View allAll Photos Tagged existential
a fleeting moment at plaza mayor in madrid, where light and shadow play on ancient cobblestones. a silhouette strides through the archway, suspended between darkness and light. the shadow stretches long, chasing memories of countless footsteps before. time pauses, the city breathes. a scene both timeless and transient, etched in stark contrast.
a fleeting presence etched in sunlight — the echo of someone just passing by. no face, no footsteps, only the soft weight of absence on a worn city wall.
Writing on the Wall Having an Existential Moment? (Would the Sky be Better??)😋
⭐️Thank you in Advance for your kind ‘Faves’ Visits and Comments they are so very much appreciated. 👍
I cannot always ‘Thank’ everyone individually, for their Visits and ‘Faves’ however, I will always try to respond and thank all those that leave a ‘Comment’. If I do not reply to your 'Comment', it is not because I am ignoring you, it's because I have not seen the 'Comment'.
Your 'Comments' do not always appear in 'Notifications' or Flickr mail, so, I am sorry for any delay in responding. Often your 'Comment' is only spotted 'On the Page' on the day, that I see it. (seen ONLY when replying to someone HAS 'Commented' on the image, and I see a notification)
Oslo's Frognerparken is known by tourists as Vigeland Park, after the early 20th century artist Gustav Vigeland, who with a few sculptors created an installation of over 200 statues and other works in granite and bronze, mostly human figures in all states of life and attitude. It is epic, existential, and unique. I had photographed it once before many years ago, in daylight and warm weather, so it was interesting on my recent visit to see it at dusk in winter. Some of the figures are lit by stylised electric lights that are part of the installation, and their warm colour made strong contrasts with the freezing conditions, as well as revealing the textures of the granite and bronze in human form. I'll post some more over the next few weeks.
Tonight Ukraine stands alone, but it has never had more friends. However too many of those 'friends' are cowed by timidity, greed and sloth. NATO stands at the door, unable to assist for fear of an existential war for the world. Whilst Britain supplied 2000 of the latest NLAW and even more Javelin anti-tank missiles, and demanded extreme European sanctions on Russia Germany supplied 5000 helmets. Only late today has it agreed to supply 1000 obsolete anti-tank weapons and 500 Javelins. Apparently it is now considering agreeing to Russia being blocked from the SWIFT banking system. Belgium wanted sanctions to exclude diamonds. Italy wanted luxury goods such as Gucci loafers and handbags excluded from sanctions. Where are their morals? Can they even be trusted as NATO members? Would they fight at all in defence of another NATO member? with handbags? In the face of an existential threat to another democratic European country they have shown themselves to be feeble, selfish, slow and unreliable, and almost useless in the defence of freedom and democracy. As we all watch the news we see citizens of a country where they stare in the face a terrible threat to their own survival, pride, patriotism, determination and a desire for right to prevail over evil. I think Ukraine are winning the right to be good members of the EU and NATO.
Russia and all its people will suffer unprecedented sanctions from all round the world. Manchester United have cancelled Aeroflot sponsorship. Poland and Sweden are refusing to play Russia in World Cup qualifying games, Russian F1 Grand Prix cancelled, Russian private aircraft and airliners are banned from flying over many parts of the world. Visas cancelled. Banks blocked. The Rouble in freefall. Champion's League final taken away from St Petersburg. Bolshoi Ballet cancelled. Russia banned from Eurovision Song Contest, Kremlin website taken off-line, Russian ships taken into custody. peace, stop the war, protests in Moscow and around the world, ............the world is not happy with Russia! Even China is distancing itself from what Russia has done....what Putin has done in all Russian's names. You are pariah's of the world. Putin has stolen your future.
Putin will be defeated by his own greed and stupidity. Viva 🇺🇦 No surrender!
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzche spent seven wonderful summers on these trails, the most productive period of his life. I found his ideas a bit disturbing yet they keep on grasping at my consciousness. These huge mountains remind me of our insignificance. Yet, they also possess the explanations of our existential dilemma as Nietzche may have seen. At least, that's how I see it when I also put my feet on these trails.
My favourite city walk, the green tunnel that follows the chalk stream, which is a conduit for so much wildlife. Sometimes you won't see any animals, but other times you can see kingfishers, little egrets, water rails, grass snakes, water voles, muntjac deer, foxes and many other species. We are very lucky to have it, and take part in the regular clear-ups of the rubbish that either blows in or gets callously dumped there. This threat is dwarfed however by the existential one posed by over abstraction of water from the springs that supply it; our water supply must be managed for people and environment first, and private profit second.
