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

(U2 - Van Diemen's Land)

Hamburg, Germany.

December 2011.

200 seconds; F/8.0; ISO200.

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

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

(Ben Harper & The Blind Boys Of Alabama)

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

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

Wonderful Remark

Docklands office building.

Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

Click here to view a

photo taken in April 2011.

Radisson Hotel.

Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

How can we ever feel the freedom

Or the flame lit by the spark

How can we ever come out even

When reality is stark

Listen, how can you tell us something

Just to keep us hanging on, yeah

Something that just don't mean nothin'

When we see you, you are gone

Clinging to some other rainbow

While we're standing waiting outside in the cold

Telling us the same sad story

Knowing time is growing old

That was a wonderful remark

I had my eyes closed in the dark

(Van Morrison - Wonderful Remark)

The past one or two weeks have been very foggy. I've been busy doing this and that, but tonight I felt like driving around for a while, and I took my camera along. 

My application for a job at a coffee shop was successful - the boss and the rest of the team are wonderful people and really easy to get along with.

Speaking of the Boss, Bruce Springsteen will be on tour in 2012... I'm not going to miss the European leg of that tour... a new album will be released, too.

Last but not least, two friends from school, one of whom is now living in Dublin, suggested that three and a half years after leaving school we should gather as many of our classmates as possible and that we should all hook up on New Year's Eve. The city of choice is neither London nor Dublin though, but Berlin. A certain percentage of our international circle of friends (an Argentine, a German, and a Swiss) all moved there. If I do decide to celebrate New Year's Eve with my old friends instead of my new ones, I'm sure we'll live it up, and we'll probably do a few things that we'll never live down. I might just as well stay in Hamburg though, for I would never have thought that I'd make such good friends in another place, and it is here that this only child has found the family he always would've loved to have had. You might say that they're just close friends, but it's as close to a family as it gets.

Goodnight.


- Dom

Fisherman's Dream

Hamburg at night.

Germany. November 2011.

What happened to the fisherman's love

Was it nowhere to be found

What happened to the love of the fisherman

When it drove him to the high, high ground

What happened to the love of the fisherman

When they drove that last nail down

What happened to the fisherman's love

When they laid him in the ground

Tell me, did it fade away?

Did it fade on down to the ocean?

Did it fade away?

Did it fade on down to the sea?

To the ocean and the sea

(John Martyn - Fisherman's Dream)

As I roved by the dockside

One evening so rare

To view the still waters

And take the salt air

I heard an old fisherman singing this song

O take me away boys my time is not long

Dress me up in me oilskin and jumper

No more on the docks I'll be seen

Just tell me old shipmates

I'm taking a trip, mates

And I'll see them someday in Fiddler's Green

(The Dubliners - Fiddler's Green)

Take a look at the work of the following artists: Native Vermont; Conrad Roset; Raphael Bourelly. Last but not least there's a blog called Street Art London.

Have a nice day.

- Dom

All Things Must Change

Autumn leaves.

Germany.

November 2011.

Now the cars come like rivers

Night comes like madness

Songs come like trains

Headlights flash in the darkness

Memories twist in the rain

And we feel those flickering moments

like silk they're the flags of our days

And the past is only the part of life

we've thrown away

(Runrig - "All Things Must Change")

Goodnight.


- Dom

One Thing

Speicherstadt, Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

Click here to see another photo

taken in the Speicherstadt-area
which I published in October.

The picture is painted,

the colours are bold

One for each season 

of life I suppose

It no longer matters,

the story is told

It's not going to change a thing

(Runrig - "One Thing")

The Speicherstadt-area is one of my favourite parts of Hamburg - the other being Blankenese with its beaches and a couple lighthouses, and the Schanzenviertel, where there's always something going on. If you've never been to Hamburg, you should come over for a visit - you're going to love it.

I'm going to sign out now - there's a box of donuts waiting for me in the kitchen.

The Wild Hunt

Stellmoor.

Ahrensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

November 2011.

Howling beasts

And unearthly cries

One-eyed riders

Stones of skies

Though I was young that night

Never once did I fear

(Steve Von Till - The Wild Hunt)

The Wild Hunt is not only the title of the song quoted in this blog post, but also the name of an ancient folk myth. Click here to find out more.

The planked footpath winds through one of Stellmoor's bogs. It's slippery when wet, but a great place to go for a hike. Stellmoor is located just a few miles north-east of Hamburg. 

Have a great week.


- Dom

When The Music's Not Forgotten

Pumpjack, near Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

In a dream

That I had not long ago

Visions of 

A city made of gold

And a sound

That I never heard before

Such a sound

Saturating to the core

Such a sound

One that could not be forgotten

In a time

When the music's not forgotten

(Deadman - When The Music's Not Forgotten)

I just noticed that it's been a long time since I last published a sepia-toned photograph... so here it is. Yesterday, I changed the layout of this blog... let me know if you like it.

I hope it's a lovely day wherever you may be.

- Dom

The Promise

Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

60 seconds.

