View allAll Photos Tagged desolate
There's a weird dichotomy in the weather this time of year. At this point the snow has melted, but winter has gone into temporary remission rather than full retreat. We get brilliant days filled with sunshine and magnificent skies, but tempered by extreme cold and wind. Looks can be deceiving as was the case this day. By the looks off it you'd think this was shirtsleeve weather suitable for a walk in the park. On the other side of the lens is me bundled in winter survival mode, wrapped head to foot and still feeling the penetrating cold wind. There's an eeriness to days like this that I've felt often. Massive, multi-acre burial grounds with not a single living soul except me. People tend not to venture out in extreme weather, yet time and again that's precisely what motivates me. This can be a very depleting experience, moving from grave-to-grave, absorbing a bit of sadness with each one. Reading gravestone inscriptions, studying the mementos and tributes, and seeing faces of the dead, literally dozens of them, in small cameo portraits left by loved ones. Smiling faces of people then full of life, now forever consigned to this place. It's very humbling. I paused for a while taking in this coppery-bronze painted statue of the Madonna. I was transfixed by the utter clarity of the day, like looking at life through a high def filter. And the eerie gaze of the baby Jesus upon me. In this moment my preoccupation with the freezing cold was forgotten.
A set of long exposures from Helsinki on a busy Sunday: Oodi becomes quite quiet with 215-second exposure
A set of long exposures from Helsinki on a busy Sunday: The western entrance of Railway Station completely desolated
Created and uploaded for the "Photo Interpretation" challenge at ✣ The Music Room - The Photo Gallery ✣ group..
www.flickr.com/groups/musicphotogallery/discuss/721576306...
I choose this photo to accompany the music selected by J.Noella : ♪ ♫ Hate Me ~ Blue October ♫ ♪
Driving around the New Forest a couple of days ago, trying to spot some compositions in the frost, I came across a group of trees/bushes that had been subject to controlled burning recently. By isolating one of them within a composition of frozen open land, I felt it portrayed the cold, lifeless feeling of the landscape during this current cold spell.
One of our local egret neighbors searches the last remaining areas of a pond that still has water - it was generally a dry summer. However, I am still surprised of its ability to catch fish, even though looking through such murky water!
After years of nature restoration the peataera Vragenderveen has become a tough place for trees leaving a desolated feeling
Door succesvol herstel avn het hoogveen beginnen de bomen het steeds moeilijker te krijgen. Afgelopen zomer zijn veel berken opgeruimd met een kale desolate aanblik. Ziet apart, maar is een goed teken.
photo rights reserved by Ben
The David Gareja Monastery complex lies deeply tucked away in the rugged, semi-desert landscape of eastern Georgia, near the border with Azerbaijan. The surroundings are marked by dry hillsides, weathered rock faces, and vast, desolate plains — a landscape that breathes silence. It is precisely this remoteness that made the site a sanctuary for monks seeking to withdraw from worldly life for centuries. In this photo, you see one of the many stone-carved stairways leading to a modest cave cell with a wooden door marked by a cross. These entrances, partially hidden in the sandstone, gave access to hermit dwellings and prayer chambers where monks lived in seclusion — devoted to silence, prayer, and contemplation. The rock structure is rough yet purposeful; the steps shaped by centuries of use and exposure to the elements. Though parts of the complex have fallen into ruin, places like this are still in use. Behind this door, Georgian Orthodox monks may still reside today, faithfully continuing the austere lifestyle of their spiritual predecessors. The atmosphere here is timeless: silence prevails, the stone steps crunch softly beneath your feet, and the boundary between earth and spirit feels thinner with every step. During our visit, we were the only visitors, allowing us to explore the entire site in absolute tranquility. From the monastery, a breathtaking view opens out over the stillness of the endless semi-desert plains — a place of peace, reflection, and quiet mysticism.
