Things That Are

Treehouse, Lüneburg, Germany.

March 2012.

She was the fairest

And her eyes shone of blue

I first fell in the autumn term

There was nothing I could do

School lovers swarmed

Around the courtyard wall

Then walked up

The rapture road aglow

I saw her again last summer

Where the hard rains fall

The grass grew long around her feet

Where the years took their toll

She once meant the world to me

But we by-passed destiny

On the road not taken

The road unknown

(Runrig - Things That Are)

I've just finished packing my clothes and gear for my trip to Berlin. Earlier today, I went over to my mum's place in Lüneburg, an hour's drive from Hamburg, where I enjoyed good food and walked our dog. He's almost twelve years old now, and he won't be around for many more months to come. That's why I brought my camera to take a few pictures of him. When I passed by that treehouse, it brought back memories from my childhood. Memories of friends I haven't seen in years, memories of songs that meant a lot to me back then (I used to listen to the Beatles, and my dog's name is Ringo), and a lot of other things. 

Have a nice weekend, and talk to you soon.

- Dom

The Mighty Atlantic

Rügen, Germany.

September 2010.

The roll of the wind

As we sail across the water

The roll of the sea

As we're taken through the night

The dimming lamp of day

Leaves the crimson foam and spray

Across the face of the mighty Atlantic

For the roll it is gentle

As the waves, they guide you over

Full new moon across the stern flag

Our different worlds in constant motion

(Runrig - The Mighty Atlantic)

I've been working a lot last week. This week however, I've got four days off - I'll be spending three days in Berlin to go shopping, take new pictures and visit old friends. At the moment, I don't have any new pictures to share with you, so I thought I'd upload this photograph from the archives. Rügen is one of those places where Germany is at its most beautiful.

I'll be off to work in an hour and before I go, I'd like to share some websites that I like... Erin McCown's and Esben Bøg Jensen's photostreams on Flickr... a website called Atlas Obscura... a Christian burial from Anglo-Saxon England... an awesome custom Triumph Scrambler... last but not least, I've spent the last two weeks watching Justified, which is (as far as I'm concerned) the only TV series worth watching at the moment - great scripts, great characters, great camera work, never boring.

Have a nice week!

- Dom

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Ernst Thälmann memorial, Berlin, Germany.

May 2010.

You must leave now

Take what you need, you think will last

But whatever you wish to keep

You better grab it fast

Yonder stands the orphan with his gun

Crying like a fire in the sun

Look out, all the saints are coming through

And it's all over now, baby blue

Leave your stepping stones behind

Now, something that calls for you

Forget the dead you've left

They will not follow you

The vagabond who's rapping at your door

Is standing in the clothes that you once wore

Strike another match, go start anew

And it's all over now, baby blue

(Van Morrison - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue)

Ain't No Love

Richmond Park, Richmond, UK.

2006.

Expired medium format film.

On winter trees the fruit of rain

Is hanging trembling in the branches

Like a thousand diamond buds

And waiting there in every pause

That old familiar fear that claws you

Tells you nothing ain't no good

Then pulling back you see it all

Down here so laughable and small

Hardly a quiver in the dirt

This ain't no love that's guiding me

This ain't no love that's guiding me

No it ain't no love guiding me

No it ain't no love guiding me

(David Gray - Ain't No Love)

These pictures mean more to me than they did back then. By the time I got that film developed, it had already been expired for a few years. Like the landscapes in the photographs, memories become blurry. Some events might not have happened as we think they did. We forget facts, so our brain or imagination makes up false facts to fill in the blanks.

Lately

Speicherstadt, Hamburg, Germany.

March 2012.

Click here for a previous picture.

That the sky would lift

That I'd find my place

That I'd see your face in the door

And the sun would glint

And a time well spent

And a time that ain't no more

Someone tell me where did it go

Darling I'm damned if I know

I seen that look in your eye

No-one ever gave it a chance

I could have said in advance

You saw it all at a glance

And goodbye

Honey lately I've been way down

Honey lately I've been way down

(David Gray - Lately)

Gloria

She comes around here just about midnight

She makes me feel so good

I wanna say she make me feel all right

Comes a-walkin' down my street

Then she comes up to my house

She knock upon my door and then she comes to my room

Yeah, an' she make me feel all right

And her name is G-l-o-r-i-a

G-l-o-r-i-a, Gloria

G-l-o-r-i-a, Gloria

I'm gonna shout it all night, Gloria

I'm gonna shout it every day, Gloria

(Van Morrison - Gloria)

Fleetschlösschen.

Hamburg, Germany.

March 2012.

Couldn't find no more pictures in my archives that were good enough to post on my blog... so I went out tonight and took some long exposures. It's my day off, and I had to run a few errands this morning... there's a few things on my mind as well, so I really enjoyed driving around town for a couple hours.

In a previous blog post I mentioned one of my favourite customers at the coffee shop (in fact, both of my favourite female customers are blondes). Yesterday, I finally learned her name.

This coming Saturday is Saint Patrick's Day. I'll go on a pub crawl with my colleagues. One of them will come along to Berlin - I'll be there from the 29th to 31st of March. 

In another previous blog post, I mentioned that some of my friends invited me to accompany them on a trip to Denmark. However, I've had to decline the invitation this week because I've already got other plans for the week they've decided on. If you've read my previous blog posts, you know that Denmark was only my fourth choice for my summer holiday (my first choice was a road trip around Scandinavia with my best friend, my second choice was visiting Israel, and lastly, my third choice was another American road trip). I haven't made a decision where to go now. One of my colleagues is from Belgium, and apart from having a cute accent, she told me a lot of nice things about her country... maybe I'll go there.

