Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime
― Ernest Hemingway
it could
(perhaps)
be said, that
liberal (thinking) is in, a
corner
right now
the question
is
what will
become
of us
of them
of you
of me
For WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – Corner
*Image made with Fujifilm X100F and 23mm fixed lens (35mm full frame equivalent) at ISO1250 (don’t even go there), 1/800s and f/5.6 outside the Cortes, Madrid*
We’re both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We’re connected to reality by the same line. All I have to do is quietly draw it towards me
― Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart
Like Apollo. An experimental shot at the moon.
Hand held. In broad daylight.
Inspired by this
not to mention the dreams of a small boy who (still, much later) dreams of reaching the stars.
*Made with Nikon D700 and 80-200mm f/2.8 lens at ISO200, f/2.8 at 1/2000s, cropped in Lightroom CC and reduced to mono*
belgradestreets holds a very special place in my life, in my heart.
You can listen to me talk about what belgradestreets mean to me by listening to this short piece broadcast on radio in Serbia in 2013.
I also spoke about my feelings for Belgrade in an audio montage featuring various people talking about their experience of life in Belgrade published in 2014.
belgianstreets is perhaps me at my most creative, a project conceived and executed at a time of turbulent and emotional change, my posts here allowed me to express myself in ways that I had never done before.
Browsing through these pages there is much to learn about me and much for me to still learn from..
Some highlights include
My most recent project, one which has had a few false starts, and needs more attention!
Read more on salamancastreets
nigeriastreets records my experiences and feelings during time I spent living and working in Nigeria.
The country can be found on the Gulf of Guinea on the western coast of tropical Africa, it has a population of in the region of 180 million. Ok, at this point I will stop, if you are reading this page I imagine that you have access to the net and can look up the facts and figures on a zillion other websites.
This blog is not about facts and figures. It’s about feelings and emotions. It’s about experiences and photographs. It’s about life. It’s about how I feel about this country and the thoughts it provokes. So let’s see where it leads.
If you do want more information and like old fashioned books you could take a look at Bradt’s Nigeria written by Lizzie Williams, Culture Smart’s Nigeria by Diane Lemieux or look up the relevant chapter in any of the main travel guides including Lonely Planet and the Rough Guides.
My first post Things Fall Apart took a look at Chinua Achebe’s famous novel first published in 1958.
At the end of my first week I was also generously provided with a copy of the just published first edition of Abuja City Info, a magazine presenting a cosmopolitan view of what to do in Abuja.
One week in I have met some great people, received a warm welcome and already come to realise that this is like no other country I have ever visited.
Maybe the star doesn’t even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything
― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun
For WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – ‘Ooh, Shiny’
*Made with Fujifilm X100F and fixed 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent), ISO320, f/14 at 1/850s*
Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting
– Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
for WordPress weekly photo challenge – Textures
*Image(s) shot with iPhone 6S and merged with Snapseed*
Those who were living now are dead
Those who were breathing are from the living earth fled.
If you want to see how the poor die, come see Grenfell Tower.
From the impassioned poem on the fire at Grenfell, by Nigerian writer, Ben Okri, whose poem, published in the Financial Times on 23 June, 2017 is a searing statement from which it is impossible to hide, impossible to avert one’s gaze, impossible to forget.
I wrote earlier this week about my arrival in London, on the red-eye from Lagos, and my efforts to both stay awake and entertained before being allowed to pass through the portal of my hotel.
I decided, after grabbing some breakfast, and scribbling a short poem, (which I published on Facebook), to walk along the South Bank to the Tate Modern. During my walk I found some inspiration by shooting the various vans being prepared for the hordes of tourists soon to fill the streets which at that time were still and relatively quiet.
What I hadn’t counted on was the degree of connectivity I felt with the things I saw and experienced that morning.
andy townend 