Again, a contribution for Jo’s Monday Walks: We did a lot of walking in the towns of southern France, and here are some impressions from Pézenas’ old centre, soon to be followed by some more doors.
Celles
There is a Mairie, a mayor’s office where the notices on the board look new, and a church that appears well maintained. But the houses around the two buildings are crumpling, some roofs have already caved in, some walls have come down. People left some 50 years ago when the Salagou river was dammed to form Lac du Salagou. The inhabitants were compensated and moved to other places because once the water was there the village would not. But someone apparently had not done their maths, and now Celles is by the water rather than under it: A ghost town most beautifully situated at the lake shore.
Celles was one of the first places we visited when we were in France. And it might have been here that I had a hunch I should photograph traces: In this abandoned village you could not really be sure which trace was left at what time. The pictures seem to evoke a sense of chronology: When did the blue rope in the fourth photo enter the picture?
This is my contribution for Paleica’s Magic Letters: V – Verlassen, verloren, vergessen [Left, lost, forgotten].
A Short Walk in Saint-Saturnin-de-Lucian
These pictures were taken casually strolling around the village of Saint-Saturnin-de-Lucian where we stayed in a wonderful old house for three weeks. Saint-Saturnin has about 300 inhabitants. It is situated approximately 50 km to the North-West of Montpellier (France), snuggling against the foot of the Cévennes mountains. | This post contributes to Jo’s Monday Walks: Check out the other walkers’ photography and the other photographers’ walks!
Au-dessous
“Unten” (“below”) is what Austrian blogger Paleica wished for in her Magic Letters photo challenge. You might like to check it out since the different approaches are amazing. | All the above “Untens” were made in France, hence the title.
Unten im Museum
“Unten” (“below”) is the subject of Paleica’s latest photo challenge, and since I am a person who can’t even resist looking down while at a museum, here we go.
Since I experiment with low light conditions, I think that a note on the first picture may be in order: There are two very dark hues in this picture, with a rectangular shape to the right of the light strip: this part is minimally brighter than the rest of the picture (and it seems to become visible if you look at it long enough and/or in a dark room). I had been thinking about increasing the contrast, but then I was fascinated by this kind of minimalism and did not touch it.
The first two pictures show Städel Museum in Frankfurt; the last parts of art installations at Museum Wiesbaden, a small museum valiantly and successfully maintaining its own profile in the face of all the well-known museums in nearby cities like Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Mainz. I recommend visiting.
Happy Place: Museum (Metz)
Man is only himself when at play, claims Friedrich Schiller in his Letters upon the Aesthetic Education of Man. For me, museums are not just places that deal with aesthetics but also adult playgrounds – especially when I am allowed to use my camera: Museums encourage taking the risk of looking at things differently; the whole activity feels like getting the head massaged. | A contribution for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy Place.
On Doors
Coming home with a bunch of photos of doors I found that Paleica’s Magic Letters Photo Challenge features T – Türen und Tore (doors and portals). So here are some things I found upon closer inspection.
Wall
An Element of Change
A contribution for the Weekly Photo Challenge.
Deconstructivism II
“Yo! It’s a Rip-Off!”
Deconstructivism
Connected
Traces of the Past II
Some pictures I like just do not seem to fit into any post until a good cue gives me new ideas: Paula’s photo challenge Traces of the Past proved quite helpful for this post. She writes: “For the third time this year Thursday’s Special is bringing you a challenge dedicated to past. It can be a distant past or a recent one. It can be a past that is abandoned and about to be forgotten, or past that is still functional and intertwined with present.” And here was my cue. I decided to focus on the traces, no matter how long gone the past might be.
2/3. Perspective
Flare
Flare and photography… When I read this week’s photo challenge at Lost in Translation (the challenges are great, give ’em a try), I thought I should find a constellation that makes a flare of light the only subject of my photo, painting a picture with light actually. Then I found myself looking at this empty bottle by the end of a good day and suddenly reality pretty much ‘matched my picture,’ if only for a short moment, as is appropriate for a good flare.
Three Pictures with Little Colour
Right Time, Right Place
Here is another one for Paula’s Photo Challenge – for want of a proper sundial.
Zeitfenster
A time window, or window of opportunity even, for the Thursday Special at Lost in Translation – Time – which this Thursday was hosted by Debbie Smyth.
empire of lights 