24 December 2011

The Fisherman


Hamburg - Speicherstadt.
Hamburg - Övelgönne.
Germany. December 2011.




There he stood on the shore
With the world in his eyes
Then he left his home
And his family behind
And he cast his nets out
On the wide open seas
Where the warm winds cover
The face of the deep

The shadows stretch out
Through the streets of the town
And the dark lonely night
Sets its' snares all around
But the boats sail at dawn
Under confident skies
Where the men of the island
Leave to follow their lives

I remember the night
When the going got rough
How you fought for that sea
You were so worthy of
Though the storm raged and tore
Like a merciless fire
All you ever felt
Was peace of mind

(Runrig - The Fisherman)




According to a beautiful French song, fate promises us everything but gives us nothing in return. As far as I am concerned however, I would be ungrateful if I complained about my life right now. I love my job, and the colleagues and customers love me too. 

After all the blondes and brunettes I have met this year, last week I decided to go out with a girl from Namibia - she loves African food, Savannah Dry Cider and music by Brenda Fassie and Johnny Clegg and she has had a crush on me since we first met - I just couldn't resist. I had a wonderful date with her, went to a friend's concert, and there was more to come that night, but then she sent me five messages and several texts within the next day... she was already talking about a relationship... too much pressure... sometimes I wonder why people try so desperately to be with someone. Maybe it is this time of year...

I have not had much time to keep up with the blogs I am subscribed to, but here is a list of the posts I liked this past week: Kawasaki W650 motorcycle; an anecdote showing why Humphrey Bogart was awesome; Camerabag - a series of short films about photographers; a gallery of photographs taken in the Serengeti.

To all those of you who celebrate Christmas... I hope you enjoy a peaceful weekend in the company of your family.


Last but not least... happy new year!

- Dom

Van Diemen's Land


Hold me now, oh hold me now
'til this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's Land

Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
That an honest man sees an honest wage





Hamburg, Germany.
December 2011.
200 seconds; F/8.0; ISO200.

16 December 2011

Raglan Road


Elbphilharmonie concert building.
Hamburg, Germany. December 2011.


This is one of the places I keep coming back to - I have uploaded many pictures taken from the same spot. Click here and here if you would like to view more pictures. Just like this place and especially the building in the centre of the image is inspiring, so is the song from which I've taken the title of this blog post and several ones in the past. Raglan Road is one of my favourite songs of all time, and one of the most beautiful folk songs ever written... it doesn't get more poetic than this.


On Grafton Street in November
We tripped lightly along the ledge
Of a deep ravine where can be seen
The worth of passion's pledge

I gave her gifts of the mind
I gave her the secret signs
Known to the artists who have known
The true gods of sound and stone

And word and tint I did not stint
I gave her poems to say
With her own name there
And her long dark hair
Like the clouds over fields of May

(Van Morrison & The Chieftains - Raglan Road)


Goodnight.


- Dom

13 December 2011

I Shall Not Walk Alone


Battered and torn
Still I can see the light
Tattered and worn
But I must kneel to fight

Hope is alive
While we're apart
Only tears
Speak from my heart

Break the chains
That hold us down
And we shall be
Forever bound

When I'm tired and weary
And a long way from home
I reach for Mother Mary
And I shall not walk alone





New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Medium format. Cross-processed.
August 2007.




On my last day off, I watched two movies that take place in Louisiana and the New Orleans - area, Sinners & Saints and The Yellow Handkerchief. The first one is an old-fashioned cop film, the second an independent drama movie. Anyway, the movies brought back to my mind memories of my trip from Boston to New Orleans in 2007. I looked through my archives of medium format photographs and found the ones above. Seven months ago, I had already uploaded two pictures taken in the Lower Ninth Ward. Nowhere in New Orleans was the devastation after Hurricane Katrina greater than in this part of the city. 


There are some cities in the United States that I've been to several times, such as New York City and Phoenix, but it is New Orleans that has fascinated me more than any other American city. The French Quarter is sexy and sultry, there's dozens of bars and restaurants and lots of music. 


I've been working a lot since my last blog post, and there's more coming up in the next two weeks, which are going to be very busy. I did however go to the Australian bar & restaurant, the Down Under, several times after my evening shifts. I don't know when I'll get a chance to take new photos or spend a decent amount of time checking out the latest posts of my fellow bloggers, but I do promise that I will both take and upload new photographs as well as read your posts and write comments before the month is over. 

Talk to you soon.


- Dom

06 December 2011

Bright Side Of The Road


Speicherstadt, Hamburg, Germany.
December 2011.
On a clear day, you would have 
seen the Elbphilharmonie and a
high-rise in the distance.


Into this life we're born
Baby sometimes, sometimes we don't know why
And time seems to go by so fast
In the twinkling of an eye

Let's enjoy it while we can
Won't you help me sing my song
From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road

(Van Morrison - Bright Side Of The Road)




I've neglected my blog for a while, and I haven't had much time to visit other people's blogs either. I've been busy at work, and I had to finish a paper for university. I've been working at the coffee shop for two weeks now, and it took me just a couple of days to get back into the old rut, the one I'm used to from working in some of the local pubs: Cleaning tables, doing the dishes, but most importantly memorising the names of all the products we offer, the various types of coffee as well as a large number of cookies, muffins, pies, and sandwiches... it feels just right to be standing behind the bar again, instead of spending my money sitting in front of it.


Last night and this morning it snowed for a while... there's nothing left of it, though. 


There are still 25 days left in 2011, but I've already made some plans for the next year. First of all, I decided to stay in Hamburg for New Year's Eve. However, I will make at least two trips to Berlin next year: I bought tickets for Bruce Springsteen's concert at the Olympic Stadium on the 30th of May and for Runrig's concert at the Tempodrom on the 29th of November. Click on the links and you'll see why I couldn't resist... both venues are amazing. For January, I've planned a surprise visit to a friend who, in my humble opinion, needs to have a few beers before his exams... and there are more plans being made with friends - I'll talk about them soon.


On account of the weather being so bad for pretty much all of last week, I had a lot of time to browse through some of my favourite architecture and design blogs. Here are two awesome lamps: #1; #2. This website comes along with an online shop that sells some funny products, e.g. the whale tail bookmark and the car side mirror. I love three of the unique products designed by Sebastian Errazuriz: #1; #2; #3. I might buy this salt and pepper shaker set for my kitchen. Let's get to the architecture... I love this building in Copenhagen. The interior design in this home is a great inspiration. Last but not least, let me share some photography links... I truly enjoyed this gallery of photographs taken by Alvaro Sanchez-Montanes. These photostreams on Flickr are worth taking a look at, too (#1; #2; #3).


Have a great week.


- Dom