Life is good

I am back at work after my sabbatical. What better way to jump back in than a great trip to Tahiti? Beauty all around.

Dickeyville Sunset

Dickeyville is a village in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. 

It is known for a grotto built by a priest in 1929.

Same But Different

I had not really planned to translate my book into French. I was simply going to give my mom a translation of the poems. However, many more family members and friends are not fluent enough in English to understand it, so I decided to do a complete translation and publish it.
I have done my part. I translated it all and created the new jacket. Now I will have someone to copyedit and proofread it for me. Then I will make the last corrections and upload the manuscript for publication.
This turned out to be a very fulfilling task as well and has also kept me writing. Now I am editing and updating a play I had written years ago.

Beauty

Beauty is everywhere around us, from the most grandiose scenery to the smallest detail of a plant. We just have to look.

Le Gwo-Ka

"Musical research show that this instrument can find its roots in the drums and songs of West African countries like Guinea, Congo, etc... From the diverse music and dance of their homelands, the slaves elaborated a communication tool, the creole language, and a new form of art, the Gwo-Ka. This musical genre is characterised by an African composition: repetitive form - improvisation - physical movements linked to the music - a response between a soloist and a choir.

Gwo-ka is also the dance of improvisation by excellence, a dance of the instinct, of the moment. Gwo-ka is the dance of resistance, of resilience and adaptation: the dance of Life".

Home

No matter where I have lived and how long I have been away from my birthplace, Guadeloupe will always be "home". All my childhood memories are here and this is where I became a young man. It is a very special place and I am amazed that at each visit, I still discover new beautiful spots. The colors and smells here are like nowhere else. They all bring back vivid recollections of times spent here.

Black & White

Most of the time before I take a picture, I know if I will take it in color or in black and white. I don't know what triggers my decision. Just a vibe I guess. Once in a while I do turn a color photo to black and white thinking it looks better or makes for a more interesting result, but these instances are rare.
This "face" is the entry to the Luna Park amusement park in Sydney.

Color My Path

I have been lucky to travel the world both for work and leisure. The experiences and memories I bring back are my riches. One of these days I will have to make a list of all the places that I have visited. But more than where I have been, I am looking forward to the new horizons I will discover once we can freely travel again. This little gem on the left is the quaint town of Dürnstein in Austria, along the Danube. That was one of the stops on a river cruise I did a few years ago. It was beautiful sites galore, one after the other.

Taking in the view

Any day spent in nature is a great day. It is imperative that we step out of our busy city life and resource.

Beautiful Nature

We need to learn to live in harmony with nature or this will be our demise. Blind is the man who cannot see the beauty in front of him.

"Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends."
Charles Darwin

Perspective

We all see, hear, and understand things differently. We can all look at the same view and have a different perspective. This is what makes the world such a beautiful place. I understand that what I see is not necessarily what others are experiencing. I'm interested in sharing my view and learning about someone else's.

Proud

Happy Pride Month. We have a lot to celebrate but still have a long way to go.

Let go

When you create something, you have two choices. Either you keep your creation to yourself, sheltered, or you choose to share it with the world. On the one hand, you want to keep your "baby" and shelter it, but you could also share it on the other. By doing so, you may be helping others and possibly helping yourself in the process.
So I chose to let my baby go and not worry about what others might think or say. This was an essential and personal accomplishment for me to do, and I should remember that.

The Love Box

I hope that one day we will all realize that love is the only answer.

Rainbow Bridge

Victoria Falls are on the Zambezi River in southern Africa. Located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe they are considered to be one of the world's largest waterfalls. The sheer size and beauty are breathtaking. I am blessed to have been able to see them.

Ego Boost

It is always nice when your friends and co-workers appreciate your work, but they might be a bit bias, or at least you think they are. But then you get an ego boost from a company like Getty Images, and then you realize that maybe they are not all bias. It is very fulfilling to know that when I see something and take a picture, someone else does see something as well. The photo below is one of the twelve I have listed on the Getty site. Quite a thrill.

My New Friend

I love nature and everything in it. Although I do love the bustling life of the city, I need to get away to resource. Just being in the country or by the ocean fills me with peace.

Concrete Jungle

Like most people, I'm a walking dichotomy. I love nature, but I am a city boy. Yesterday while strolling around the East Village in San Diego with a friend, we came upon this little wall of beauty right in the middle of high-rises and condominiums. Some cities do a better job than others, and I hope that more and more places will give nature a prominent place among our jungle of cement and glass. One of my favorite places is Singapore. You can be in the middle of the city and feel like you are in the country or a forest, miles away from civilization.

"Something"

I believe most, if not all, artists are always very critical of their work. We constantly compare what we do with what is already out there. Chances are, "better" has been produced by a better photographer, a better writer, a better singer, etc. So how do we get out of our heads and appreciate our work?

First, I had to learn to say I am an artist. Not in a snobbish way, but by realizing that whenever you create something, you are an artist. No matter which medium you choose.

Second, I had to stop comparing myself to others. Of course, there are more beautiful pictures from more talented (in my opinion) photographers. But is that all there is to it?

I value the intent, the message, the impact that a picture might have on a person. I do see "something" when I take a picture. It might not even be clear to me. It just catches my attention, and I respond.

So I hope that when people look at my pictures, they will see "something." And that could be different from what I saw. But that is the beauty of art.

Likes Are Important. 😁

I have finally gathered my pictures in one spot. This is the first step of a more significant endeavor that hopefully will happen next year. I invite you to let me know what your favorite photos are. That will help me with narrowing down the selection. Check out my site at DanielPeccatus.com.

Silhouettes

The perfection of love is but a silhouette against a bright background
The unpleasant details are only visible if you change your viewpoint

Resourcing & Inspiration

Roses

The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.

Work in Progress

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been keeping busy, working on several things. I've been taking classes on different subjects I was interested in, and I started planning some artistic endeavors. The first of my achievements actually happened before Covid. I co-wrote a song with a friend of mine for his album that came out last year. It's odd and cool at the same time to say that I have a song on iTunes. If you're interested, this is the song's link below. It's available on all major platforms. Thank you, Dave, for allowing me to be part of your project. I am working on a couple more things at the moment. Hopefully, they will be happening soon. To be continued...

https://music.apple.com/us/album/there-you-go-feat-tyler-lyon/1519411730?i=1519411822

Pretty in Pink

The explosion of color is everywhere. No matter where you look, flowers and trees are blooming. Temperatures are still a bit low for southern California, but we get beautiful days.

Summer in Spring

For a couple of days, it was summer here in San Diego. The temperatures are back down, but the weather is still beautiful. The other day I went to Balboa Park to write. I figured a change of scenery would be a good source of inspiration.

Entre Ciel Et Mer

I love being close to the ocean. It is where I can resource and be inspired.

Fly Me To The Moon

Enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

Writings

On February 20, I decided that I wanted to pursue a personal goal that I had been thinking about for a long time. I have always written poems, lyrics, plays, musicals, and so far, it's only been for my own enjoyment. Now, I decided that I wanted to share some things with the world. So I will publish a collection of poems. For the past four weeks, I've been editing, revising, and writing new material that will go into the collection. It could be just this book, or it could be the first of many. I do not know yet, and the focus at the moment is to have this one out. This will be a personal achievement that hopefully will lead to other artistic endeavors that I want to pursue.

News

It has been quite a while since I've posted something. My photography used to automatically be uploaded here, but then it stopped and I got too lazy to try to figure out why.
I am now working on a project that I am very excited about. More details coming soon.