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changing (seasons) #12; or, ‘were you suddenly aware’

like the circles that you find
in the windmills of your mind
– the windmills of your mind, noel harrison

fleeting
pressing
loading
lighting
storing
crossing
waiting
commuting
turning
purring
shuttering
77’ing
parking

It began here. Well, a little before that. But hey, that’s another story, a road well less travelled?

‘Life 101’ perhaps.

And now.

It ends.

For now, anyway.

for the cardinal, and his changing seasons

 

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seven days later

“anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”
― søren kierkegaard

Opening
Texting
Juxtaposing
Observing
Lighting
Shaking
Playing
Looking
Turning (away)
Waiting
Railing
Selfie(ing)
Patrolling
Aiding
Warming
Leaning
Skating
Waffling
Missing
Walking
Hiding?
Leaving
Chilling
Departing
Scooting

This is, I hope, my final post in my Brussels Lockdown series.

An uneasy peace has returned to the streets this weekend. In comparison with last week, the streets were busier, but not as one might expect at this time of the year.

A notable exception being the long long queues outside Primark which I recall from last year. Is it possible that some people have been living here on the street, camping out all year, in the hope of that one bargain in the sale?

In contrast, many of the other shops were quieter than usual, some of the entrances to the City2 shopping centre were closed off, and taped up, to allow the guards to more diligently screen those wishing to shop within.

Or perhaps, as in this case, to practice their dance moves?

Soldiers patrolled the mall, and the approaches to, and platforms of, the metro.

Scanners, such as those used at the airport were deployed. Liquids were not banned and their appeared to be no Fastrack for frequent flyers or those with other reasons to feel privileged, no, here, today, we were all alike. In fact, we were (treated) like cattle.

The soldiers seemed more relaxed this week. Except when I pointed my Nikon in their direction, when some, fearing exposure, would pull their scarves up over their face and turn away. But unlike the other day, not once was I challenged and asked to delete anything. I had a minor scare when taking my camera out of my bag, and taking off the lens cap, made a loud metallic noise, not unlike a weapon being primed (I imagined, I wouldn’t know), which made people look around in fear. Thankfully the soldiers knew better. Their training helping their undoubted anxiety.

I walked down the escalator to the Metro, a young heavily armed soldier by my side, I smiled, he smiled back. We looked away. What is there to say?

And so, the peace filters back on to the streets.

And I am left wondering.

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brussels (un)locked(down)?

“when truth is replaced by silence,the silence is a lie”
― yevgeny yevtushenko

(Red) light
Dark armour
Central
Headless
Lone man
Vacant
Cast a long shadow
Shut
Just play it
Tied up
Grunt
Bookings not required
Selfie

So, it’s now Thursday, the infamous #BrusselsLockdown began last Saturday.

I’m writing this post on the move with the WordPress app on my iPad. My ‘grown up’ camera (curiously my iPad insisted, with Siri’s help no doubt, on replacing camera with ‘camper’) is resting at home, my battered, screen shattered, old iPhone has given up, it’s battery exhausted. Yes, it knows the game’s up, knows it will be retired and replaced by a younger, slimmer, (deceptively) more exciting model in only a few days.

Today’s photos were shot, edited and posted from my iPad, so they’re perhaps not as polished as I might like. In fact, some are frankly poor.

But, I do think they tell the story. Thursday evening, in many places, used to be the time of the week when the wage slaves received their pay packets bulging with rapidly depreciating notes. The streets would be packed with life, noise, and yes, a degree of drunken debauchery.

Not here. Not today. Not yet.

I’ll be back.

Which, reminds me (ha) you may wonder why there is a poorly cropped shot of headless Politie officers? Well, for the first time in my life, I was stopped whilst shooting taking photographs and instructed (firmly but politely) to press the delete button. Does that make me a paparazzi, a real photographer, or just plain stupid for taking a full frontal group shot with a leather encased tablet?

