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The sound that shakes the earth

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
June XXVI, 2009

The sound that shakes the earth. - Silence -

Learning to do nothing, I sit on that rock and observe the gentle curve of the skelleton which once was a wall built of granit by men hundreds of years ago, preventing animals to fall to certain death. Massive bolders where arranged to a wall, labour as hard as can be, to last for centuries.

The atlantic is calm today, yet the wind up here goes right through your bones, I enjoy the wind, it makes me feel alive, and most of all, it keeps the midges away. A strange bird lands beside me, so close I could touch it. It has a longish beak, mostly black and beautiful orange feathers and is nearly as big as a seagul. Not bothered by my presence, it starts to clean and rearrange feathers for a while, and then flies away, falling for a short while to find the warm air and then gliding gracefully higher and with very few wing movements gaining height again.

People are dying in Iran, a most opressive regime governed by medival mindsets. Sharia Law is still practised and followed. Women's rights are only slowly emerging from a basis of free thinking and educated people, they put their very life in jeopardy, risking everything to enable a future for their children where values such as personal integrity and freedom will dominate their lives and not the mindsets ot a handfull of Tyrans exploiting a nation.

It is the year 2009, but what does that mean? The computing power of my 8 core Mac would have filled an entire school building not so long ago, the world faces a financial crisis on a level that can only be described as devastating, a crisis that was triggered by only a handfull of people as well, again, a handfull of people.

The beauty of this place is enchanting, and I feel like I could sit here forever. We are choosers, this is the very core of our existance, we make choices and in that we are responsible for our actions and consequences. Basic principles of ethics seem to be far removed from our modern economy and it shows. When the first people went to space and saw earth from above, they where overwhelmed by it's beauty and the obvious fragility of our atmospheric system which enables life on earth.

So easy to forget this in the midst and stress of modern life, carreer, children, worries, and in general a life under a lot of pressure, but nevertheless determind by our very own choices.

I could do street photography, product photography, glamour photography, but I do landscapes. It enables me to find something that is longing in each and everyone of us and share it, and once in a while, someone feels the same just by looking at a picture, this makes all my efforts worth my time.

Above me where the road is, a few people walk by, one points in my direction, obviously wondering about that nutter who climbed down the cliffs to shoot from here. He has a camera and takes a picture of me, barely stops in his walk, snap and go. They are chatting loudly like a flock of geese, exited voices, I can not hear what they are saying, but their nervous sounds, talking over eachother. How can they even get a glimpse of this amazing place if they don't shut up? Do they even see the skelleton of a wall? I doubt it. They keep on walking, their voices disappear quickly and it is quiet again.

I feel content here. Have to come back more often and take many pictures. It is one of those places where I can shoot over and over again, and find always something new. When heavy weather hits, I could not stand here, I would be swept over the cliffs in no time so violently the winds can hit here when the atlantic raises his voice, yet, animals are all around here all year long. I will come back here in January when the storms are battering the cliffs, if I am careful enough I should be able to capture this.

Photographing landscapes, what a privilege!

 
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nei1

Guest
Your thoughts take me to the north coast of cornwall where I was born Georg.Many walks in the depths of winter battling against the wind to see the next cove.I remember reading of the painter,John Constable,being lashed to the mast of a ship so he could experience a severe storm first hand.A personnel memory of a wild looking young lady ,fiercly holding onto a large canvas in the blustery wind while painting what she saw and felt.
Im living in the south of spain know and nobody here understands when I say that I miss British weather.All the best to you ,beautiful work...........Neil.
 

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Thank you Neil.

Yes, the weather is rough and not everyone likes the rugged beauty of this land here, but most people I know, once they experienced it themselves, often fall in love with it in strange ways. I have never been to Cornwall, must visit one day. The picture of the Lady painter is striking, would have been a Hell of a shot!
In the winter time, there are only very few days that I do not walk my dog on the beach, mostly when it is so severe, that I fear for his eyes getting constantly sandblasted.

I was amazed when I moved here and learned about the power of the wind by being knocked of my feet a few times, and I am no light weight to start with.

Donegal to me is something out of Lord of the Rings, on dark days it appears like in the middle of flippin Mordor, and on nice days you would think to be in Hobbit land. :)

I miss the fresh veggies and fruits from Spain, strong red wine and warm weather. Living in Ireland, one should be entitled by law to a 6 weeks vacation where it is warm and sunny, hmmm, I guess starting a political party with that agenda would get me plenty of votes here. :rolleyes:
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Very well thought out and beautifully photographed.

Sometimes we need to add our thoughts and feelings on what and why do certain things.

Thank you!

Don
 

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Thank you Don and Simon,

I was just thinking about how I am going to post here in the future, and I liked the idea to share my thoughts and what went on when I was shooting.

So I envisioned a Gallerie Situation for example, imagine people standing around with a glas of Clicquot or something, I wish :), and asking you questions or discussing your work. This way the picture gets a little more context may be, as it becomes something more personal by sharing my thoughts. Looks like it is not such a bad idea after all.

Here is one of the last from that "silence" shooting, taken at around 11PM.

 
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