The beech leaves are coming out. Tried to match with this photo my contemplative mood.
These are times where perseverance is more important than ever. This is easier with a purpose. It creates meaning, as reflecting on life creates meaning. Life is inherently meaningful, it does not matter which purpose one follow, as long as one follows it and this purpose is in accordance with a virtuous live.
Living a creative and compassionate life is meaningful. Enjoyment of beauty, art and nature is meaningful. Perseverance in the face of suffering is meaningful.
Living in awareness is meaningful. Going with the flow is meaningful.
The saying I have chosen belongs to the 6th-century Chinese sage Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.
CARETAKING/INTERSPACES The Weird And The Eerie/fluctuating networks of existential events : Photographic pathologies of alterity
where once fruitful soil
and profound sky and earth's thrum
now but futile shards
and frail grasp of meager cleft
through merciless time
Solastalgia: “ …a form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change.”
*in explore
..si nos vamos para el cielo o para el infierno | ...if we're going to heaven or hell |
Pues... la decisión de dónde vamos no depende de una respuesta simple. La verdadera pregunta es: ¿Estamos viviendo de una manera que nos permita tener confianza en nuestro destino?
El camino al cielo o al infierno se construye con cada elección. Cultiva la confianza en ti mismo y en tus acciones para encontrar la paz interior.
Ahora bien, la idea del cielo y el infierno es un tema complejo y personal. Tal vez sea más importante vivir con integridad y confianza en que estamos haciendo lo mejor que podemos.Así que en lugar de preocuparnos por un destino final, enfoquémonos en construir una vida llena de significado y confianza. Resulta que la felicidad verdadera se encuentra en el camino, no solo en el destino.
En resumen: la confianza en nosotros mismos y en un poder superior es lo que nos guía. Cultivando esa confianza, podemos encontrar la serenidad que buscamos.
8x10 darkroom print
This is an experimental darkroom print from my "Aftermath" series. I am really happy that this print was purchased to be used in an album cover by a Japanese band Calme Adiction. Here is a link to where it appears calmeadiction.bandcamp.com/track/land-of-ulcer-live-ver
Also I'm really happy how the solarization turned out, it's a pretty hard darkroom technique.
Aftermath is a photography series I created during the pandemic, using a range of experimental techniques to explore the human condition in times of crisis. By employing methods such as film soup, developing color film with black-and-white chemistry, and innovative and alternative darkroom printing, I aimed to reflect the uncertainties and disruptions of the era. The work delves into themes of resilience, vulnerability, and the broader existential challenges posed by capitalism, offering a layered social commentary on our shared experiences during turbulent times.
the most golden of all sunrises I've ever witnessed in my life, right over the Norwegian Sea. A moment to remember :)
I spent a morning in Roseville last week waiting for Marg to finish up with an outpatient foot surgery. Roseville is a large sprawling city with its roots as a bedroom community to nearby Sacramento. I drove around a bit and true to my nature was drawn to the less attractive side of town--the railroad yard. I'm sure there's an existential reason for this--kind of like thinking about thinking about how your thoughts tend to randomly intersect.
Roseville CA
The Time Warp
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S91wQbYYX3Q
NO AI USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS IMAGE.
By now you well know my take on AI and photography, writing and music. It's like oil and water - they don't belong together! But please don't take my word for it. The great Australian musician, Nick Cave, was so incensed by AI he wrote one of the finest reflections on the subject in defense of the human creative spirit.
When this letter is read by the incomparable Stephen Fry, then it really is something special. Take a few minutes to watch this beautiful reading:
Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave's stirring letter about ChatGPT and human creativity
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJcF4bLKd4
"Chat GPT is fast-tracking the commodification of the human spirit by mechanizing the imagination."
"This impulse, this creative dance, that is now being so cynically undermined, must be defended at all costs. And just as we would fight any existential evil, we should fight it tooth and nail, for we are fighting for the very soul of the world.
Love Nick."
Pondering the meaning of life often begins like that - standing still while the world moves, feeling the pull of something vast and unknowable.
Maybe it’s not about finding a single answer, but about noticing the beauty in the questions. The way light touches water. The way solitude feels like both a gift and a challenge. The way we choose to move - or stay.
for his "human condition" series
www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.70170.html
the Magritte series, sort of an existential quagmire??? i.e., we exist yet we are stuck in that existence, we have to exist! no way out! AAAAA!
lol
catalina island
It was full moon yesterday, and because it coincided with the moon at its closest position to earth, the full moon showed 7% larger than average.
