Paula is back with a new prompt this month. As this challenge is a favorite of mine, I am here already! But only with four of the five words…the last one, in the header, is detox. I had to do mental detox…
crepuscular
coded
lofty
scintillating
”In the visual arts a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area.” This is the Wikipedia definition, and I must express my love for the easiness by which the English language constructs new words, adding – scape is only one possibility.
I must admit, this time I have had to struggle a bit, because I seldom take the time to see a city from a high up vantage point. I am not a city girl – more of a town girl and most of a country girl. I do enjoy visiting big cities for a very short time – for the architecture and all the other arts found in museums, opera houses, exhibition halls and the like. But one week is enough for me. Thus, my photos for Patti’s challenge, are mostly shot from boats, trains or planes. I have to excuse the lesser quality through all those windows…and the biggest city, Shanghai (25 million people), in rain.
Rain, fog and smog – that is Shanghai, and so many other big cities all over the world – in China not the least…but here I found most of my cityscape photos.
We managed to get a short glimpse of Shanghai by night – in heavy rain.
Our ship passed many big cities on the Yangtze cruise – I don’t even remember their names…
…through the windows it seemed to me…they all looked – the same.
Now we are on the other side of the world, Quito (2 million people), Ecuador. The people here are gentle and very sweet, and I loved their friendly and colourful city.
How about returning to Europe? London (8 million people) is an absolute favorite with me, and I have chosen the moment I first saw the Shard – through a dirty train window on arriving from Gatwick. Funny, I was chocked, I did not even know it existed!
Another favorite is Barcelona (1.6 million) – the home of so many of Gaudí’s architectural masterpieces. I do plan to return to see the Cathedral finished.
I recently found a new favorite city of mine, in Bulgaria – ancient Plovdiv (345000 people, and 2019, The European Capital of Culture). A true gem.
Lastly, my nearest big city in Sweden, Malmoe, with its 312000 inhabitants. A windy city by the sea, just opposite Copenhagen on the other side of the water. Shot through the plane window flying in with a beautiful sunset. The only skyscraper you will see here is Turning Torso – by the architect Santiago Calatrava.
In the header, the City of Cities – Rome, in late afternoon light.
Thank you to Patti for this wonderful opportunity to dig in the archives for cityscapes I did not think I had… and for the chance to see so many cityscapes I will never be able to visit!
This Friday Amanda is the host of this fun challenge – and Pathways is the theme. I have got many favorite paths…but I will try to single out some of my absolute favorites.
In the header, a stone path through the Dracaena Draco part of the wonderful botanical garden in Gran Canaria.
I love walking the old boards of wetlands – looking for orchids in spring.
The Azores is filled with fantastic, rural pathways. My heart warms when I walk the winding path among sleeping sheep and old farmsteads.
Of course I cannot but love the path through my home forest. A path I walk every day – and always enjoy to the full. No matter how many times or in what weather – I know it so well…
…it is a lifelong Love.
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Breeze
Breeze – well, there has to be one to get flags flying…
to get your balloons up in the air…
and to get your washed clothes dry…
Surely to set sails and go to sea as well. Thank you for the breeze, Frank!
Curves –
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
Thank you Tina, for this week’s opportunity to admire natural as well as man made curves. They are everywhere – if you just let your eyes find them… Sometimes you have to look up though – like in Trinity College, Dublin, and The Long Room.
Antoni Gaudí – a master of curves
Rila Monastery, Bulgaria –
– glorious curves
In my forest – colourful, natural curves
Lava, and life returning – in curves
But no curves are as beautiful and complete as those of the koru –
A short Wikipedia explanation: Koru (Māori for ”loop”) is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape ”conveys the idea of perpetual movement,” while the inner coil ”suggests returning to the point of origin”.
A new challenge – thank you Snow and Amanda – and Fridays are not filled up for me yet! Here we go ;-D
All My greatest inspirations are gathered in these two photos. My son, my dog(s), the outdoors, hiking and my daughter. I just have to see them, hear them or hug them, while breathing fresh air…and often it is enough to just think of them!
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Gentle
The birds are here every day – so gentle, so lovely to have and help through the winter.
