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contemplations Germany morning coffee talk Photography spain

Daily Coffee Talk~ 84/365

Self portrait taken in Spain by the moonlight ~

When we are confronted with life changing events or the possibility of them, we tend to go inward and see life more clearly.

With the shocking onset of a war in an otherwise peaceful Europe, life becomes more real. Our senses are honed to feel, detect, and comprehend what is and might be going on around us. For a brief time, clarity replaces the fog and we become more human.

It is strange that it takes a war to make us learn the flag colors of the Ukraine, to become aware of its people, its history, and its current state of affairs because it is brought center stage at this time.

We become sensitized to the pain of others and feel a care that we previously were not conscious to.

The human and its behavior are a deep mystery to me.

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contemplations Germany inspiration LEBANON morning coffee talk Photography

Daily Coffee Talk~51/365

So I am changing this to from morning to daily since more and more coffee is making its way into my day. I hope that you day is going very well and is filled with your favourite beverage of choice.

a Lebanese bee~

Since I got back from the Emirates more than 10 days ago, I have seen nothing but grey skies and rain in Germany. I miss the sun, I miss its warming rays, I miss Lebanon, I miss summertime and I miss the feeling of being outdoors all the time.

With photography I can travel in my mind to the sun, I can be where I was when I took the photograph and I can almost feel the warmth. Our minds are amazing like that, we build all kinds of connections through our senses that allow us to travel mentally to certain moments that we mark on the calendar of our life history.

Doesn’t a smell sometimes bring back to a special moment in time that had its impact on your life? It happens to me all the time, or a piece of music, or the taste of something.

And the sun just came out as I write this… funny how things work.

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Istanbul Photography street photography

Istanbul~ Shadow Stories

Istanbul Shadow Stories~

On this trip, I was chasing the light as most street photographers do, to experience the extraordinary dimensions that it gives to ordinary life moment.

Β Istanbul in the early morning, sunset or even high noon can look quite magical through the lens. It’s a city of almost 18 million residents, bustling with life, energy and that little extra something unique to it… every photographer’s dream.

I am on my last morning here and already planning a trip back in the future, inshalla…

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Istanbul Photography street street photography

The Birds of Istanbul~

The Birds of Istanbul~

Upon first arriving in Istanbul, you are overwhelmed with the sheer amount of visual stimuli and with the unusual that makes the city what it is. Magnificent architecture, unique sounds and smells of its exotic cuisine and spices, the water ways surrounding it, and mostly the birds.

The seagulls and pigeons are everywhere, flying, fishing, communicating loudly and making themselves the stars of the show.

The birds complete the final touches on the spectacular canvas that is the city of Istanbul.

Β 

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LEBANON Photography street

Being Alone Together~ 2

The Future is not written till we write it~ Byblos, Lebanon

This image illustrates to me the basic reality that we find ourselves living in: that life is a journey and our tomorrows are dependent on every action we take and every step we make. To author one’s destiny is a huge responsibility that most of us abdicate from. ‘Choice’ remains our greatest gift whether we see it or not.

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animation inspiration Photography video

Happy Winter Solstice~

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contemplations Fine art Germany inspiration Photography

Embracing the future~

Who can be sure that the future is a continuation of and a consequence of the now? Could it be that the future is arriving independently of all what has been and that is?

Isn’t every dawn a new fresh beginning and a new permission for a brand new future?

Do we decide our future or is it predestined?

Is the answer hidden in the future and any answer that we arrive at today is already condemned to be in the past?

And what about light? What lives in the ever changing light?

Today I took this iphone photo of a tree outside my parents in law’s home where we are gathered for Christmas and I showed it to my sister in law. The light had a haunting quality in that moment that made me stand still in utter awe.

She ran out to the window and said to me “you must have magicked your image, it does not look like that!”

The truth is it did look like that and so much more but light doesn’t wait. It moves and evolves and radiates differently with every passing moment. Light is alive that way.

Musing last from an enchanted Christmas Day in the German countryside.

Merry Christmas my friends

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inspiration LEBANON Photography

There is light and then there is light~ Lebanon

My absolute favorite time to practice photography in Lebanon is the magical summer sunset. The sun takes its time and teasingly threatens to sink in the blue Mediterranean Sea ever so slowly whilst tossing beautiful colors of pastel into the Western Lebanese sky. Every day is a new performance, breathtaking, calming, inspiring and beautiful.

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Paris Photography

It’s all about the light~

Like our eyes and how we process light and dark, the camera is addicted to light, and it’s absence.

Day 96 of 365~

Paris

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art CHINA Photography shanghai Uncategorized

The Unknown Beckons~

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Isn’t every moment a step further into the unknown? We think we know where we are going, we have it all planned out, then life reminds us of the futility of our false certainty. I welcome the unknown, I want to live in the joy of discovery, to be surprised by life, to meet the future with an open mind.

I took these images today atΒ the amazing James Turrell exhibit in Shanghai.