View allAll Photos Tagged introspective
I was so very aware
that the afternoon was dying in the domes,
and all around me sounds froze,
turned to winding pillars.
I was so very aware
that the undulant drift of scents
was collapsing into darkness,
and it seemed I had never tasted
the cold.
Suddenly
I awoke so far away
and strange,
wandering behind my face
as though I had hidden my feelings
in the sensless relief of the moon.
I was so very aware
that
I did not recognize you, and perhaps
you come, always,
every hour, every second,
moving through my vigil - then -
as through the spectre of a triumphal arch.
poem by Nichita Stanescu called "Season's end"
*366 photos for the 20's 01/17*
this year I will try to choose one photo a day for this pseudo-project, no matter the motive, style, colour or technique. encouraging myself to shoot everyday, even if I can't go outside.
I enjoy still lifes. As a painter I was a follower of Peto, Chardin, Harnett. Thiebaud, van Aelst, Davidszoon de Heem. It was a way of studying light as well as a means of self expression. Often I found my still life paintings to be more introspective and expressive than any other work I did.
As a photographer, I've returned to the classical still life. To expedite things I have constructed an easy to move and light table of sorts with support for drapery. Underneath it has bins for commonly repeated subjects.
I'll spend upwards of an hour obsessing on placement, light and composition before I am satisfied. I find it to be therapeutic and relaxing. Something I can absolutely control as I discover the meaning of my days at the end of each day.
You can see some of them here.
We're Here! : Madness In The Method
Running out of ideas for your 365 project? Join We're Here!
beneath the tilted no-parking sign, he walks as if boxed in by invisible limits. a hand to the head—maybe thought, maybe tension. the midday sun burns a path across his skin and the cracked white wall behind him offers no answers. just a command in red and blue: no left, no right.
Prompt: Create a high-resolution, ultra-detailed digital fine art landscape in a horizontal aspect ratio depicting a serene Dutch countryside scene at dawn. The composition features a tranquil canal stretching into the misty distance, bordered by tall, golden-brown reeds on both sides. On the left side of the canal, a small wooden rowboat sits still, gently moored along the bank, its reflection mirrored in the calm, glassy water.
To the right stands a classic Dutch windmill with weathered brick walls and large wooden sails, partially veiled by the soft, early morning fog. Nearby, a lone leafless tree stands silhouetted against the mist, enhancing the quiet, contemplative atmosphere. Faint outlines of distant trees and flat farmland fade into the foggy horizon, creating a sense of peaceful isolation.
The lighting is diffused and soft, with a cool color palette of muted grays, dusky blues, and pale golds. The mood is calm and introspective, evoking the quiet stillness of a mist-covered Dutch morning.
Style: Hyper-realistic fine art
Mood: Peaceful, moody, contemplative
Lighting: Soft diffused morning light through fog
Color Palette: Cool grays, pale blues, golden browns
Resolution: Ultra-high (suitable for large-format prints)
she sat on a bench, scrolling, exhaling, lost in a thought she didn’t share. the smoke curled between us, vanishing before it could settle. a glance—direct, unreadable, gone in a second. plaça del rosari, a fleeting moment given, not taken.
a child plays alone on a football field in palma nova.
no floodlights, no team, no sound.
just a ball and the dark.
the game goes on.
a corridor of stone and shadow, carved by light and memory. the figure rests, nameless, leaning into the quiet weight of evening. moments like this don’t speak—they resonate.
beneath a cathedral of steel and glass, a lone traveler steps forward into converging lines and fading echoes. light pulses across the floor like breath, measuring distance and solitude. this is not an escape â it is an arrival into stillness.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you’re suddenly and unexpectedly transported to a different time and place? A feeling so bright that for a few seconds you can’t breathe, a flickering kaleidoscope of images bursting into your mind like the rapidly turning pages of a picture book.