As I said, I’ll be back.

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changing (seasons) #11 or, ‘change is the only constant’

‘life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes*
don’t resist them
that only creates sorrow
let reality be reality
let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like’
― lao tzu

coked
contra’d
dropped
trampled
dumped
extended
numbered (77)
barred
locked
pressed
spotted
blowed
abandoned
clouded
pruned

(birminghamstraat, molenbeek)

(for the monthly photo challenge named the changing seasons, which runs from the 7th to the 15th day of each month throughout the year, hosted by Cardinal Guzman and also for Lucile’s photo101rehab)

shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens slightly tweaked in lightroom cc, change is the only constant** 

*eminem – going through changes (official music video) via youtube

**heraclitus of ephesos

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changing (seasons) #10; or, ‘what do i care’

‘and the trees are stripped bare
of all they wear
what do I care’

lyrics from october by U2

pole crossing
canon tipping
seventyseven surviving
graffiti parking
framed building
empty seating
balcony dripping
still growing
leaves cascading
wheel leaning
green crossing
leaves falling
wet crossing
paid parking
wet railing
brasserie lighting

(birminghamstraat, molenbeek)

(for the monthly photo challenge named the changing seasons, which runs from the 7th to the 15th day of each month throughout the year, hosted by Cardinal Guzman)

*shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens slightly cropped in lightroom cc with added “punch”, oh, and i do care really, a lot* 

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shooting people (cycling)

“Oh, to just grip your handlebars and lay down to it, and go ripping and tearing through streets and road…”
– Jack London

(elsene and molenbeek, brussel, belgië)

Once a year, the streets of Brussel close to motorised traffic, well except for buses, taxis and people who think they know better.

And then, well then, the people take to the streets by cycle, scooter and board.

(for lucile’s photo 101 rehab)

*shot with nikon d700 and nikkor af-s 50mm f/1.4 lens all at f/1.4 time flies*

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changing (seasons) #09; or, ‘wake me up when september ends’

‘summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends’
– lyrics from wake me up when september ends, by green day

gated
reflected
hidden (seventyseven)
gekleurd
converged
demolished
crossed
barred
contre(d)
browned
framed
finished
fenced
emptied
greened

(birminghamstraat, molenbeek)

(for the monthly photo challenge named the changing seasons, which runs from the 7th to the 15th day of each month throughout the year, hosted by Cardinal Guzman)

*shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens slightly cropped in lightroom cc with added “punch”, oh, and wake me up when it’s over* 

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changing (seasons) #08

“a fellow is more afraid of the trouble he might have than he ever is of the trouble he’s already got”
― william faulkner, light in august

grasses
directions
rages
seventy seven
windows
berries
footsteps
leaves
barriers
demolitions

(birminghamstraat, molenbeek)

(for the monthly photo challenge named the changing seasons, which runs from the 7th to the 15th day of each month throughout the year, hosted by Cardinal Guzman)

*shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 16-35mm f/4 lens all at f/4, slightly cropped in lightroom cc, august already

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changing (seasons) #07

“summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance”
– yoko ono

dried
seventyseven
new lights
coked
barred
closed
cycled

(birminghamstraat, molenbeek)

(for the monthly photo challenge named the changing seasons, which runs from the 7th to the 15th day of each month throughout the year, hosted by Cardinal Guzman)

*shot with iphone 5, slightly cropped in lightroom cc, summer struggling

Gallery

hallerbos (up close)

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

(hallerbos, belgië)

I do have a dark side.

I don’t have a macro lens or a set of extension tubes.

It turns out I also have a lighter, brighter side which I though I would share today as part of Lucile’s Photo 101 Rehab.

None of these images have been edited, each are as shot. All were captured this afternoon, during a picnic in the woods with my son.

Part of an experiment to explore my lighter side.

*all shot with nikon d700 and nikkor 70-200 f/4 lens, no edits*