornado damage path starting south of Baysville and ending in a forested area east of Dickie Lake. Damage assessed as EF1, with an estimated max. wind speed of 145 km/h, track length of 5.6 km and max. path width of 140 m.
Structural and tree damage reported in the Bracebridge area. Satellite imagery review of the storm track revealed a tornado damage path starting on Eilean Gowan Island, tracking ENE toward Bracebridge. Damage assessed as EF1, with an estimated max. wind speed of 150 km/h, track length of 5.6 km and max. path width of 120 m."
- Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP)
IMG_4248_72
Image info: not in photo are D90, Nikkor50mm, Metz58AF1 and Tripods
Strobist info: R Metz w/lambency diffuser @1/8
L Built-in @ttL-1.0
For years, the image of an African-American chef appeared on Cream of Wheat packaging and in ads, reminding some consumers of earlier depictions they find offensive. The smiling Black man in a white uniform worn by chefs had not changed much since his debut in the late 19th century. The character was named “Rastus,” a pejorative term for Black men.
The Black chef will no longer appear on Cream of Wheat packaging where he was the face of the brand for more than a century, the product’s parent company announced in a decision that came three months after it vowed to re-evaluate its marketing to ensure it did not “inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.”
The hot cereal joins Aunt Jemima, Eskimo Pie and other products that have shifted brand names and images amid calls for racial justice.
[Source: The New York Times, Sept. 27, 2020, in an article by Marie Fazio]
a photo from each month of this past year
1. Untitled, 2. elementary cooking, 3. it's a wrap, 4. Untitled, 5. nuit noir, 6. tire-toi donc une bûche, 7. little dears, 8. Untitled, 9. phone home, 10. Untitled, 11. 3 lamps and a disco ball, 12. Untitled