METAPHOR OF LIFE, of knots and ropes and hooks.

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It never ceases to amaze me, how rope works!
Tiny strands of different materials, bound together, more and more, getting thicker, intertwined, becoming stronger and stronger! It has a beginning and an end, can twist, get into knots, form firm links, carry heavy loads, help guide us, cutting some slack or be stretched to the limit or be just a piece of string to bind love letters...
Some are thin, others are thick.
Some are short, others are long.
Some are solitaire, some are a 'bunch'.
Some are stronger than others.
Some are more colourful, others more bland.
It reminds me so much of LIFE.
A great metaphor for it?
I will first tell you that I’m not a mystic person and only believe in reality.
I respect everybody’s view and you’ll all have your own, just sharing mine here, my very personal philosophical interpretation,.

All through our lives, we form bonds, friendships, partnerships; some last… some don’t...
I like to think of myself as very individualistic, but have wisely decided that we all need each other.
I have always been fascinated by 'links', ropes, hooks and knots (have a whole collection of photos), they illustrate that phenomenon very well, there might sometimes be the possible 'tension' here, but it's definitely holding, and in doing so, getting stronger and more difficult to undo! Lol.
Wonderful rope… I also see it as a symbol of how, in a good relationship, you as a person, together with your partner, your lives become 'intertwined' and therefore so much stronger...
Soul mates will feel themselves bonded together for a lifetime.
Having no permanent links, the denizen of our liquid modern society must tie whatever bonds they can to engage with others, using their wits, skill and dedication. But none of these links are guaranteed to last. Moreover, they must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again, quickly and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change - as they surely will, over and over again.
The frailty of human links, the feeling of insecurity that frailty inspires, and the conflicting desires to tighten the bonds yet keep them loose, all make us more vulnerable.
Some of us are ‘loners’ either through choice or circumstances, but I don’t think that we were ever meant to be by ourselves, that we ‘operate’ better in a social context if we are not without any links.
When you have found the right person to form your ‘permanent’ link with, HOLD TIGHT, because it means STRENGTH!
And it goes further… after the sad, senseless loss of a young friend, killed in Afghanistan, something we are still coming to terms with, after his funeral, we have once more realised how intertwined our lives all are, how we can touch the lives of many, some we do not even know… especially nowadays, with internet, phones AND the wonderful medium that is PHOTOGRAPHY! Many people can be touched by an image, we heard again...


A lot of my photographs evoke the metaphor for life.
Circles, ties, knots, rope, scarred background…
You have the circle, example; I took my granddaughter to a place where I had taken my boys and my parents and grand-parents had taken me.
We are surrounded by circles, sun, moon; we LIVE on a ‘circle’
Lots of things come in cycles.
There are bonds that always remain, you cannot divorce a child, it’s ALWAYS a part of you. Same the other way around.
You have the ropes= attachment, friendships, ties with your chosen partner, it is beautifully tight.
The other rope, to me represents the freedom to remain you, free and individual.
Lighter and darker areas, scars underneath, I’m sure that will echo for most of you…
BUT, THE SUN MAKES THE METAL SHINING, THE ROPES ARE COLOURFUL.
LIFE IS GOOD.

Have a wonderful day and thanx for your visit, Magda, (*_*)

MY VISIT TO THE MOSQUE.

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I had the privilege to be invited by a neighbour to visit the Mosque, it has a beautiful green dome which unfortunately I could not get from this angle, as the building is situated on a hill and I was standing in the parking yard.(1)

I was interested and eager, always have been about different cultures.

I am a very liberal person, with respect for other people’s religion, a great believer of Freedom and an enemy of -ISMS.

I know the Islamic population has had a lot of bad press, and some extremist have indeed committed the most atrocious acts, but can ANYBODY say, NOT MY PEOPLE?

I do not want to upset anybody or condone anything, I'm hoping for some plain non-prejudicial viewing of something that is part of a huge group within our population and not often seen by 'outsiders'.

