Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light
― John Milton, Paradise Lost
out of hell
photography
of small things
But now I know the things I know
And do the things I do,
And if you do not like me so,
To hell, my love, with you.
― Dorothy Parker
*Images made with Nikon D850 and AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 D lens and edited in Lightroom*
green new deal?
And now we welcome the new year
full of things that have never been
― Rainer Maria Rilke
New trees, new hope, a pair of robins, a family of blackbirds and assorted wagtails have made their new home amidst the olive grove (well, there are now two such trees). Nature has shown that even a brief respite from the toxic side products of human endeavour pays (green) dividends.
Let’s hope ‘we the people’ can now renew and heal as we transition to a new year, working together to heal differences and put aside toxic divisions.
(newly planted) olive tree: 1/200s, f/8.0, ISO 64
(newly planted) magnolia: 1/200s, f8.0, ISO 64
(precocious) prunus: 1/200s f/8.0, ISO 64
(ready for new residents) White House 1/200s f/8.0, ISO 64
*All images made with Nikon D850 and AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8E VR lens with limited edits in Lightroom*
after the fall
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
– Albert Camus
*my very first attempt at macro photography, made with my Nikon D850 and Nikkor AF Micro 60mm f/2.8D lens, edited in Lightroom Classic with cool light filter applied*
unbroken virgin realities
My plug in baby
In unbroken virgin realities
Is tired of living
And I’ve seen your loving
Mine is gone
*All images made with FujiFilm X100F with fixed 23mm f/2 lens, all at f/2 with Ilford Delta 3200 Pro film profile applied in Silver Efex Pro 2*
The patterns that papered over my lockdown cracks. There is darkness and light. How we deal with that, makes us, or not.
how the flowers felt
The rain to the wind said,
You push and I’ll pelt.’
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged–though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.―
*Images made with Fujifilm X100F with fixed 23mm f/2 lens, edited in Lightroom with Fujifilm Classic Chrome applied*
shades of salamanca
It comes to this: like all of us who have not yet died of plague he fully realizes that his freedom and his life may be snatched from him at any moment”
―
The streets of Salamanca stay muted as Covid-19 shows little sign of receding – although even in the darkest shadows light can be found.
A brief snapshot of the streets of Salamanca in September as the summer slides slowly towards the autumn. The outcome of my latest experimentation with the settings on my Nikon D850 and AF-S Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 E VR lens.
More to follow.
Wherever you are, stay safe and look for the light in the shadows…
*Images made with Nikon D850 and AF-S Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 E VR lens*
out in the midday sun (and locked down)
Clear as a bell and an echoing shell
Clear as a pane of glass
I realize, I can’t revise
As clear as a big blue sky
Through and through it all
– Doom or Destiny, Blondie
Locked down in Accra.
Oh, is it doom or destiny?
Watch this space, especially as Ben and the WordPress Discover team are back in town.
Stay safe!
*all images hand crafted with iPhone 11 Pro 4.25mm f/1.8 lens*
out in the midday sun
“and from the ends of the earth, across the thousands of miles of land and sea, kindly, well-meaning speakers tried to voice their fellow-feeling, and indeed did so, but at the same time proved the utter incapacity of every man truly to share in suffering that he cannot see…”
– Albert Camus, The Plague
Today, I will let my photos tell my story.
Except, one more thing?
Some words, from a colleague with whom I am fortunate to be working (in a virtual sense), who observed (more or less) “our planet has been suffering a fever for some time, now that we too have a fever, perhaps we will change”.
He nailed it.
Coronavirus is presenting us with not only what is perceived (by some) as an existential threat but perhaps also the reverse. Pollution across the world is down, perhaps because people, people like me, are grounded.
So, are we up for a change? I am, even if only in a small way. Every little helps, no?
And, perhaps as my photos suggest, we may be down, but our planet, nature is surely not.
Stay safe everyone.
…and a p.s. as expected, the hotel has (this morning Friday, 27 March) informed we remaining sixteen guests that they are considering closing next Wednesday. So my nomadic lifestyle continues, another twist and turn, watch this space.
*all images hand crafted with iPhone 11 Pro 4.25mm f/1.8 lens, unedited*
andy townend 