Salamanca

story

Image | | andy townend

‘whispered something in your ear
it was a perverted thing to say
but I said it anyway
made you smile and look away’
– lyrics from ‘nothing’s gonna hurt you baby’, cigarettes after sex

once upon,
a time
each story
began

in gentle tones
no broken bones

later,
gingerbread,
blood red
tales of death
and terror

stalked my,
dreams

later, still
each story
began, in torchlight
and fright

what right,
had i

and now,
each story,
ends before,
it begins

as life,
unwinds

for wordpress weekly photo challenge – story
*image shot in salamanca, españa, with fujifilm x100f with 23mm (35mm fill frame equivalent) lens at ISO500, f/4 and 1/300s with added effects applied in analog efex pro 2*

variations (on a theme)

Image | | andy townend

‘We know that we fear to win
And so we end before we begin’
U2 – Every Breaking Wave

take the

shot,

if you don’t, you’ll

never

know,

will

you?

For WordPress weekly photo challenge ‘variations on a theme’

*Shot with Nikon D700 and Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.d ‘push pull’ lens at f/2.8, 1/4000s and ISO200*

temporary

Image | | andy townend

My God, a moment of bliss. Why, isn’t that enough for a whole lifetime?
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

For WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – Temporary

*Shot with Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 lens at ISO200, 185mm, f/4 and 1/2000s*

pedestrian

Image | | andy townend

…places where, if you die, you may simply die with the knowledge that your killer was in the wrong
― Lucy Wadham, The Secret Life of France

For WordPress weekly photo challenge – pedestrian

*Shot with Fujifim X100F with fixed 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) lens at ISO 200, f/4 and 1/120s with a smidgen of editing in Lightroom CC and (my old favourite – and free – plugin) Analog Efex Pro 2*

windows

Image | | andy townend

Strangely transparent, they seemed like windows to a world beyond, but however long I peered into their depths, there was nothing I could see
― Haruki Murakami

For WordPress weekly photo challenge – Windows

There are a lot more windows here and here.

*Shot with Fujifilm X100F with 23mm (35mm fixed frame equivalent) fixed lens, ISO 200, 1/140s at f/5.6 with some added mystery applied with Affinity Photo which, along with Affinity Designer, I’m exploring as a credible Photoshop CC replacement*

layered

Image | | andy townend

In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac


I took this shot during a walk back in Salamanca before returning to Africa.

Even at the time I took the shot, I was captivated by this painting. Had the artist been there I would indeed have taken it there and then.

But, it was not to be.

There were at least three paintings, each with a dreamlike quality, each stacked against each other, seeming to peel back a layer of the beautiful city which formed a backdrop to the canvases.

And, in preparing this image, I couldn’t resist adding another layer of my own.

For WordPress weekly photo challenge – Layered.

*Made with Fujifilm X100F and 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) fixed lens, ISO200, f/4 at 1/1500s with an extra layer of oil applied in Photoshop CC*

stranger

Image | | andy townend

. . .sometimes one feels freer speaking to a stranger than to people one knows. Why is that?
‘Probably because a stranger sees us the way we are, not as he wishes to think we are’
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

stranger, in a strange land

plucked from the earth

roots ripped

torn

stranger, in a strange land

plucked

ripped

torn

stranger, in a strange land

you, smell

so

sweet

stranger

Surprise 

Image | | andy townend

This week, I wasn’t sure how to respond to the WordPress weekly challenge ‘surprise‘.

Then, surprisingly, the road caught fire in the middle of the night.

The fire continues to perplex the gas and electricity utility companies, although thankfully, the firemen appear remarkably relaxed as the electric company dig a hole in order to isolate the electric cables.

There may be more ‘surprises’ to come.

path

Image | | andy townend

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back
– Robert Frost

for wordpress weekly photo challenge – path