I only had to cover my head and take off my shoes inside. All the people I met were very inviting, polite and also very proud to show me around. All in all, another great experience added to my wonderful collection.

The entrance doors are huge and massive, these are the outside panels. Beautiful wood and great carvings also on the inside.
(2&3)

It is in their habits to wash hands and feet before you enter the 'proper' mosque area, a washroom for the men and one for the women.(4)

A glorious entrance hall, with lights and a fountain, they promised that next time it would be on for me, there were works going on as you will see in the rest of the images.
The gent was also the librarian.(5)

The main prayer hall with in the middle the place of the Imam, which is an Islamic leadership position. He is often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often the community turns to the mosque imam, if they have an Islamic question.

(6)

This gent came in for prayer, he stood there, composed himself for some time... (7)

Then he got down and started his prayer, it was a very moving moment. I was happy that digital cameras do not make that beautiful 'shutter' noise an analogue used to make, well, my Nikon F4 I could put on whisper mode, but still, and the typical 'clack' of the Hasselblad... would have been most disturbing!(8)

After his prayer, he just sat there, reflective and composed.(9)
I am not a 'believer', and yet always so in awe of people who are...

The tour went on, we moved up the stairs where the scholar area is for the youngsters, where they study the Koran.


(10, 11, 12)

Up again we came into the new Prayer Hall, under the dome, works still very ongoing.

(13)
A huge chandelier is going to be hoisted up and will adorn and fill the inside Dome.

Through the 'windows' in the dome I could see people were working and cleaning outside the Dome, there was great hilarity...





(14, 15, 16, 17, 18)

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did, thanx, M, (*_*)

Click on the image to see it LARGER.

THE IMPORTANCE of HANDS in PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY.

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

1. GENETICS.



2. LONDON SCENE.



3. YVAN, le romantic.



4. Paul, with his favourite camera.



5.DADDYYYYYYYYYYY?????????



6. La Tendresse.

I am not writing a ‘rule’ here, just a personal observation and conclusion.

I must tell you that I am one of these people who also … ‘talk’ with their hands!

Maybe that influenced my feelings towards the matter. One of my fascinations in life.

In a portrait, for me, they are either in or out, no half measures!

Since they are so expressive, almost as much as a face (?), a means of body language and non-verbal communication, we ‘say’ so much with our hands.

We touch, feel, handle, build and destroy, hurt and caress, kill and heal, make music (noise) and command or pray for silence, our hands can be rough or smooth.

Only Man has hands. We use them as a tool, to make tools, and as a weapon, they serve as eyes for the visually impaired, we can 'talk' with them, they have become a symbol of salutation, supplication, and condemnation.

They are used as units of measure!

The hand has played a part in the creative life of every known society, and it has come to be symbolic or representative of the whole person in art, in drama, and in the dance.

Although prehension (the ability to grip) is the major function of the hand, however, at the same time, it is one of man's primary sense organs.

Hands have the perception of levels of heat and cold. In folk society, a normal hand placed upon the forehead is used to determine the presence of fever.

It was also discovered that vibratory impulses generated by finger percussion can be felt even when the auditory sense is eliminated.

Is that how Beethoven was able to write his great music?

Vibratory sensations, as perceived by the hand, are of importance in teaching the auditory impaired to speak. By placing one hand on the larynx of a speaker and the other hand on his own larynx, they learn the vibration patterns of speech sounds. When the patterns "heard" by his left and right hand are identical, the student has succeeded in imitating the sound.

In the creative arts, the hands speak, and one senses the tremendous power of the hand

to convey human emotions.

They are the organs of the body which, except for the face, have been used most often in the various art forms to express human feeling. The hands point or lead or command; the hands cry out in agony or they lie quietly sleeping; the hands have moods, character, and, in a wider sense, their own particular beauty. From prehistoric

times to our own day, in every society known to science, the hands symbolize cultural behaviours, values, and beliefs.

The hands are, as Kant is reported to have said, "Man’s outer brain."

That is why I find them so important in portrait photography; it can mean the difference between a ‘mug’ shot/boring face image and a portrait with emotion and substance!

