The air is hot an humid. Each step I take I get the sense of yet another smell so different, new and unknown. Fragrances of incense sticks and exotic foods are mixing up with the traffic and the noises of the metropolis. Singapore… Where the ancient traditions of the continent of the rising sun meet the achievements of the western world. Whenever I have the chance I love to spent a few days in this city full of contrasts. No city in Asia brings all the different oriental cultures so close together as one can see in Singapore.
I dive into the side streets of China Town with it’s hundreds of shops offering bizarre looking goods and pharmacies full of herbal medicines and elixir. I step inside Buddhist temples and watch men playing nine men’s morris and betting in the streets. On the river walk a group of athletes, dressed with the latest gear and iPods, are having a workout. In Little India a sweet aromatic smell is present everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »
“One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”
When walking through the volcanic landscape of the Timanfaya National Park this passage out of “The Lord of the Rings” often comes to my mind. At its shores, where the rivers of lava have been halted by the sea a unreal place with extreme contrasts and bizarre shapes arose. During hundreds of years wind and sea formed, modeled the cliffs emerging from the sea like as if by a divine curse petrified warriors. Lined up, standing against the relentless chisel of the surf they defend their kingdom. A mystical air surrounds every rock, breathes through every cave and stone arch washed out by the sea, is present in every rock pool the outgoing tide leaves behind. And as the setting sun vanishes behind the horizon, the soul keeps its breath and time stands still for a moment.
Un Dirham, s’il vous plait monsieur, un Dirham… the kids are running over the beach towards our little group stretching out their arms with open hands begging us to give them some money. From a distance I can see their father looking over from what seems a pile of old sheets and blankets but in fact is a tent, their home. Scattered along the shore are some fishing rods plugged into the sand, tensed lines are waiting for a fish to mistake the bait on the other end with its meal. The kids, dirty and in ragged cloth seem to enjoy the little interruption which the visit of our small expedition brings to their daily routine in this desolate land at the edge of the dessert. Posing for some photos, playing with our cameras and observing us with big eyes like if we were visitor from another world, which in fact we are. Every day you can see places like this on TV but it is not till you witness Read the rest of this entry »
Most visitors to Lanzarote enjoy the easy going lifestyle and the fact that the island still conserves its purity so different to some other holiday destinations. But taking the 15 min ferry ride over to the little island of La Graciosa is almost like traveling back in time. Even for us living here on Lanzarote a trip to La Graciosa always feels like taking a break and change gears back.
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NU2 (Nudos) – Mar y Arte (Sea and Arts) is a a local magazine focusing on stories, pictures and art related to the sea. Nice, especially for us living on an island, surrounded by the sea. I always liked their content, design and layout and so I am even more proud to be able to announce that in their last edition they featured one of my photographs in their section “Mar y Arte Canario”. The photo is one I have taken a while ago in the harbour of the little fishing village La Santa. During the night I could hear through my open window how the swell started to rise so I got up early to photograph the big waves crashing against the harbour wall in the first light of the morning.
To see a list of distribution points where you can grab a copy of the magazine or to find more information visit them on their website Nudos – Mar y Arte.
Or read the post I have written when I published the photo here on my blog: Lanzarote first Winter Waves
