Flying Home

Tobias M. Schiel6 Comments

296-14 296-15 296-16The notion that ‘a picture says more than a thousand words’ probably blinded us, leading us to believe that a picture must be an object that is complete in itself. But pictures are more dependent on context than we usually think. Instead of fighting this fact (and trying to create autonomous works), why do we not use context to our advantage, as a means to our ends? Think of comic strips.

Special thanks to air traffic control at Verkehrslandeplatz Mainz-Finthen (EDFZ) who allowed me to photograph their taxiway area.

Of Heroes and Battles

Tobias M. Schiel4 Comments

294-31 294-34

The first picture shows the memorial for “Wilhelm I., Fürst von Oranien, Graf zu Nassau-Breda, Statthalter von Holland, Seeland, Friesland und Utrecht” (erected in 1908). Wilhelm was born to the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands.

The second picture shows the obelisk erected to commemorate June 18, 1815 – namely the soldiers of the “Erste Nassauische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 87” who participated in the Waterloo battle.

Man With a Book

Tobias M. Schiel15 Comments

294-11 294-13 294-15

When I think of pictures, I often think of lines – outlining the shape of an object, or adding up to shades of gray in a hatching. Michelangelo, however, thought that there were no lines in nature; there are only surfaces. And from a photographic point of view, he is spot-on: Photography gives us a unique chance to present surfaces with relatively little effort. Maybe that’s why I like photographing stone so much.

My contribution for this week’s photo challenge – culture – shows a statue by F. Schaper (dated 1904/05) representing Gustav Freytag, a German homme des lettres.

Up!

Tobias M. Schiel2 Comments

294-22

Spielende Hengste (Playing Stallions) by German sculptor Gerhard Marcks. The sculpture was commissioned by a local insurance company in 1962 and donated to the City of Wiesbaden in 1963. It refers to Wiesbaden as a host to the Pfingstturnier, an annual horse race of international scope.

If things pan out as planned, this picture will be part of a larger series called Le città e la memoria (another bow to Italo Calvino) which will explore landmarks, memorials, and some buildings.

This is my second contribution for the Weekly Photo Challenge.