Travel

There are no greater riches than the memories you gather while roaming the world.

'Tis the season

This magical moment of the year

When trees forego their greenery

For a fantastic array of fiery shades

Soon they will cry golden tears 

And for a few months, resignedly, 

Wear a coat of pearly white flakes.

The Shopper

I do not do a lot of "street photography" because I am not comfortable taking pictures of people without them knowing. It feels like an invasion of privacy. But once in a while, I see something that I have to capture. I loved this lady hurrying passed me and crossing the red shadow from the store window lights.

Call Me Jack

"Jack of all trades, master of none." For a long time, I saw that as a hindrance. To me it meant that I was good at a lot of things but great at none. I wondered if I should focus on one single things and be the best at it. Now, I embraces all these talents that, in the end, make me who I am and give me my unique outlook on the world. I just have many strings to my bow. I like the newer version of this saying which gives it an entirely different meaning. "Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than master of one."

Color Me Not

I love unusual doors, old and new. They can be as important a piece of architecture as the construction itself. What struck me about this old door was that it looked like it belonged in an old black-and-white photograph. But as you can see, it is surrounded by the brightest, ochre color. I find the contrast extremely beautiful.
#aroundtheworldin80clicks

Billowing Clouds

Ansel Adams was one of the most outstanding landscape photographers and one of my favorites. Looking up to someone can be a great motivator but also an inhibitor. I always hope that my pictures show something special. However, as soon as I compare them with other photographers' work, I cannot help but feel a bit defeated. It can be daunting to admire others while keeping confidence about what you produce.

The Man And The Dog

While wandering in the quiet and deserted streets of Starigrad, I came upon this man and his dog. Those two organic forms, surrounded by lines on all sides, immediately grabbed my attention. The windows, stairs, walls, and even the street are all comprised of lines that seem to pull your gaze in one direction.

The Gate

Sometimes it's not what it is but what it can be. I saw this design on an iron gate during one of my walks with my friend Lykke in Paris. She probably wondered then why I was taking a picture of the gate but did not say anything. Like with most photos I take, the "something" that I see is not always apparent, even to me. What was I trying to achieve when I started to work on this piece? To be honest, I do not know. I started with "cleaning" the picture and removing any item that took my eyes away from the ironwork. I then played with colors and eventually ended up with several colored versions I envisioned as a series. 

When Lykke saw the piece, she immediately recognized the gate.

Deceitful Beauty

"The night is nothing but an unresolved moment 

A time when ugliness seems to stop breathing 

The cloak of dark beauty immerses all for a few hours 

It slows down the delusion and the cruelty 

Hiding the truth at least until sunrise"

- DIFFERENT FACETS OF A TEAR: Poems, thoughts, and other blah blah blah by Daniel Joseph Peccatus

Simple Beauty Series

Ferns always remind me of home and growing up, playing at my grandmother's house with my siblings and my cousins.
#aroundtheworldin80clicks

Simple Beauty Series

There is so much beauty in nature. The delicate but strong spiderweb is no exception.
#aroundtheworldin80clicks

Trompe-l’œil

I love working on things that require focus, attention to detail, and precision. This piece is made by drawing thousands of triangles of different sizes and off centered one from the next, creating all those amazing shapes.

Music soothes the soul

I love music. Although I don't consider myself a musician, I enjoy playing with sounds and creating songs. As with everything I usually work on, I get lost in the process and can spend countless hours on a piece. Only now am I comfortable enough sharing my art with the world.

https://on.soundcloud.com/KWiiu

Beauty In The Eye

Of course art is subjective and it's the beauty of it. Several people can look at the same thing and see something different. When I took this picture, I really appreciated the symmetry and the lines and curves taking my gaze up to the sky. A friend of mine saw the little hammers that hit the strings and make the notes on a piano. I wonder what others might have seen.

Art Is Good For The Soul

We all face tragedies in our lives and we cope in different ways. For me it's been some alone time and working on an art piece that I had started a long time ago. Hours of concentration on these tiny details kept my mind busy until I was ready to acknowledge and accept the devastating loss of a very dear friend.

New Manuscript

After publishing my collection of poems last year I decided to work on a second writing project that was just gathering dust on my desk. I reviewed and corrected a play, a comedy, that now I also want to publish. At this point I am not sure what the next step will be after publication. I do not know anybody in the theater business but I will start doing some research. It would be incredible if a small theater group was willing to stage my play.

La Dame de Fer

I know. Three posts, three Eiffel Tower pictures. Even though I have not lived here in decades, Paris is still the most beautiful city in the world for me. Of course, one of its most known landmarks is the Eiffel Tower built for the 1889 World Fair. The tower remained the tallest man made structure in the world until 1930 when the Chrysler building was finished in New York City. It still inspires me after all these years and countless pictures.

A Different View

Two of the best known landmarks I have photographed in all my years of flying are the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. I have hundreds of photos of either. I still try to go beyond the tourist shot and strive to always find a different view.

The Iron Lady

The calm waters of the shimmering river

below, like a warm shawl

Embrace the shivering lady perpetually naked

against the elements

Her only attire, thousands of stars she seized

to dazzle all who pass by

As she watches over her people from the

height of her celebrity

DJP (The starry metropolis- Different facets of a tear)

Practice Is Key

The famous British photographer Rankin said that "if you cannot find something great to photograph, find a great way to photograph it." I try to keep that in mind when I am out and about. The truth is, no matter how great an eye you might have, inspiration does not always knock you over the head. Sometimes you have to "force" it a bit. It is a great exercise to keep sharpening your senses and really try to see things in a different light or from a different angle. The goal is to end up with a "unique" picture that will make the viewer stop.

Pont de Bir-Hakeim

Constructed between 1903 and 1905, the Pont de Bir-Hakeim is 237 meters (777 ft) long and 24.7 meters (81 ft) wide. It is a two-level bridge. The upper level is used by metro line 6. The lower level is for motor vehicles, with a bicycle path in the center. The bridge provides a superb view of the Eiffel Tower.

The bridge has been used on the small and big screens; in Janet Jackson’s video for Come back to me in 1989 and in the movie Inception in 2010, among others. The Sailors are sculptures by Gustave Michel.

The dead end. L’impasse.

If you carry your own sunshine inside, a rainy day is just another opportunity to see beauty around you.

Si vous êtes votre propre soleil, un jour de pluie n'est qu'une autre occasion de voir la beauté autour de vous.

An eye opening

Although I enjoyed building my website and was satisfied with the outcome, I realized how far I need to go today. This morning I had a long meeting with a professional printer here in San Diego. He graciously shared his feedback and answered all the questions I had. The conclusion of this discussion basically resumes in two choices. First, I can leave things as is and remain an amateur/hobbyist, or second, I can take my art to a professional level. Thomas, who is a photographer himself and owns Spirit Printing Services, had a really contagious enthusiasm. He made me see the possibilities in front of me. The good thing is that I am not starting from scratch, and I have a baseline from which I can perform. I have some work to do. I will go through all my pictures and select only the best of the best. After that, it will be a new website, an online store, and much more. That was really an exciting day.

The new new

Covid has really changed our world in the last two years. Many people, me included, had to take a good look at our life and reset our priorities. I have taken some important decisions and switched my focus from work, which I still enjoy immensely, to the core of what it is I want to achieve while I'm on this earth. Art in many forms, allows me to express myself.
On this trip to Seoul, South Korea, while being confined in the hotel, I spent quite some time looking out on the world below. I got a lucky shot with these three vehicles right in the sunset light seeping trough the buildings.