A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER, IN SPAIN. DAY 5.

WHERE DO I BEGIN...

NIMBLE FINGERS

CATFISH?

DEVIL CATFISH?

THE APOSTLE

MORE CATFISH

YASSIN

OCTUPUS

JAWS

OCTOPUS BEFORE

OCTOPUS AFTER

THE GREAT ESCAPE

NET FLOATS

PACKED CATCH

Day 5.

Like I said, wherever we travel, we love the sea, the working harbours, so much the same (hard work!) and yet all different...
We decided to explore the Fuengirola fishing area that day.
Often you will see the older fishermen, they cannot stay away and often it is sons and family who continue the traditions, they tend and mend the nettings.
Their eyes are keen on spotting a hole and their hands are nimble!
Also, like everywhere, they are camera shy. I always try and engage in conversation with them, letting my camera in my bag or have it casually hanging on my hand...
Walking on, we saw this gent, gathering small fish from the nets drying on the quayside, there was a resident cat and he was giving them little fishes!
Later, turned out there was another cat, both very shy, and yet, everybody tried to feed them!
Boats came in and out, all were helping each other. Some young guys were curious and wanted to know and see what we were doing... following us around...
Yassin was into his bubble-gum!

Fishing folk each have a right to their 'portion' to take home, so before the cleaning started, that's probably what was mostly left.

We have to understand, sad and distressing as it may be to us, fishermen and farmers... people who have to earn a living of animals... they have a different view on 'life' to us!

As we walked out, in the fishing mine/market, I took some photos of the ready catch to be sent to???????????????

We spent a good afternoon and were determined to come back another day, this was what we liked!

Thanx, M, (*_*)

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

I stand in STUNNED SILENCE for JAPAN, while my heart gently weeps!

Today, I saw some of the news for the first time... so far I had followed it in words and not in images...
What they showed... I had to stop watching, it is too much, how I feel such sadness for all those people, it will take generations...even then, it will be something that will always stay with them. A tragedy of such epic proportions! I cannot comprehend what it must be like!
Being 'brave' will not be enough... how do you go on? I know, have to... but how?

I heard that in Japan the colour red means: Courage.
This image is in honour of them, my kimono from Tokyo and my tabi socks, I know the Chrysanthemum is of great importance to them, especially White means mourning in Japan...
This is my Koden-gaes: Giving a token in acknowledgement of an obituary gift.


Now, countries are showing goodwill... getting together, helping out, why only ever when disaster strikes?


Lead a good life!

Thanx, M, (;_;)

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved


Please Donate For Japan Earthquake

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HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7cLnijKBs

It's a man's world - James Brown & Luciano Pavarotti.

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day is marked on March 8 every year.

It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

Now you all know that I am a passionate photographer. One of the reasons why I love it is that it can be so versatile, it is NOT just working in a studio, it opens all kinds of experiences, because of my job, I had a (rare) insight into many different and more unusual lives. Examples include:

the inside world of BBC, both radio and TV and its people there, the introverts and the extroverts, I'll let you figure out who's who...…

Universities, the professors and their advanced research and researchers…

I experienced the tensions and vigilance on the bridge of a huge Ferry in one of the busiest sea-lanes in the world, the captain, his crew and their advanced technology...

A small shrimp trawler, the hardship of fishing during the night, managed by a skipper and his mate…

A veterinary surgeon performing complicated operations…

Ballet dancers in their studios, showing us the tough regime and performing their art…

A brief glimpse into the interesting world of travellers…

The behind the scenes of a casino, where you really get the sense of drama that goes on there often, it’s a place of ‘mysterious mood’ to me…

Several times travelled through Europe, in a truck, a world within our world… a world people do not know much about, day and night, monotonous drives on looooong stretches of road, and the people that transport EVERYTHING we have in our homes

As a woman, to visit and get the tour of a mosque, being shown and everything…

A lady at her home, mother and wife, waiting for a ‘better’ day, so that I could take portraits of her, with her boys, her husband… because she was terminally ill with cancer…

The world of horse-breeders, farmers, bikers, fish-smokers, painters, glass-artist, sculptors, singers, actors, business entrepreneurs, politicians and so many more...