Heading up through the ever-darkening hedgerows from a deserted cove I had been shooting at a few nights ago was one of those moments. Maybe it was the warm summer air or the scent of flowers drifting over the fields. Or even the fireflies flitting in and out of my vision, tiny pin pricks of light dancing on their nocturnal stage. But for whatever reason, I was suddenly in Tuscany again, the morning dew saturated with the oily fragrance of wild herbs and the mist filled valleys unfolding beneath me. I wasn’t intending to post this image but to me this represents a perfect moment in time. A time when we could travel easily. When everything seemed to be within our reach. In some ways, a time of innocence before the world changed.
But before you all think I’ve turned melancholy and introspective, don't worry. The next image is business as usual with a tale of stupidity, mistaken identity and embarrassment on the beach.
Enjoying my time away from the NHS- thank you to those who have emailed and messaged in my absence from here. Have a great week, Flickrites.
- Cardiacs - Is This The Life?
Following around to see a life that's never in
Always calling itself on its own phone
Though it's never quite at home in the world today
See it to arranging the day
Prepared in its own
Special way
With added loving care
THOUGH IT'S NOT BEEN THERE SINCE YESTERDAY
Looking so hard for a cause
And it don't care what it is
And never really ever seeing eye to eye
Though it doesn't really mind
Perhaps that's why
It never really saw
Never really saw...
Saw...
Listen How the west was lost Carlos Nakai y Peter Kater
This breathtaking soundtrack by to the second part of the Discovery Channel broadcast features the distinctive collaboration of Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai.
How the West Was Lost II
Kater and Nakai's collaboration, at times introspective and reverential, passionate and proud, blends European derived instruments and vocals with those of the Native Americans to create a powerful and haunting backdrop to this arresting series. Guest performers include: Joanne Shenandoah, White Oak Singers, Cecil Hooker, Chris White, Marty Goodbear and more.
In Wordpress In Blogger photo.net/photos/Reinante/ In Onexposure
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
(Right Click - Open in new tab)
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
wife
And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?
.......
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Introspective weekend ahead as weather still refuses to play ball.
On my foggy commutes this week I often wondered how high you’d need to go to see blue skies
To recline is to listen inward—an invitation to ease the breath, soften the shoulders, and rest in a moment that asks nothing of us but presence. In the clamor of modern life, where movement is often mistaken for meaning, stillness offers a quiet rebellion.
It’s not laziness or retreat, but a profound form of trust: that we are enough without the constant proving. I think of golden light pooling on a carpet, a cat stretching unapologetically across a windowsill, or the way dusk pours itself gently into a room. Stillness, in these moments, is not absence—it’s grace.
To truly recline is to allow the world to come to us, rather than chase after it. The fire warms not because we tend to it, but because we draw near. In this softened state, we absorb more—beauty, clarity, comfort. We become porous to goodness.
Rest is no longer a reward for exhaustion; it’s a recognition of worth. There’s something sacred in that surrender, where movement gives way to meaning felt rather than forged. And in that space, reclined and receptive, we remember a truth too often forgotten: that stillness doesn’t diminish us—it completes us.
Despite returning to the location on several occasions over the past year, I last worked an image of Millwall Inner Dock at the start of 2015. The site at the centre of the Isle of Dogs has undergone extensive construction work over the years, and when I last photographed the location, Baltimore Tower was a construction site. Now, nearly two years later, the 45-storey building dwarfs the Lotus floating restaurant beneath it and soars as high as the buildings at the centre of Canary Wharf.
Capturing the scene with a clear reflection is a challenge because it depends not only on a very low wind speed but also on minimal activity from sailing boats, canoers and the occasional paddling of ducks. On a recent winter afternoon, when the wind speed dropped to 1mph for several hours and when subzero temperatures meant no one was eager to venture outdoors unless they needed to, the right opportunity to capture the scene presented itself. The final image is a combination of photographs that I began capturing at sunset with a two-minute exposure, building on this with four-, five-, eight- and nine-minute exposures as late-afternoon turned to dusk, and finishing with an early-evening 12-minute exposure. Each exposure contributed different details, from the final traces of sunshine across the southwest corners of the buildings and a soft pink glow on the horizon to the deep chilly hue of the evening's blue hour and the cityscape lights being switched on. Two-and-a-half hours after I began shooting, I had all of the exposures I needed to create the image I wanted.