Have a great week.

- Dom

Brown Eyed Girl

Strasbourg, France.

September 2011.

With Lensbaby 3G.

Click here to view another

image that I used the 3G for.

Hey, where did we go

Days when the rain came

Down in the hollow,

Playin' a new game

Laughing and a runnin' hey, hey

Skipping and a jumpin'

In the misty morning fog with

Our hearts a thumpin' and you

My brown eyed girl

You my brown eyed girl

(Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl)

Red her cheeks as rowans are

Bright her eyes as any star

Fairest of them all by far

(Van Morrison - Marie's Wedding)

The song "Brown Eyed Girl" reminds me of a Swiss girl I met in Berlin 25 months ago, in February 2010. I'm more into blondes and redheads than I'm into brunettes, but she was beautiful and made me feel like we were in one of those romantic French films, at least for as long as the first weekend we spent together lasted... we had dinner at a fancy restaurant and wandered around the city for many hours... aimlessly, arm in arm.

This month, I'll return to Berlin for three days... while the nights are reserved for clubbing, I intend to take new pictures during the day. Click the following links to see previous pictures taken in Berlin: #1; #2; #3; #4; #5; #6; #7; #8.

Goodnight.

- Dom

True Companion

Taken near Bardowick, Germany.

October 2010.

Long exposure.

Sometimes I'm an angel

And sometimes I'm cruel

And when it comes to love

I'm just another fool

Yes, I'll climb a mountain

I'm gonna swim the sea

There ain't no act of god girl

Could keep you safe from me

My arms are reaching out

Out across this canyon

I'm asking you to be my true companion

When the years have done irreparable harm

I can see us walking slowly arm in arm

Just like that couple on the corner do

'cause girl I will always be in love with you

And when I look in your eyes

I'll still see that spark

Until the shadows fall

Until the room grows dark

Then when I leave this earth

I'll be with the angels standin'

I'll be out there waiting for my true companion

(Marc Cohn - True Companion)

I might have met that girl last year... Her name is Sophie... She's beautiful, she's got a good sense of humour, she's smart. However, during the period of three months in which we dated, she was too busy studying law and writing articles for the local newspaper. Too busy as far as I was concerned. Maybe I should have been more patient. Maybe it is true that only unfulfilled love can be romantic... 

Goodnight.


- Dom

Far Away Nearby

This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he today that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now abed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day

(Henry V)

Épinal American Cemetery, France.

September 2011.

With Lensbaby 3G.

A little boy sits by the light of the moon

He knows that he's lost something precious too soon

But he's quietly singing a nursery tune

He sings for whoever may hear him

But one day he finds for whatever it's worth

The moon and the stars and the blue spinning earth

They'll all come and go through death and rebirth

And the ones that he's lost will be near him

No matter the distance they're putting between us

Whether on earth or on high

I'll send you a prayer if you blow me some kisses

From the far away nearby

(Marc Cohn - Far Away Nearby)

Racing In The Street

Southern France.

September 2011.

Tonight, tonight, the highway's bright

Out of our way mister you best keep

'Cause summer's here and the time is right

For goin' racin' in the street

(Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street)

Cut and paste "43.734988,3.452859" in google maps, drag the street view icon onto the road, rotate 180 degrees, and enjoy the view. 

I've been able to locate this spot on the map thanks to Freddy, who finally sent me a copy of his travel diary.

While I was driving, I couldn't pay that much attention to the names of villages or observation points, so I kept telling him to jot down some notes. As I read his diary, it turned out that there wasn't even half as much useful information in it as I had expected there to be.

Instead there was a lot of useless albeit funny information... and some things I'd forgotten about... 

"Dom wants to lay the receptionist at the youth hostel in Strasbourg."

"Just shared a Dark Dog energy drink - oh my gosh - this is going to keep us awake for two days straight."

"Can't find a place to stay in Arles... so we decided to drive all the way down to a place called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer because it sounds like a great idea to have a few beers on the shore of the Mediterranean."

"Went hiking all day... lost sight of the trail a few times... took us ages to get back down into the valley... got bad sunburns... went down to the river near the camp site to cool off and drink cold Corona."

"Leaving Sainte-Enimie in the morning... we're headed for Dijon now... there are roadworks everywhere and we can't find a hostel anywhere... called up my little sister to tell her to search for accomodation online... she can't find anything either... so we just made the decision to drive on to Besançon... the hostel we stayed in on the second night of the trip is fully booked tonight... going to continue our search for a hostel in this city... Dom has been driving for twelve hours and he's in a bad mood because he's hungry... finally pulled into the parking lot of a youth hostel at half past ten... now all we need is a long shower and a bed to sleep in."

"Crossed the border. We're in Germany now. Dom wants to visit a place called Volklingen. It doesn't stop raining, so we decide to have lunch at McDonalds instead. All of a sudden, a total blackout. Now we need to find some place else to eat. We decide to visit the old town of Saarlouis... last beer of the trip at a rock and roll bar."  

It seems like I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the trip. It also seems like we drank beer all the time. Well, maybe we did. 

It took me a while to make out Freddy's handwriting... it didn't help that I've got a bit of a hangover from mixing some cocktails earlier this evening... but I made one hell of a Swimming Pool. That cocktail was invented by German barkeeper Charles Schumann, who's the owner of one of Munich's most well-known bars.

Anyway, it's time to go to bed now; I'll be working the evening shift tomorrow... it's my favourite shift because the customers are more laid-back in the evening than they are in the morning or when they're on lunch break... so me and my colleagues can joke around with them, and whenever we're not making anoter caffé latte, cappuccino or latte macchiato we chat about football, music or politics.

Goodnight.

- Dom