Nestled in Georgia’s remote eastern hills, the David Gareja Monastery blends into a silent, semi-desert landscape. This photo shows a weathered stone staircase leading to a secluded cave cell — once a refuge for monks seeking solitude and prayer. Though centuries old, the site remains active, with Georgian Orthodox monks still living in quiet devotion amid these carved sandstone cliffs. The stillness here is as powerful as the view: vast, untouched, and deeply spiritual.
Het David Gareja-kloostercomplex ligt diep verscholen in het ruige, halfwoestijnachtige landschap van Oost-Georgië, vlak bij de grens met Azerbeidzjan. De omgeving bestaat uit droge hellingen, verweerde rotswanden en verlaten vlaktes — een landschap dat stilte ademt. Juist deze afgelegen ligging maakte de plek eeuwenlang tot een toevluchtsoord voor monniken die zich wilden terugtrekken uit het wereldse leven. Op deze foto zie je één van de vele trappen uitgehouwen in de rots, die leidt naar een eenvoudige grotcel met een houten deur voorzien van een kruis. Deze ingangen, deels verborgen in de zandsteen, gaven toegang tot kluizenaarsverblijven en gebedsruimten waar monniken in afzondering leefden — toegewijd aan stilte, gebed en contemplatie. De rotsstructuur is ruw maar functioneel; de treden zijn gevormd door eeuwenlang gebruik en weersinvloeden. Hoewel het complex deels vervallen is, zijn plekken als deze nog steeds in gebruik. Achter deze deur kunnen nog altijd Georgisch-Orthodoxe monniken verblijven, die trouw het sobere leven van hun voorgangers voortzetten. De sfeer is er tijdloos: stilte overheerst, de stenen trappen knarsen zacht onder je voeten, en je voelt hoe de grens tussen het aardse en het spirituele hier vervaagt. Tijdens ons bezoek waren we de enige bezoekers, wat het mogelijk maakte het hele terrein in volledige rust te verkennen. Vanaf het klooster strekt zich een adembenemend uitzicht uit over de stille, eindeloze semi-woestijnvlakten — een plek van verstilling, bezinning en mystiek.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI3fkqA9-IA
The only veil that stands between perception of what is underneath the desolate surface is your courage.
Dare to breach the surface and sink.
Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
© All rights reserved Anna Kwa. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission
"...have you never been enthralled? enchantment that is unrequited desolates the soul...”
0436=210806
I suppose there is a silent beauty in desolation, but in all of my other photographs I have strived to show a lush beauty of the natural environment, elegance in human endeavor and a regeneration of hostile urban environments.
We need leaders who are interested in preserving the natural environment, and who are interested in cooperating with other nations to accomplish that goal. I am very concerned that our current leaders may not recognize the need to protect the environment.
(Rest assured that Lake Superior, and Presque Isle are still vibrant and lush...this picture was altered for effect to reflect what the world could look like if it is not cared for).
My first shot of 2014 up on the moors near to Rookhope in County Durham / Northumberland. Really a bit too cold for long exposures but braved it nonetheless! We had a good covering of snow today above about 300 m.
A pair of UP SD70Ms lead a short westbound intermodal train through the desolation of Sloan, NV.
UP 4483 SD70M
UP 4110 SD70M
More Cornwall, I love these old Engine houses wihich pepper the landscape there. This is atop Bodmin Moor at Minories.
I must confess to some disappointment with Dungeness, maybe that’s why this image has sat around on my hard disk for months, unloved and ignored.
Having seen many great images of abandoned shacks and tumble down structures from this locale I was surprised to find only this solitary hut, or what was left of it. Chatting to a local fisherman he said most of the old huts had fallen down during a winter storm a couple of years ago. There were a handful of old neglected boats but I struggled with compositions, and the boats themselves weren’t exactly what I had hoped for.
Dungeness is an interesting location, apparently classified as Britain’s only desert, and there is also a huge nuclear power station and lighthouse nearby. Should be a photographer’s dream, and If you haven’t been there is worth a visit for its uniqueness in the UK, but while it could be because of my ineptitude, I wouldn’t hold out too many hopes of finding a great composition.
Anyway, I thought it was high time that I posted my solitary half decent shot from this location.