Looking at the sky last night, my thoughts dreamt away. Existential questions. Why is the universe organized as it is? Planets, moons, stars, galaxies. Formed by the law of nature, but are other forms of organisation possible as well? And is our planet the only one with life? If so, why are the other celestial objects existing? If not, how will life on other planets look like? Similar as ours, or organized differently?
The universe seems to follow strict mechanical rules, while this still leads to diversity and chaos on every scale. What does that mean for our own free will? Is it really free, or is it only a product of this mechanical chaos as well, and ergo deterministic?
Questions to dream about, without finding definite answers. Perhaps that is what keeps us moving. If we would knew it all, what would be left to dream about?
HSS!
ODC - Theme (20-06-2013): The big question
Silders Sunday (23-06-2013)
EXPLORE (23-06-2013)
The Soviet-Afghan War memorial in the Victory Park in Armenia's capital Yevevan. It's located on "Heroes Alley" where Soviet-era war heroes in Afghanistan back to the 1930s are commemorated by name. I can find no more information about it.
3,762 Armenians fought with Soviet forces in Afghanistan and 128 died. Yet it is dwarfed in the Armenian imagination by the wars of independence and the independence era, existential for national survival and, for Armenians, vastly more deadly. The dead of those wars are not commemorated in the Soviet-era Victory Park, but 11 km away at Yerablur.
I cannot even find details of the sculptor of this memorial or its date of construction, although it is well-kept and I do know Armenian veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War hold an annual commemoration here.
a solitary figure dissolves into the sky—caught between structure and light, silence and ascension. the city falls away, and only motion remains.
a fleeting moment through the window. shadows of the present pass by, blurred and faceless, while the statue stands still, timeless and unmoved. a silent witness to all who come and go. between stone and shadow, past and present merge. a quiet reflection on memory and time.
Life doesn't have to be one big existential crisis after another. It's like any other job. You get two fifteen minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.
"Time to sound the solemn siren
It's a moaning melody that I'm guiding,
Unholy harmony that is chiming
A Ka Dua No Ra,
Counting down to the certain silence,
Let the darker side become your alliance,
One two three and the time is upon us,
Ohhh fall with me,
Hear my perish song,
Hear my perish song,"
Perish Song- Trickywi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: unknown at this time
Species: siren, born from pure chaos
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Hobbies: eating and luring men to their dooms, causing weather anomalies, singing loud rock music, summoning cthulhu
Playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/39am7JWl1vhkt00qHA91X5?si=55b80...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sponsered:
Store 1:
PANIQ - Cosmic Cattle Horns
Official post: www.flickr.com/photos/paniqsl/53943062838/in/dateposted/
Store 2:
/Vae Victis\ - "Aza'Telos" - Starforged Monolith
Official post: www.flickr.com/photos/vaevictissl/53015067750/in/dateposted/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other mentions and credits:
Photo was edited by: Exi Conundrum-Firelyte on secondlife <3
Her flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/188596837@N05/
Her primfeed: www.primfeed.com/existential.conundrum
She will edit your things <3 contact her if you need some photo touch ups and what not.
Background:
Created by me, inspired by Vae Victis. Yall should visit if yall haven’t, the sim is beautiful! My favorite location: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eldritch/121/122/1000
Their primfeed: www.primfeed.com/vae-victis
Their flickrs:
Mes: www.flickr.com/photos/javasharp/
Grim: www.flickr.com/photos/vaevictissl/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other credits for items and taxis will be located at these links:
Primfeed: www.primfeed.com/ellesmere.starchild/posts/d8498804-631a-...
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/ellesmerestarchild/762976748894928896/the-...
Breathtaking Last Sunset Of September 2020 On Tampa Bay Florida - IMRAN™
This is what tonight's sunset - the last sunset of September 2020 - unfolded looking like. I knew I had to take some photos as I juggled two steaks on the grill, two German Shepherds playing hard drenched from being in the swimming pool, and two cameras to take photos with. What can I tell you... I am a Gemini. Two of everything. LOL.
2020 has been a surreal year for us. For all of us. Globally, as a species under attack from a pandemic. Nationally, America literally facing an existential crisis brought on by a constitutional crisis being foisted upon us by the agents of an enemy state. And even personally, by the many shocking blows I was hit with this year.
