28 April 2011

Highway Patrolman


 Lüneburg, Germany.
Summer 2010.
Click here for the digital picture.


Well I chased him through those county roads
till a sign said Canadian border 5 miles from here

I pulled over the side of the highway
and watched his taillights disappear

Man turns his back on his family
well he just ain't no good

(Bruce Springsteen - Highway Patrolman)



26 April 2011

1953


Hamburg, December 2010.
Berlin, January 2009.
35mm film.

On that snowy bright December day
She came and took my breath away
It was there I met my love so fair
A beauty oh so true and rare

As seasons come and seasons pass
The bond we know will always last
We built a life remaining true
I pledge my heart and soul to you

For who we are and what we'll be
I'll sing your praise eternally
The miles we've shared I'd trade but few
They're the ones that kept me away from you

(Dropkick Murphys - 1953)



The photo shoot last Friday was a lot of fun, and we had some lovely photographs at the end of the day. We were shooting on location in the small town of Glückstadt in the State of Schleswig-Holstein. On Saturday, I picked up two friends at the airport. I had not seen them since I moved away in 2008. We had a lot of fun over the past couple days.

I'm making progress with the presentations I have to give this semester. As soon as I'm done, I'll book flights for my trip to London and make plans for two or three other short trips (Frankfurt, Munich, and - probably - Sweden). 

Check out this collection of amazing photographs by George Steinmetz. Click here to see my favourite architectural find of the week. Last but not least, there's a lovely quiz on the National Geographic website.

Have a great week!


- Dom

20 April 2011

Lucky You


Schaalsee, Germany.
April 2011.


The weather is gorgeous. If I didn't have to give a presentation on a neolithic ritual site tomorrow, I'd grab a Corona and my headphones and take a stroll outside. 

I've got a photoshoot scheduled for Friday, and on Saturday I'll pick up two friends at the airport that I haven't seen since I moved in 2008... so the weekend will be a busy one.

Blog post title taken from the song "Lucky You" by The National.

Have a great evening.


- Dom

19 April 2011

Fake Empire


Schaalsee, Germany.
April 2011.

Turn the light out, say goodnight, 
no thinking for a little while, 
let's not try to figure out everything at once 

It's hard to keep track of you, 
falling through the sky

We're half awake in a fake empire

(The National)


The Schaalsee biosphere reserve is the kind of beautiful place that Bob Ross would have painted a rather crude painting of.

Fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space. Going the opposite direction, Russian cave divers explored their country's largest underwater cave... click here to admire their stunning pictures.


I had my first Swedish class earlier today... three and a half hours is quite a long time, but still, I enjoyed it very much. I love the language. It's very melodic and almost reminded me of the Irish lilt. 


Have a good night.


- Dom

18 April 2011

Nightswimming


Schaalsee, Germany.
Long exposures during blue hour.
April 2011.


Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago
The fear of getting caught
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things they go away
Replaced by everyday

(R.E.M. - Nightswimming)




I've spent the evening at my buddy Michal's place drinking Wodka Zoladkowa Gorzka and talking about photography, music, and cultural differences. This website has some interesting views on differences in cultures.


Click here to watch the most beautiful video I've seen in a long time.

16 April 2011

The Great Beyond



I've watched the stars fall silent from your eyes

I want the hummingbirds, the dancing bears

Sweetest dreams of you

I look into the stars
I look into the moon



Schaalsee, Germany.
April 2011.

Two long exposures and another picture taken in the afternoon. The moon is just outside of the frame, on the right hand side.


Around the same time I left my mum's house for my little trip up to the lakelands, a friend of mine entered a 24-hour photography competition. I thought it would be cool to take pictures at the same time, but in different places. 


Have a great weekend y'all!


- Dom

Moondance


Schaalsee, Germany.
April 2011.
The first photograph was taken in the 
evening, the second one four hours later.



Well it's a marvellous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes

(Van Morrison)



I got another email from the boss of the excavation firm saying that I'll start digging in mid-July. I'm very happy I got the job. I do not yet know where the excavation site is at - I'll find out in the first week of July.


Take a look at this series of amazing underwater photographs. 

Once You Love


Somewhere in the district of Ludwigslust, 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
April 2011.


I knew an old man
who lived all alone
In a sad little house
at the end of the road

He sat on the front porch
in an old rocking chair
And everyone swore
he'd gone crazy down there

But no one comes near
so how could they know
He lost someone dear to him
once long ago

He remembers the laughter
and he still tastes the tears
And he stills calls her name out
after all of these years

You can keep it all inside
You can run but you can't hide

(Steve Earle - Once You Love)



12 April 2011

Tupelo Honey


Excavation work above and one 
of the finds - a fibula - below.
Germany.
October 2010.


Good news! I got an email from the archaeological excavation firm I'd contacted a while ago. They pay really well. In fact, I'd be earning 70 or 80 Euros a day (depending on whether I work seven or eight hours). That's a lot more than I made last year (30 Euros a day). Hopefully, I'll get that job. 