”Some of us choose our travel designations based on the iconic nature of the place. My trip to Peru was no exception.”
Thank you,
Amy, for giving us the opportunity to reflect upon our travels – because everybody travels sometime, somehow and somewhere. It does not have to be to faraway countries – we can also travel inside.
Some of my most intense travels – growing my self – important travels, were those I made as a young woman. Without a camera. I grew up with books, and many of them were about foreign jungles, rain forests, arctic areas and deserts.
My nose was always in a book, and in my mind I longed to see all those fantastic places and animals, meet those other cultures so different from my own.
Never did I guess I would get the opportunity to see so many of those places with my own eyes.
The extensive traveling started when I was 16 and met a young man who had reached the age for a driver’s license (18 in Sweden) – and, had a car of his own. We traveled through the whole of Europe for three summers. Then we decided to take the step over to Asia and a country much dreamed of – Nepal. Annapurna and Mount Everest, bicycle through the Kathmandu valley, Ox cart down in Chitwan. In the mountains we stayed at a bungalow owned by a Gurkha soldier. I had read that an Indian field marshal once stated something like: ”If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.” Respect. Still no camera – my fellow traveler had one though.
All photos from our travels for the next 20 years are slides, dia positives. We never look at them.
All those years…Nepal, India, Russia, the Trans-Siberian Railway, Egypt, China, Iceland, Greenland, Peru…Yes, Peru too – now Amy got me wanting to open up those old dia frames again…
But, I have stopped wanting to visit places I have been…you don´t have to wait long before they look completely different and have lost that glory you remember from your first visit…I hate it how we destroy the originality of places, islands, countries, people… And we change ourselves as well, as we grow.
My travels. They started in the 70´s and hopefully they are not over yet. 43 years of growing up on the road, meeting remarkable people, living spectacular moments. The world opened my eyes – teaching me tolerance, patience, love…and how very much we resemble each other, we are the same all over the world, in fact one big family…So, let us work together to make this world a better place! Sustainable. Let love and caring for nature and each other rule.
Let us build bridges – not walls. We are all connected.
Before closing the door to 2018, I will try to put my memories into …mostly pictures. New Year’s Eve will soon be here, and it is time to reflect upon the year we are leaving behind. Some people even make a book out of their photos, something I can recommend, as pictures tend to stay with you – to spark even more memories…
This last Lens Artists Photo Challenge of the year 2018, is all about memories. Make a recap of Your 2018! What do you remember most vividly? What precious moments from your everyday life, family, travels, holidays, adventures, meetings, did you capture with your camera?
It is not easy to choose one’s favorite(s) of the year…I know. I tried to pick one photo from every season (sometimes I had to pick two…). Another interesting idea (thank you, Mandy of Silkannthreads… ), is to find one single photo that would represent the whole year. We are looking forward to seeing Your 2018!
Winter, January – A blue morning
March – Getting to know a very special cat breed – the Siberian
Spring, April – Bhutan
Summer, June – 5000 dragon flyers at Fanö, Denmark
July – Milo moving in
July – Lofoten, Norway
Autumn, September – I finally bought a macro lens
October – ”My” old beech tree
November – Forest walk
In the header, December 23, 2018, the day before Christmas Eve – and finally, on the road heading for the New Year, 2019…
I would like to leave you with a quote from a gifted young lady, whose future sadly was taken away from her – but I believe it is the young generation that will have to teach my own generation how we should have lived, and managed, this world. And, a second quote from a grown-up lady’s perspective:
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
― Anne Frank
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
– Oprah Winfrey
With these two quotes, shining with hope for the future, I wish you all a Happy New Year!
Thank you All for joining us in the challenges – we hope you have enjoyed it just as much as we have! Our first challenge in 2019 will be hosted by Amy, so, welcome aboard on January 5!
HAVE YOU SEEN THESE?
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Tuesday Photo Challenge – Cold and Warm
Cold and Warm – these shots are from an early morning walk some years ago.
Temperature -10 degrees C
– and the sun threw golden diamonds in the snow
The dogs loved this too – we walked back home in harmony – with frozen fingers
Leya 
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