Tag: switzerland

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contemplations Fine art inspiration morning coffee talk Photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~ 35/365

Good Morning,

It’s sunny and clear again here in Dubai after a few days of storms and dusty air. It actually rained sand here, something I witnessed for the very first time.

Today I am waking up with the contemplation of clarity. We seek it in all things, don’t we? And these days can be very foggy with the constant onslaught of impressions from the media, screens, noise pollution and all that we have to deal with in our busy lives. Clarity becomes a rare luxury.

I chose these images that I took yesterday at the Swiss Pavilion at Dubai expo. They simulated fog that slowly grew lesser as you ascended the mountains to finally see clearly at the top. I loved the feeling and symbolism of that experience.

Wishing us all clarity of mind as we rush into this new year.

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Thirty Three, September 12, 2011

what color is your smoke screen?

Smoke screens, we all have them, don’t we?  We present a face to the world, an identity, an image, a made up representation of who we want others to think we are. It is often rougher than we are, sharper, tougher, with an edge and with a certain amount of vagueness. We protect our inner self, our true self and we only show it in our most vulnerable of moments. It is quite a pity to have to go through life in this way, in a constant state of self defense. And when we can find someone that allows us to be who we really are, we hold on to them for dear life. Yes, with true friends, smoke screens are not required.

Photo taken: Sasha  in a doorway of a broken down room

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Thirty Two, September 11, 2011

rebellion

re·bel·lionNoun/riˈbelyən/

1. An act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.

2. The action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention: “an act of teenage rebellion“.

A fascinating phenomenon, most certainly on the rise in our world today, rebellion is a symptom of the young rejecting the control of the old, the new and fresh unwilling to compromise with the traditional and already established.  When we reach our teenage, we begin to see the world in new eyes, we are eager to show our elders the revolutionary ways of our thinking, and with all of that comes upheaval, violent outbursts, emotional explosions and a whole load of hormonal powered declarations.

So are revolutions a symptom of an onset of something young and new on the planet? Is that its way of saying out with old, in with the new?

photo taken: Andy in an abandoned motel in Geneva.

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Thirty One, September 10, 2011

drip drop

One of the most charming things about Geneva and the neighboring villages in Switzerland is the little fountain in every village square. Beautiful stone pools with a tap of running water and a background of glorious looking flowers in shades of red and pink. They just make you stop, look, sigh and wonder at the beauty of life. It takes very little to inspire me in a place like this where simple details create a whole lot of charm.

Geneva in September! A fountain of inspiration!

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Thirty, September 9, 2011

The bride

Every little girl’s dream, the moment she becomes princess and joins her prince, the most romantic moment to look forward to, the happy ending to most fairy tales…

It is just moving to see this tradition still alive in our world of today, to witness a moving ceremony of pledged loyalty, mutual respect and of a declared wish to live together in partnership like the trees in the forest in common purpose.

photo taken: The beautiful bride Esther in Eaux-Vives Park, Geneva

 

 

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Twenty Seven, September 6, 2011

doorway to heaven

If you imagine a perfect place, a paradise that you can travel to in your mind when things become too crowded in your head, what would it look like? what would be it’s colors? what would live in it? how would it feel? For me it always has nature, a lot water and so much rich color. The sky would be blue and the sun shining on blue water, yes definitely water…

photo taken: The beautiful Sasha jumps through a doorway in Montreux

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Photography

Day Two Hundred Twenty Six, September 5, 2011

Hello cow!

I arrived in Geneva today after long long hours on the plane and the first thing I felt like doing was to feel the land. I drove around the country side for more than one hour until I felt like stopping and I stopped on a dirt road where this cow was grazing with her cow friends. It is amazing how you can connect to the land and to a place through its nature and what lives in it. It is a clean connection, a silent greeting, a moment of quiet observation, and of just being with something. And the cows are a great and respected ,symbol in this land of cheese and chocolate. This lovely cow welcomed me today 🙂

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inspiration Photography Travel

Breathing fresh air in Switzerland

a Swiss landscape view after the rain

I have been in Founex in the suburbs of Geneva for the last 2 days. I came to Switzerland to attend an exhibition of my photos in Lausanne.

As this area has been home to my sister for some years, I have been here on many visits and each single time, the strongest impression I bring back with me is the quality of the air!

I have been living in Shanghai, China for over 4 years now. If you have been to Shanghai then you know that the air is thick with all kinds of pollutants and factory emissions that make living with lung conditions a normal state of affairs.

And then you come to a place like the Swiss country side, vineyards, green pastures, lakes, majestic mountains, fast-moving clouds, refreshing rain showers, clean beauty surrounding you everywhere you look. And then you breathe in!!

Each breath I take makes me feel like I am taking in a meal of the healthiest kind. I walk, I breathe in, walk, breathe in…

And with each gaze to the horizon, you experience colors, peace, tranquility…healing.

Every life must include some doses of this, a break from what is ailing our planet and ruining its atmosphere.

Take a breath of fresh Swiss air..

after the rain, the Swiss countryside glimmers