Title taken from this beautiful song by Van Morrison.


Goodnight.


- Dom



10 April 2011

Last Ramble


1st picture taken east of Essex, CA.
2nd & 3rd picture taken east
of Twentynine Palms, CA.
June 2009.


I have always been the travellin' kind
A million miles behind me now

I kept on followin' that thin white line
But now I want to turn around

I only lived to hear that highway sound

(Steve Earle - Steve's Last Ramble)



The essence of the road trip is the knowledge that you're only passing through a place that has been there long before you came, and will still be there long after you're gone... It is names on a map coming to life in front of your eyes... It is making small talk with strangers you meet at petrol stations in the desert... It is walking through the rooms of houses that were abandoned long ago.... It is taking pictures of the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets silhouetted against the evening sky... It is singing along to Tom Waits' "Ol' 55" while driving into the sunset.
It is a journey that is never finished, for even if you may come back home and stay there for some time, you're itching to get back onto the road again.


We now have a time frame for the road trip around France and parts of Belgium and Germany. We'll meet in Hamburg and take off on the 3rd of September and be back on the 14th or 15th of September. Timing depended on my best friend, because he'll be graduating from university this summer. I'm going to plan my archaeological assignments around that trip (probably working six or seven weeks before and three or four weeks after the trip), and my friend from university who'll be joining us left it up to me to decide when to go, because I'm the only one of us who's got a car. His girlfriend wanted to come along, too, but instead she has to do two months of practical training.


Have a nice day.


- Dom

08 April 2011

The Two April Mornings


Nikolaihof, Bardowick, Germany.
April 2011.


The Nikolaihof is a large property in Bardowick, which is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg. Bardowick is one of the oldest villages in the state of Lower Saxony.
The Nikolaihof consists of a church and a number of barns and cottages. In the Middle Ages, people suffering from leprosy were treated at the Nikolaihof, which was named after Saint Nicholas
For an aerial view and more information (in German) click here. If you would like to find out more about the other sights in and around Bardowick, visit this site (the places are listed on the left side). For previous pictures of Bardowick taken by yours truly, click the followings links: #1; #2; #3; #4. To see pictures of another old town in Lower Saxony, click here.

Blog post title taken from a poem by William Wordsworth.

Have a nice weekend!

- Dom

07 April 2011

No Darkness On The Edge Of Town


The Elbe River.
Hamburg, Germany.
April 2011.
Long exposures.


The further you get away from the town centre and the port of Hamburg, the less heavy the light pollution will be. The picture above was taken some 10 kilometres from the centre and the one below about 15 kilometres from the centre. Still, there is no darkness on the edge of town.


Some folks are born into a good life
Other folks get it anyway anyhow

Tonight I'll be on that hill
'cause I can't stop
I'll be on that hill
with everything I got

Lives on the line
where dreams are found and lost
I'll be there on time
and I'll pay the cost

For wanting things
that can only be found
In the darkness
on the edge of town.

(Bruce Springsteen)

Goodnight!

- Dom

06 April 2011

Come Pick Me Up


Hamburg, Germany.
April 2011.


When you're walking down town
Do you wish I was there?
Do you wish it was me?
With the windows clear
And the mannequins eyes
Do they all look like mine?

You know you could
I wish you would

Come pick me up





Yesterday I watched the best match of the 2010-2011 Champions League season so far (F.C. Internazionale - FC Schalke), so today I decided that I'd spend the night driving around Hamburg. The weather was awesome and by the time I got home, it was still 14 degrees Celcius outside.

04 April 2011

Spirit In The Night


Docklands.
Hamburg, Germany.
April 2011.
250 seconds; F/22; ISO 50.


The picture above might be my best long exposure in the field of architectural photography. For previous pictures of this building, click here: #1; #2; #3. I've been there quite a few times and I'm sure I'll return.


Have a great week!


- Dom



02 April 2011

I Passed Along The Enchanted Way


Hamburg, Germany.
March 2011.
Naken near this place.


I saw the danger and I passed
Along the enchanted way
And said, let grief be a fallen leaf
At the dawning of the day

Oh I loved too much, and by such and such
Is happiness thrown away

("Raglan Road")


Patrick Kavanagh's "Raglan Road" was recorded by many great musicians, from Luke Kelly to Mark Knopfler to Van Morrison.

My best friend is in town for a couple days, so we enjoyed some amazing baking and cooking on Thursday and Friday. Most of the girls we know don't enjoy good food as much as we do, which is really sad. We also went to the British Shop to buy a selection of different ciders. My favourite British cider, Woodpecker, wasn't in store. If you too enjoy ciders, you should try Savannah Dry Cider.

I'm not a lover of one particular architectural style. One I love very much though is the log cabin. Yesterday, the writer of my favourite blog devoted to the great outdoors posted a series of pictures of a gorgeous cabin in Washington. One day, I'd love to have a cabin, too. Some place in Norway or Sweden would be nice.


Have a nice weekend.


- Dom