‘I’ll never see them again. I know that. And they know that. And knowing this, we say farewell’
– Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
‘There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler’s mind’
― Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Watch this space.
‘dwell on the beauty of life
watch the stars
and see yourself running with them’
― marcus aurelius, meditations
Each week, I look forward to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.
Every now and then, like this week, my heart sinks when I see the challenge, and I think to myself ‘nope, this one just doesn’t work for me’. So, when I arrived home last night, cold and wet under a leaden Brussels sky, I almost gave up. In the end, over on my ‘personal’ blog, I found inspiration on my wrist.
This morning, on waking (very late, I blame the miserable weather), I resolved to make the best of it, and find something (anything) on the streets of Brussels that would fit the bill.
I set off to walk, thought better of it and took the bus.
Arrived in the centre of town, close to the Opera.
And – lo and behold – I found something vibrant, on the dullest day imaginable.
Hey, and why not sing along and dance, as many did, despite the rain and gloomy skies!
So, in the end, I found something vibrant on belgianstreets and even smiled a bit 😉
for wordpress weekly photo challenge – vibrant
Continuing my theme of the last couple of weeks, I ventured out this afternoon with the dual purpose of (1) bagging my 10,000 steps with my red (tangerine) Fitbit, and (2) capturing some optimistic images for this week’s WordPress photo challenge. A few things caught my eye.
As you can see.
And the route I took in search of optimism.
for wordpress weekly photo challenge – optimistic
see also my optimistic thought at andytownend
I decided to take a walk today. For a few reasons. Partly to see how Brussels is getting on, post holiday season and post #lockdown, and partly to try out some new tech on my wrist and in my iPhone. And possibly even to get a bit fit(ter).
I set out from Molenbeek and randomly snapped (I’m avoiding the word shooting in these troubled times – oops), tweeted and wandered around the cold, grey streets of Brussels in search of inspiration.
Here is what I found. And snapped. And tweeted.
Oh, and yes, the last leg of my adventure was accomplished by taking the Metro. Hence the straight line and significant change in pace.
And now, after all that, time for a glass of wine.
Cheers!
Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted.
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day
a burden
shared is
(less)weight
for wordpress weekly photo challenge – burden
see also weightless by andytownend
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
– Jim Morrison
for wordpress weekly photo challenge – gathering
I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it
― William Shakespeare
Yesterday I was tagged, over on Facebook, by an old friend and former colleague, who asked me to show him seven photos of nature in the city.
Naturally, I accepted the challenge.
John, I hope my interpretation of your challenge ticks the box for you?
foggy dew
leafing through
logging crew
camo
reflected
do not cross
tangled web
for John V and for Lucile’s Photo 101 rehab
*all photos shot on iphone 6s and edited in lightroom cc and colour efex pro 4,*
‘I know the word that you long to hear
I know your deepest, secret fear’
– lyrics from The Spy, The Doors
Shot on the streets of Brussels during the lockdown.
Where, then, indeed, were the spies when they were,
…most needed?
Keeping an eye on subversive selfie shooters perhaps?
The spy.
for WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – Eye Spy
‘education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’
― nelson mandela
This is my response to this week’s WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge.
As ‘constant readers’ may know, I try to respond to this challenge most weeks, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, inspiration and consequent success (or not).
I’d like to be a pro-photographer. My biggest challenge? My best shots come from the heart, from my emotion, my passion, my anger, my love, oh dear HID, how would I fare in a studio (we shall see, maybe).
Anyway, back to the task in hand.
The image above is a composite. Obviously. I made it using my iPad and the Adobe Photoshop Mix app. It’s not great, I’m not proud of it technically, I rushed it, it’s now late and I’m tired. But I’d like to make my point so I will continue.
The two photos are separated by a few weeks in time in terms of execution. In terms of publication less than 24 hours separates them.
The first, in chronological terms, was actually shot on 26 September, 2015. I took a walk in the woods in Tervuren, near Brussels, I had a lot on my mind. Made a decision, whether it was a little or large decision is (now) of no consequence. Things changed. Life changes. And will continue to change. This image, of three geese (I think, I am no bird expert), was first published here on the evening of Friday, 20 November 2015 in response to last weeks’ challenge which was entitled ‘trio’. When I awoke on the morning of Saturday, 21 November the world had not only gone through the transition from night to day, from one day to the next, it appeared to have spun upside down and inside out. The Brussels Lockdown had commenced.
So, the second shot, taken during the afternoon of Saturday, 21 November 2015 could not be more different.
Transitions can be very difficult. They can be well orchestrated, they can be planned with care, or they can rip apart the fabric of our lives in an instant.
Paris. London. Madrid. New York.
And many more. Every nation, every race, every creed. All have suffered brutalising change. No one has been spared.
What matters now is how WE manage the next transition.
Do we hit back, bomb and blast and scream and shout. Do we ‘change’ the life of others with righteous vengeance? Are our bombs that rain down from the sky, the silent instant deaths that we deal by drone, are they any harder to bear, to rationalise? Who is right? We teach our children to turn the other cheek, to avoid fights and disputes in the school yard. Then, we have to explain why those sleek and shiny, sexy, steel tubes send sudden death to families far away.
Is there another way?
We shall see what we shall see.
What would you do?
For WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – Transition
(and for Lucile’s Photo 101 Rehab as we approach one year of comradeship)
‘everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism
well, there’s really an easy way: stop participating in it’
― noam chomsky
today
in
brussel
(see also http://andytownend.com/2015/11/21/twentyfour/ )
(submitted to lucile’s photo101rehab)
*shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens and edited in lightroom cc*
belgianstreets 