I photographed the new-borns, the young, the’ in love’, the sad and lonely, the happy, the old, been in the presence of world-famous people… people are people to me… I enjoyed it…

Yes, I enjoy it, in case you had not received that message yet, lol!

There is very little, if anything, we cannot do!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9550033@N04/5502358791/ Get Real! Wise Women Speak...official trailer (for once I was in front of the camera not behind it; a self portrait was used as a still in the film).

This film fits right in! Please promote it, send it to your friends!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!

Magda (*_*)

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER, IN SPAIN. DAY 4.

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A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER, IN SPAIN.

DAY 4.

We wake up to another day in paradise, blue sky, crisp air and lovely sunshine.
It is now Monday, so, at last we will see 'normal' life?
Yet, it seems so quiet? Too quiet! The shops are closed, and it is eerily still. Of course! It is the first of November, a catholic holiday, All Saints  Day, tomorrow All Souls Day, when people visit their dear lost ones at cemeteries, bring flowers, remember... even more than other days.
We drive to a part of the 8 km long of beaches we have not visited so far, we are attracted because of the wave-breaker, we love sitting on the rocks, surrounded by the sea.
The tranquillity of transparent waves gently braking in a regular rhythm, peaceful...
Three people pass us, demure, silently huddling together, a bit further they stop, an older lady and the younger one grab each other's arm, the guy clambers to the edge over the rocks, as close to the water as possible, he carries two bunches of flowers, throws one into the water, they  all watch as the sea gently rocks and carries  the flowers away, the ladies lean into each other... the second bouquet is tossed and they quickly gather, they walk off, turning back now and then with a visible sigh.

I'd been debating whether to photograph or not, always a dilemma for me, but I did, not the women, that I couldn't do, one shot of him and the flowers... (1)

It was a very personal moment that we witnessed, we are subdued.

Soon after, a dad arrives with his two girls, bicycles, pink, laughter and joy! Isn't that just life for you? (2)
We decide to move on, drive the whole length, to see where it will take us.(3)
We end up back on the main road, and we get to Benalmádena.

The municipality has three main urban areas:
Benalmádena Pueblo, the original village, which lies about three kilometres inland at an elevation of approximately 200 m above mean sea level. Its core consists of a typical white-fronted Andalusian
village, although including numerous recent buildings in modern architectural styles. The town of
Benalmádena also has an archaeological museum with locally-derived artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age.
Benalmádena Costa, promenade along an urban agglomeration on the coast.
Arroyo de la Miel, originally a separate village, is in the interior between the other two areas. It has become the main residential area, and is also the most commercially active. Buildings are tightly packed and tend to be apartment blocks. Arroyo de la Miel translates as "Stream of Honey" in English.

The town is also home to the Enlightenment Stupa, the largest stupa (a structure important in Buddhism) in the West, standing 33 m tall and was built in 2003.(4) (5) (6)
Unfortunately, when we get there... it is their closing day! High up, we take in the view over the Mediterranean. We see Fuengirola, the harbour and the BULL!!!(7)
A real ‘beacon’ when you drive ‘home’.
It is extremely windy, a sudden haze is cooling the temperature, not at all pleasant; we move on and drive alongside the mountain, only to discover that we are heading back to... MIJAS!!!
Great!

When we get to the center, it is remarkably more quiet than the previous day, the horses once more on duty, in this image, it looks like a NO Joy-ride, lol.(8)
The light is great, we walk around and take our shots, pure pleasure.
There is a museum of everything BULL, which we give amiss, but do admire the colourful ceramics.(9)
We find side streets tiled with more of  the famous Hispano-Moresque ceramics and decorations.(10),(11),(12),(13).