THANX, M, (*_*)

1, GENETICS.

I got this lovely family with 3 children in the studio.
The two youngest looked very much like the dad, but her eldest son was just the spitting image of her.
AAAhhh, the Art of genetics.

I placed their hands like that in this portrait because often I find they play such a vital role and say so much.

Taken on the Hasselblad, which has square negs, so it is slightly cropped.
Scanned from the print.
The 80mm lens and the film Ilford Delta 100.

2. LONDON SCENE.
This gent took a moment's rest from selling his hats... along the Thames, to have an animated chat with one of the street cleaners.

3. YVAN, le romantic.

This is my long time friend, Ivan and his lovely partner. During a long studio shoot, I finally was able to convince her to join him in front of the camera, that pleased him, he grabbed her hand, held it over his heart and said something a bit naughty...?

4. PAUL, with his favourite camera.
Paul, my dear husband and soul mate.
A man of principle, loved by his friends, family and me. A man you can count on.

5. DADDYYYYYYYYYYY?????????
The toddler was demanding daddy's attention, I love the contrast, the tiny hand, the strong hands, the interlaced fingers. The 'link'...
To understand this image you really have to view the previous.

Talk about emotion in a photo, do you agree?
6. LA TENDRESSE.
The strength of a father's arm and hands carries that lovely burden with such ease, the baby feels totally relaxed, her head cupped in this big warm hand with great tenderness.

A lifelong commitment, that's being a parent, to care about smaller and bigger things, the being there, we have a duty, the morals that we teach them... that's what will (ideally) shape them, let's not underestimate the impact we have on our nearest and dearest.
The 'father' figure is one of strength and discipline, never forget that bit of tenderness, so needed in all our lives.

An unforgettable moment in my youngest son's life, shortly after his little girl was born, she is the apple of his eye... not every child is that lucky...


For more on hands click here.

GOOD-BYE 2008, HELLO 2009

A more meditative note.
On this the first day of the year, it is not a bad thing to look back... all the good times, the lesser times, be realistic about life, that is how it is, sunshine and rain, blue skies and heavy clouds, pondering the New year ahead, believing that it is going to be NOTHING but blue skies, a blank canvas that we can still fill with all our dreams and wishes.
And yet accepting day by day what life has in store for us...
Ever the optimist... 2009 will see some of my hopes fulfilled, I'm sure, if not, there's always next year? LOL.

Charles Delporte (born in 1928 in Marcinelle, Belgium) is a painter, sculptor, poet and composer. His creative imagination is unlimited.

His work is that of a visionary who reinvented alchemy, basing his work on scientific information. There are four tendencies in his work: realistic, genetic, geophysical and nuclear. There are over 300 works in museums, foundations, abbeys, churches, towns and universities all over the world. Charles Delporte donated an extensive collection to the Community of Damme, near Bruges, the capital of the province of West-Flanders.

Hope ALL your dreams come true, thanx for your visits, greatly appreciated, M, (*_*)

SEASON'S GREETINGS

I'd like to wish you ALL a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, thank you for reading my blog, hope you enjoy my writings. More next year.
Have a LOVELY time!
M, (*_*)

ONE AFTERNOON IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER.

Yvan, the man, the ARTIST.

Yvan and I have been friends since the sixties.
Yvan is an Artist, started painting in oils, was successful, then, moved on to copper etchings, still not satisfied, he finally came to glass, went and studied all over Europe with the best.
Now he is content, he loves what he creates.

We met Yvan regularly and each time he was wearing some other headgear.
I remarked he must have quite a collection and that we should have a photo session.
Always game, he agreed, a date was set and he arrived with a whole suitcase and a bag full of props.
He completely got into the different characters, depending on each hat. Amazing!
It was the most hilarious shoot I ever did.
I'm still surprised no shots suffered from camera shake, we were laughing so much.
He is a very lovely man, with a great sense of humour, which I let you discover with the this particular part of the series: "Ex- and impressions."