Johnny works in a factory and Billy works downtown

Terry works in a rock and roll band

Lookin' for that million-dollar sound

I got a little job down in Darlington

But some nights I don't go

Some nights I go to the drive-in

Or some nights I stay home

I followed that dream just like

those guys do up on the screen

And I drive a Challenger down Route 9

through the dead ends and all the bad scenes

And when the promise was broken,

I cashed in a few of my dreams

(Bruce Springsteen - The Promise)

Here's what I liked this week: A series of photos taken in Iceland, a beautiful short film about motorcycling, a blog with links to unreleased songs by Bruce Springsteen, two photostreams on Flickr (#1; #2), and a designer light bulb.

Today, I handed in my letter of application and CV at a coffee shop in one of the better areas of Hamburg - I've worked as a waiter before, so I'd be happy to get that job. I also had cake and pie at a friend's birthday party. On my way home, I stopped by the power plant to take that photograph. It's the 11th of November 2011, the 315th day of the year (which means that there's exactly 50 days left), and there's a full moon shining above our earth today.

Earth below us

Drifting, falling

Floating weightless

Calling, calling home

Across the stratosphere

A final message: "Give my wife my love"

Then nothing more

(Peter Schilling - "Major Tom")

Goodnight, and have a nice weekend!


- Dom

Something In The Night

Garage, Lüneburg, Germany.

November 2011.

You're born with nothing,

and better off that way

Soon as you've got something,

they send someone to try and take it away

You can ride this road 'till dawn,

without another human being in sight

Just kids wasted on

something in the night

Nothing is forgotten or forgiven

when it's your last time around

I got stuff running 'round my head

that I just can't live down

(Bruce Springsteen - Something In The Night)

Check out these blogs if you're interested in off-road driving and road trips (#1; #2). I have to admit, I love the planning phase of a trip just as much as the actual trip... spending my time looking through those pictures makes me want to get out on the road... any road, really.

Goodnight.


- Dom

Under Your Spell

Hamburg, Germany.

November 2011.

Inspired by Roman Bezjak's photographs of the brutalist architecture of the Soviet Union... with my own photographic style and, contrary to Bezjak's pictures, taken at night.

Blog post title taken from the song by Desire.

Have a great week.

- Dom

Nightcall

I haven't posted anything here for a week, so here it goes...

Last Tuesday, a friend and I went to see the amazing short films of this year's European Outdoor Film Tour. The program is made up of ten films. The ones we liked best were "Baffin Babes", which was about a group of four women who spent 80 days in the arctic, "Dark Side Of The Lens" by Irish photographer Mickey Smith, and "Kadoma", the story of an expedition which South African kayaker Hendri Coetzee did not survive. 

Also, last week I decided that I'm going to continue studying archaeology, and that is a final decision. I had published a blog post in October which I have since deleted... back then, I said that I'm not planning to work as an archaeologist... instead I'm thinking about starting on-the-job training next year or the one after next to become a mechanic (cars and motorcycles are another passion of mine). 

I've given it a lot of thought and even though I still think it'd be nice to work as a mechanic, I now believe that I might regret not getting that Bachelor of Arts degree. I've got an IQ of just under 130 and it'd be a shame if I didn't make something out of it.

So if everything goes well, I'll graduate in the summer of 2012. By then, I'll have spent four years in the Hamburg / Lüneburg - region... I'm planning to stay in Germany... but I might move to another city. 

I'm not going to lie though - it took my two best friends to convince me that it'd be a mistake to quit studying. I'm grateful to have such friends that don't encourage me when I'm about to do something stupid but get me back on track.

Lastly, after 10 days as a pizza delivery guy, I decided to quit the job. I was forced to work 11 hours on Friday and 12 hours on Saturday, and as I changed a flat tyre late at night, I wondered if I needed the money that much that I had to work under such conditions... and whether I would want to work another 12 hours on Sunday too... and the answer was a "no".

The weather has been miserable this past week, but I hope to be able to upload new photographs soon.

Blog post title taken from the song of the same name by Kavinsky.

Have a nice day.

- Dom

Wings For Wheels

Hamburg, Germany.

35mm film (cropped).

December 2009.

Now the season's over and I feel it getting cold

I wish I could take you to some sandy beach

where we'd never grow old

I'm no prince and I can't 
lay the stars at your feet

But I got this old car and
she's pretty tough to beat

(Bruce Springsteen - Wings For Wheels)

This evening, I published three blog posts featuring photographs from my archives. There are no more old pictures left that I know of and that I would want to upload, neither from the days when I still lived in England and used medium format film, nor from my trips to the United States, nor from my travels through France and the Netherlands, nor from the three years and four months I've been living in Germany now. All of my future blog posts will feature new photographs, unless I'll stumble across an old photo that has escaped my attention.

Goodnight.


- Dom

The Long Way Home

Berlin, Germany.

November 2009 / September 2009.

Blog post title taken from this song by Tom Waits.

No One Knows I'm Gone

Beelitz, Germany.

35mm film (cropped). 

February 2009.

Hell above and heaven below

All the trees are gone

The rain makes such a lovely sound

To those who're six feet underground

(Tom Waits)