Beginning with one of the dusk exposures as my template, I blended in traces of the afternoon sunlight and the building lights in Photoshop using the Lighten blend mode, which was a gradual process using several exposures as more and more of the lights switched on. This was also a selective process because the lights inside South Quay station were much brighter than some of the apartment lights and needed to be toned down with a low-flow brush, and because I wasn't particularly interested in adding lights from the cranes, which continued operating at Canary Wharf's south dock well into the evening. After this phase, I used the Pen Tool to isolate the sky and the dock's reflection, and used a radial gradient mask to blend in the warmer tones in the sky behind Canary Wharf. Capturing a smooth progression from a gentle red to a muted orange and then to a soft pink that faded into the colder sky was important to me because it seemed like this was where viewers' eyes would immediately be drawn when they first see the image.
With the blending phase complete, colour-grading the image was a straightforward process involving Hue/Saturation, Colour Balance, Selective Colour and Gradient Map adjustments. I also applied a very low-opacity Colour Lookup set to the Futuristic Bleak preset, desaturating some of the brighter colours and playing up the more muted tones. Using Silver Efex Pro set to Luminosity, I then added a small amount of shadow and midtone structure to the buildings, as well as raising the sensitivity of the reds and yellows to gently brighten the horizon. Finally, in Colour Efex Pro, I applied a small amount of the Pro Contrast and Detail Extractor filters to give the buildings a final bit of definition against the sky and to bring out some of the finer details in the building lights.
The final image is intended very much as a companion to the sunrise at South Dock which I captured a year ago, but at the same time there were subtle differences to the scene. The cityscape had the same vibrance and energy, and the reflection conveyed the same elegance and tranquillity, but somehow there seemed to be something darker, moodier and more introspective about this vantage point. As people coming home to their apartments in the residential buildings switched on their lights and opened the doors to their balconies to take in the view, I couldn't help wondering what it must be like to see such dramatic redevelopment taking place around them, and how impermanent, but perhaps also how full of possibility, this transforming spectacle must be to someone seeing it change bit by bit each day.
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Thanks for the comments, faves and visits
To see more of my 4K videos please see my Video Website: vimeo.com/randyherring
To see more of my 4K HDR videos see my channel: www.youtube.com/@hherringtech
This image is a picturesque embodiment of nature's quiet dialogue, captured from the secluded banks of a serene lakeside. The foreground is adorned with tall, slender reeds standing like nature's sentinels at the water's edge, swaying softly with the whispers of the wind. Through the natural archway formed by the overhanging willow branches and the sturdy trunks of the trees, one's gaze is drawn to the expansive body of the lake, its surface a mirror reflecting the clear sky and the distant, gentle slopes of the hills beyond. The lush greenery and the calm, soothing waters conjure a sense of seclusion and tranquility, offering a sanctuary for both wildlife and introspective souls. It's a scene where the rustle of leaves and the quiet lapping of water against the shore compose the ambient symphony of the great outdoors. This photograph is a reminder of the still moments of beauty that lie waiting in our natural surroundings, inviting us to step outside and partake in the peace they offer.
www.instagram.com/donstevie_street/
I love Gershwin and his Rhapsody in blue and whilst its synonymous with the great city of New York, I pinched the title for this one. Given I will not be allowed to shoot full frontal flash or the more "direct" forms of street photography for a little while, I need to get my kicks with the more graphic and introspective style.
www.instagram.com/donstevie_street/
Another fun little introspective shot, which reminded me a little of the Matrix owing to the led shop lights that help give this a little more interest and depth.
www.instagram.com/donstevie_street/
A Tospy Turvy house on the beach front at Brighton, early in the morning this little cat burglar was playing on the house and I just loved the absurdity of the image along with the angles!
-- Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
We are all multi-faceted; we have many emotions, desires, preferences, and personalities. I am certainly no exception. Most of my self-portraits thus far have been rather ... serious, or at least generally so. I've felt as though my creativity is limited to my 'deep thoughts' and my sense of humor isn't as applicable. Mainly, I'm usually just not smiling (with the exception of three or so shots). Some individuals (though I will not name them) had a first impression of me as someone serious, uptight, ... whatever. When I heard that, I laughed. And then thought to myself, hmm, is that true? No. Fair enough, but is that how I want others to perceive me? It's definitely not how I perceive myself. I like to have others see me as I'd like to be seen (who doesn't?) -- and I'd like to be seen as who I truly am, not some ideal. Truly, I laugh constantly. I joke constantly. I am too sarcastic. I make really, really corny jokes (e.g. "What do you call cheese that isn't yours? ... Na-cho cheese!" & "What time do you go to the dentist? ... Tooth-hurty!" & etc. etc. ad infinitum...). I love slapstick humor (e.g. Mel Brooks is my hero). Et al.
I am also deeply devoted to the intellect. I'm a philosopher by nature and college degree, and I love it more than just about anything. I know this part of me has come forth strongly in my photostream. I also studied neuroscience as an accompaniment to my theories about consciousness and personal identity. I've learned never to take a single thing for granted, believe anything beyond a shadow of a doubt, or throw my words around haphazardly. Sure, this makes me an analytic bastard who is anal about semantics and logic. People tend to find this tedious. So I have to reconcile two parts of myself: the silly idiot who is always ready to laugh at her own expense, and the thoroughly introspective and scientific seeker. Throw in creativity (which I *think* I have ;-) and you've got me. A big melting pot of talent, absurdity, philosophy, and passion.
Many thanks and love to Maite for picking "Self-Reflection" as today's FGR theme.
& GTWL anniversary edition -- Clones.
Day 75.
& of course: View On Black!
This album's name is dedicated to my favourite game of all time Elder Scrolls Online and race of all time, The Argonians (reptile humanoids). There's a story for you to read below about some of them towards the bottom.
What does Ku Vastei mean? Read below
By Lights-the-Way, Mystic of the Mages Guild
It is hard to describe the culture of my people. Often my tongue stumbles as I try to explain, but it is my hope that ink and quill will give me time enough to gather my thoughts. And perhaps, though such writing, I will finally connect the parts of me that now feel so divided; my homeland of Murkmire and my new life within the Mages Guild.
These journals are to become my ku-vastei. And, as I write that, I can think of no better topic to begin with.
Ku-vastei roughly translates to "the catalyst of needed change," though such a direct translation in no way does justice to the original meaning. Another translation could be "that which creates the needed pathway for change to occur" or even "the spark which ignites the flame which must come into being."
Perhaps a more direct analysis should be first presented. Ku-vastei is a noun, a thing or person. Vastei directly translates to change, an important part of my culture. Ku is harder to speak of. It is that which leads to change, though not that which creates change. An important role, as stagnation is a fate worse than death.
Take a boulder which sits atop a cliff, teetering in place. It must fall eventually. The ku-vastei does not push the boulder off the cliff; rather, it picks the pebble which holds the rock in place. And so it falls, not by a push, but by a pathway cleared.
Ku-vastei is revered, just as change itself is revered, for to look back at what was means to stumble as you move forward. Sometimes, a little push in the right direction is all someone needs to remember such wisdom. Other times, they may need to be shoved.