See previous for most of this series and a great story of friendship!

The studio set-up was mostly two huge softboxes, a black bg in a darkened environment, often a honeycomb for some rim-light, reflectors mostly black to deepen the shadows.

When taking portraits, make your 'sitters' as comfortable as possible, except for pro models, very few people are not nervous!
Be relaxed and calm yourself. Prepare everything before, get your gear together, know more or less what you are going to do... if possible.
I always see to it that there's some nice bg music, some refreshments, and depending on the season... cool or warm, always in moderation, otherwise... it WILL show, lol.

Taken with my favourite camera, Nikon F4, scanned the negs, retouched (dust, no matter how well one stores them!!!) with great care and lots of TLC...



Have fun! M, (*_*)

YVAN, ex-and impressions. Series of portraits of one man and many hats. One afternoon in the life of a photographer.

YVAN le FRENCH.

He spent a lot of time in France over the years.
As a young artist, he transformed a van into a camper van, drove all through Europe and North-Africa.
When he saw something inspiring, he’d climb on top of his van and paint until it was finished or dark.
In the South of France he encountered a French lady of the aristocracy, she taught him a lot about pigments, making your own paints, painting with your hands and palette knives.
He would tell me about the gorgeous smells of linseed oil, resin, right down to Indian cow’s urine.
A joy to have in the studio.
From the series: Ex- and impressions.
THANX, M, (*_*)

YVAN le BAVARIAN.

In this portrait, Yvan went all German for me.
He spent time all over the world in his quest for perfect glass-making.
Switzerland and Germany were amongst the countries that he visited.
He is such an interesting man, full of stories. You'll get to know him better...

He mainly talked about the fatty food and the beer.
Ja ja , Meine liebe Damen und Herren, more to come, great fun we had.

YVAN le SAGE

The studio was set up; I knew what I wanted from that session,
Yvan and his partner arrived, he put on a hat, and tried different personages, once we'd decided, I put him in place, let him do his thing, made the composition and took the images that I wanted.
Some, like this one was just a one off.

Yvan is a very profound man, with a few beautiful philosophies.

His father had died, suddenly, on a Sunday morning, sitting in his favourite chair, his fishing gear ready to go out on his weekly outing.
That's how Yvan found him.
He was very serene about it, we talked and he said to me: ...my father and I had always spoken all the words that were needed, nothing was left unsaid, all was well...

Wise words of a sage that I carry with me always.

Think about it!
Do and say what you want to do for the people you care for and say what you want them to know!
It could be the only solace you have....

YVAN the ASCETIC.

I can tell you why we have been friends for so long, I respect Ivan, we are both idealists.
He did well in his artistic career, got very good reviews and successful exhibitions, when he was invited by Unicef in Paris, along with other young painters.
They wanted to make special Christmas postage stamps, and thus raise money for their charity.
So, he had to present them with some of his work.
He was very excited and set of for Paris, in his camper van, these were still his traveling days.
He arrived and parked in between all the BMWs, Mercs, big cars, took his portfolio and walked towards the entrance of the imposing building.
Once in, he looked around and saw all the marble and expensive finery, turned around and strolled out.
They don't need me here! he said.

He never looked back, it was not fame he was after, just to live of his Art and enjoy what he was doing, and he did, on both counts.

True story.

YVAN le TRAPPER.

Here, he gave a whole impression of a Russian trapper, looking for his pray or was it his way?
He had us rolling with laughter, he is just so witty, the accent spot on, some Flemish words 'Russianised'...

The lighting again was an interesting challenge, because of the hand, ah well I'm sure you'll let me know if I've pulled it off!

YVAN le TERRIBLE.

It was getting late, almost the end of the shoot and the hoot.
Ive always said it: 'Ç’est dure la vie de modèle'
Ivan had, like most people, underestimated the strain of being at your best in front of a camera for a couple of hours.

We had a short break and then a few more shots.

YVAN le FORTUNETELLER.