It is getting cooler, and on our way down to the car, we discover A HUGE free-standing rock, half covered in greenery, we see where the chime came from, the massive bell on the top, a chapel is carved out and is a much visited place of worship, like most information, it tells you in ‘tiles’ that it is the Santuario de la Virgen
de la Peña.(14)  (for more info about the chapel and the legend, click this link):
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Andalucia/Mijas-261102/Things_To_Do-Mijas-TG-C-1.html

There are visitors from all over the world; a Japanese lady stays behind from her group, for a short prayer.(15)

When we come out, the sun has disappeared behind the mountain, cold and tired with sun, sea, wind and photography, we decide to head home… It’s been another fantastic day. And we are keen to download and view our images!

Thanx, M, (*_*)

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER, IN SPAIN. DAY 3, Part 2. MIJAS

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Please do not COPY or use any of my images on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.

It is a nice, wide drive up the mountain, and the closer we get, the more attractive Mijas looks.
However as we enter, the outer peace and quiet rapidly changes into a touristic nightmare. Cars parked everywhere, people everywhere, horse-drawn carriages in a line, donkey-rides.
We come to an open square with a park, although it is late afternoon, it is very crowded, and surrounded by colourful souvenir-shops. (4),(5).
We find a parking yard, and start walking, determined that you have to ‘experience' everything in life? LOL.
Paul forgot something in the car, I carry on; first I see the donkeys, standing in a row, they look tired, hot and are plagued by flies; I read they are called Mijas taxi… (1),(2),(3) 
They are extremely decorated, and lots of people with children stop and give them a pat, which they seem to enjoy.
Moving on I get accosted by all the men sitting outside their shops, they all want to sell me something, a leather jacket, a handbag… it is the last one, perfect for me, and, just for me, a very special price!
I smile (oops, mistake) and try to wave them off, they ask how much will I spend? How many Euros do I have, Paul comes and rescues me, whisks me away… we are still laughing about it, the LAST one… everywhere we went!!!

We pass the horses, and again I notice how decorated and polished everything is, except the horses, they look unhappy. Great for photography though, I do take a few details.(6),(7).

We search for the famous tiles and ceramics in Mijas and find them, take some images, there’s a man roasting chestnuts(8), surrounded by the older locals, all joking and teasing each other, their Spanish is too fast for me to understand, it’s like a machine-gun.
Passing the restaurants and eateries, we are constantly approached and invited in…
The light is becoming interesting, so no thanks. I must say they are tenacious?
As we get further away from the center, into the narrow streets and the white houses, adorned by beautiful  ceramics(9), wrought-iron decorations (10),(11),(12), gorgeously crafted wooden doors, at last we discover the real Mijas and love it. (13),(14),(15).
It is the night of Halloween, the children, dressed up, go from door to door, many are open, that gives us a chance to glance inside, we are greeted with “Hola, buenas tardes” (hello, good evening), no, we do not photograph, which would be too invasive.
Surprisingly, there are no fireworks or noise!
The sun disappears, there is a nice afterglow, the lights come on, it's magic.
The horse drawn carriages pass us on their way home, the clippedy-clopping reverberating in the evening, going home, done for the day.(16)
We notice that there are cables crossing the skies, the electricity, as you see in the images, seems to run outside the houses!!!(14), (17)
Unbelievable and unimaginable in England, the people from 'Health and Safety' in the UK would have a heart-attack, on the spot!

Eventually, we track back, have a pizza (?) in a place that looks very Spanish, we’d wanted paella, turns out it is ‘Italian’ and roasted meat orientated, judging from the roaring open fire. We are too hot, tired, thirsty and hungry to take shots.
Well, we do get serenaded by a Spanish guitar-player Bernardo Plaza Torres, (18), (19), a shy man, we do have a chat and he does happily agree to me taking a few impromptu portraits of him, I notice a sadness about him and I also hear it in his music...
All goes well and, as a thank you, we promptly buy his CD, the only one we have for the whole holiday, all our drives and trips… I know it by heart now, and it was often amazing how well it fitted with the ‘landscapes’ we drove through.

We head home, again with a smile and content with our day, knowing that we'll probably see Mijas again, during the week, hopefully a little more quiet?

Already looking forward to tomorrow.

M, (*_*)