But, at the end of it all, the day, the month, the quarter, soon the year, the decade, and one day my earthly time itself, I cannot deny all the unbelievable blessings I shall forever be grateful for. That is why almost everything I am writing this year makes me refer to things with the particular year 2020 mentioned.
I hope that we all survive this year all the horrendous things that threaten us, our health, our democracy, and our nation. I pray that we grow stronger, smarter, happier, more loved, and more successful in the years to come. I dream of the times we can look back at the writings from these moments in time and be grateful to have made it into those dates in the future. I hope you will be with me then too. Amen.
© 2020 IMRAN™
Skin retouching totally happened here, without a doubt, as a creative and somewhat existential exercise.
Contemplation is at once the existential appreciation of our own “nothingness” and of the divine reality, perceived by ineffable spiritual contact within the depths of our own being. Contemplation is the sudden intuitive penetration of what really IS. It is the unexpected leap of the spirit of man into the existential luminosity of Reality Itself, not merely by the metaphysical intuition of being, but by the transcendent fulfilment of an existential communion with Him Who IS.
-Thomas Merton, The New Man
A solitary figure stands where rock meets sea, confronting the vast horizon without promise of reply. Not serenity but the raw tension of existence—alienation sharpened into defiance, solitude carved into symbol. Here, the world is indifferent, the sea restless, the rocks unyielding. Yet in the act of standing, the figure affirms a fragile freedom: to face the void, to remain, to choose.
the Scottish Queen apparently is not amused. That's what I like about thistles: their existential stance! :D
We operate exclusively with things that do not exist, with lines, surfaces, bodies, atoms, divisible time spans, divisible spaces—how could explanations be possible at all when we initially turn everything into images, into our images!
[Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher, classical scholar, critic of culture. Friedrich Nietzsche, Sämtliche Werke: Kritische Studienausgabe, vol. 3, p. 473, eds. Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari, Berlin, de Gruyter (1980). The Gay Science, first edition, "Third Book," aphorism 112 (1882).]
Il est « illuminé » veut dire qu’en lui-même, en tant qu’être au monde, il est éclairé, non par un autre étant mais en ce qu’il est lui-même la clairière. Ce n’est qu’à un étant ainsi éclairé existentialement que l’étant là-devant devient tantôt accessible sous la lumière, tantôt caché dans l’obscurité.
Être et Temps - Martin Heidegger
Nothing special... just show a full moon. Powerful, majestic, and mystical.
The full moon used to be a sign of upheaval. Today, it's merely a backdrop for a world that never rests anyway.
People can't sleep, not because the moon keeps them awake, but because their thoughts are too loud. Pressure to perform, existential anxiety, the endless flood of information. A society that doesn't switch off even at night doesn't need a moon to be restless.
And yet, the full moon has something incorruptible about it. It reveals itself in all its truth, without masks, without filters. Perhaps that's why we fear it. For in its light, there's no hiding—not from it and not from ourselves.
****
Nichts besonderes ... zeig einfach einen Vollmond. Gewaltig, majestätisch und mystisch
Früher war der Vollmond ein Zeichen für Umbruch. Heute ist er nur noch Kulisse für eine Welt, die ohnehin nie zur Ruhe kommt.
Die Menschen schlafen nicht, nicht weil der Mond sie wach hält, sondern weil ihre Gedanken zu laut sind. Leistungsdruck, Existenzangst, die endlose Flut an Informationen. Eine Gesellschaft, die selbst bei Nacht nicht abschaltet, braucht keinen Mond, um ruhelos zu sein.
Und doch hat der Vollmond etwas Unbestechliches. Er zeigt sich in voller Wahrheit, ohne Masken, ohne Filter. Vielleicht ist das der Grund, warum wir ihn fürchten. Denn in seinem Licht gibt es kein Verstecken – nicht vor ihm und nicht vor uns selbst.
✨💄 Welcome to the Heart Bath. 🛁🐬
Tucked inside my heart-shaped villa at Le Chateau, this is where I wash off capitalism, contour, and consequence. It’s all gold trim, marbled curves, and kitsch galore. The sunset pours through floor-to-ceiling windows while water tumbles like a 1980s shampoo commercial.
There’s a pink velvet couch for existential breakdowns, a vanity fit for a drama queen, and a golden alligator who’s clearly seen things.
It’s not just a bathroom. It’s a mood. A romance. A place to get ready for trouble or recover from it.
Press play. Light a candle. Pretend you're in a forgotten soap opera pilot.