Don't ask me where he got this hat from, but needless to say there was a lot of laughter going on.
As you see, he was very straight faced, telling me all the things that would happen in my future, none of which came true, except that I had found the love of my life, Paul and that there were other men in my life... indeed, my sons, and two fantastic male friends
( see here: magdaindigo.blogspot.com/2007/04/friendship.html ) one of which he was one...
You didn't have to be a clairvoyant, nor need a crystal ball to see that.

All the different hats also meant shifting the light settings, each time a new challenge, a new exercise.

YVAN le CHARMEUR.

I feel this one speaks for itself; all the women will have had the man ogling them, trying to attract your attention, looking you up and down in a very appreciating manner, usually with a shy mate next to him.
Often he'll say hello first, you'll look and think do I know this guy?
That's all he really wants I suppose.
I've always thought that if you were to approach him, he'd just crumble, hehe.

The real Ivan is not at all like that, well he is charming in a very gentlemanly way... and no, I am not a 'feminist'!

YVAN le RACONTEUR.

After a cup of coffee, we were all set for the last shots.

In the seventies, Ivan had a second fantastic gallery, set in beautiful countryside, along a canal.
There, you met the locals and farmers, sitting next to the nobility and local aristocracy, often in deep discussions
A French camera crew was making a film with the great Jacques Brel in the area; they sent a delegation to ask Ivan if there was the possibility of some food.
Never one to say no to a challenge, he agreed, called his wonderful mum.
The village baker provided him with huge loaves of fresh brown bread; from a farmer he bought an enormous cured ham on the bone.
He was struggling in the kitchen, when a man popped in and asked him if he could assist?
Reluctantly Ivan passed him the knives.
The guy started to cut very thin slices, neatly from around the bone.
Ivan, in surprise, watched the precise, meticulous and perfectly executed gestures. He said jokingly; looks like you've done this before.
Without stopping or looking up, the man replied: " Indeed, I'm a surgeon in a Parisian hospital, had my holidays, they needed a doctor, I liked the idea of experiencing how a film is made!"
True story.

YVAN le BRAWLER.

We met Ivan regularly and each time he was wearing some other headgear.
I remarked he must have quite a collection and that we should have a photo session.
Always game, he agreed, a date was set and he arrived with a whole suitcase and a bag full of props.
He completely got into the different characters, depending on each hat.
It was the most hilarious shoot I ever did.
I'm still surprised no shots suffered from camera shake, we were laughing so much.

Here he was ranting away in American, giving me a piece of his mind in no uncertain terms, on politicians(in general).
He'd had an exhibition in Washington...
He is a very peace-loving man!

YVAN la TERREUR.

Proof that EVERYBODY can look 'mean' and 'scary'... even the kindest of people!
He had really taken a shine to my sunglasses, now because they are 'mirror' and very dark, you cannot see the eyes and that instills fear in people because our eyes say so much, we read a lot into them!
Friendship is important in life, in my experience, true friends always leave you with a sense that your batteries have been recharged... if you feel 'drained' after they've gone, have a rethink!!! LOL.

YVAN le BIKER.

A couple of years ago, he decided to buy himself a bike.
So often he'd suddenly arrive on our doorstep, always a very welcome guest.
He's on his second one now and gets so much pleasure out of it. Meandering through the small picturesque roads of Flanders, he enjoys a nice pace in everything...

The tough biker with the soft centre.

YVAN le FRIEND.

No matter how long we've not seen each other, since we both moved around quite a bit, we always pick up the 'thread' where we left it... it is like we've never been apart...

...
Keep smiling, keep shining,
Knowing you can always count on me
For sure
That's what friends are for

For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more.
That's what friends are for


I never thought I'd feel this way
Well you came and opened me
And now there's so much more I see
And so, by the way, I thank you.


And then for the times when we're apart
Well, then close your eyes and know
These words are coming from my heart
And then if you can remember


Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me
For sure
That's what friends are for

In good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forevermore
That's what friends are for...

Watch and listen on you tube here

All the best for now. Take care of yourself and your friends, cherish them, they are rare!
Thanx, M, (*_*)