-------------------------------------
The Gee-Rusleel Tribe
by Emmanubeth Hurrent, the Wayfarers' Society of Wayrest
I've had the privilege to speak to two different Miredancer elders now, and I've learned a great deal from both of these conversations. The "Gee-Rusleel," as they call themselves, are among the most introspective Argonians I've met in my travels. They also tend to be the most pleasant. For all their reclusiveness and wariness, I've never met a people more willing to share a meal or a game of Shells and Stones. They are skilled crafters, with a particular knack for working with Hist amber and egg shells. They are also peerless navigators, guiding their flat-bottom boats effortlessly through the swamp, master weavers, and skilled cartographers.
The most defining characteristic of the Miredancer tribe, however, is piety. This deep reverence for the Hist has earned them the right to name a "Sap-Speaker" for countless generations.
According to the elders I spoke with, the Sap-Speaker is the Hist's direct intermediary. (This is, of course, subject to debate. Many tribes boast unique methods of communion with the Hist. But as far as I have seen, the Miredancers make the most compelling case for the methods they use.) Sap-Speakers often go into seclusion for days or even weeks on end, venturing either down into the roots or high into the canopy of leaves in the uppermost branches. Here, they commune with the Hist. Indeed, the word that one of the elders used was "journey."
These journeys into the Hist tax the Sap-Speakers, but are thoroughly private affairs. After days by themselves, the Sap-Speakers emerge to hide away with old books, scrolls, and tablets. I asked after the purpose of these periods of seclusion, and this is what the elders told me. "The Sap-Speaker enters the embrace of the Hist to learn from the great tree," one elder said. "While in close contact with the roots and branches, the Sap-Speaker receives visions and other forms of communication that neither you nor I would understand."
The other elder continued. "Even the Sap-Speaker finds some of what is shown to be mystifying and confusing. I have heard that a Sap-Speaker is treated to ancient metaphors, arcane secrets, and visions that make little sense to creatures so far removed from sap and pulp." Apparently, the second period of seclusion allows the Sap-Speaker time to reflect on what he or she was shown, as well as time to consult with the ancient writings of Sap-Speakers who came before. After a suitable period of study and reflection, the Sap-Speaker emerges to reveal the Hist's will to the tribe.
I attempted to get more information about what happens while the Sap-Speaker meditates among the roots or branches, but I'm not sure the elders knew much more. They did tell me that the only nourishment the Sap-Speaker receives during these periods of seclusion is provided by the Hist itself in the form of sap, leaves, and the otherwise forbidden fruit of the tree.
There is a price to pay for the gift of Hist communion, however. Ingesting large quantities of Hist sap is a dangerous affair, even for Argonians. Sap-Speakers routinely suffer the effects of sap-poisoning, including "gold tongue" (permanent change of mouth pigmentation to a golden hue), unbidden hallucinations, "bark-scale" (thickening and darkening of surface scales), and other maladies they were reticent to talk about. The current Sap-Speaker, Thumarz, was in seclusion during my visit to the tribal village. I hope to meet him someday. If he's half as wise as the elders I interacted with, I'd no doubt learn a great deal from him.
Despite their deeply religious nature, the Miredancers also seem to have an obsession with games of all types. They are particularly fond of the games Nine-Shells and Shells and Stones, as well as sports such as the popular "teeba-hatsei" (also known as "hip and tail ball.") In addition to lovingly explaining their own games, they wanted to know everything I could tell them about the games we play back in Wayrest. I must admit, their enthusiasm was quite infectious! And I found it highly amusing to watch them try to re-create Deceiver's Bones from the vague description I provided.
The Miredancers are also inveterate gamblers, but they often forget to collect their winnings. Unlike the games of men and mer, Miredancer competitions appear to be completely devoid of malice or injured pride. Victory and defeat seem more like afterthoughts than objectives, due in no small part to their phlegmatic disposition. As in most things, their focus is strictly on the moment—the now. It pains me to leave their village, but I still have many more tribes to study. I doubt any of them will be as fascinating or as friendly as the Miredancers.
["the tribe is not currently in the game but in the world of the game"]