Boom! Boom! Out Goes the Light!

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I washed the dishes and warmed the palm of my hand with a cup of coffee, the cats are fed and I am ready to share some little things with you:

We play our power games, we step on each others feet,
And, all of a sudden…
Boom! Boom! Out goes the light!

Ah, just small nobodies…

I wish I had a photograph of dolphins - I used to see the toninhas on the beach in Maxixe, Mozambique, many years ago. I was too young, I had no camera, but after all, we are all god's children, right?

To cheer it up, a song by the great Fred Neil, a song that often makes me break into tears:

"The Dolphins" - Fred Neil (1966)

This old world may never change

The way it's been,

And all the ways of war

Can't change it back again.

I've been searching

For the dolphins in the sea,

And sometimes I wonder

Do you ever think of me?

I'm not the one to tell this world

How to get along,

I only know the peace will come

When all hate is gone.

I've been searching

For the dolphins in the sea...

You know sometimes I think about

Saturday's child,

And all about the time

When we were running wild.

I've been searching

For the dolphins in the sea...

This old world may never change,

This world may never change,

This world may never change...

(Please, allow me to dedicate this song to a lady who actually swims with the dolphins in Hawaii - Hi Pamela, would you please say hello to the dolphins for me?)

And because sometimes I am so addicted to Fred Neil songs and his deep voice, here comes the next one:

"Everybody's Talkin'" - Fred Neil (1966)

Everybody's talkin' at me,

I don't hear a word they're sayin',

Only the echoes of my mind.

People stop and stare,

I can't see the faces,

Only the shadows of their eyes.

I'm goin' where the sun keeps shinin'

Through the pouring rain,

Going where the weather suits my clothes,

Bankin' off on the northest wind,

Sailing on a summer breeze,

Skippin' over the ocean like a stone.

Everybody's talkin' at me,

Can't hear a word they're saying

Only the echoes of my mind.

I won't let you leave my love behind...

Fred Neil is dead and gone, but I know we will meet one fine day, that's for sure!

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This old world may never change
The way it's been
And all the ways of war
Can't change it back again

I've been searchin'
For the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder
Do you ever think of me

I'm not the one to tell this world
How to get along
I only know the peace

How many roads...

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My second son, Luís, is flying to Germany today.

Frustrated with life conditions in this country and wishing to try a new life with his german girl-friend, he decided to go back to Heidelberg, his place of birth.

I have the consolation to know that Sara Joana waits for him. Her parents are long time friends from the years we lived over there. I know that he can count on some good and trusty people.

A sad day for me and his brothers and sister, hopefully a new sunny begin for Luís.

The photographs above were taken on Wildpark Frankenhof, near Reken.

On that cold winter day, there was no one else around, silence was only disturbed by our footsteps tracking our way through the snow.

We spent that winter (2003/2004) together in Reken. It was a very hard time for us, as Luís mother (the mother of all my four children) was struggling between life and death, after suffering a stroke.

We would sit at night eating Brezels with butter and cheese, drinking Veltins, watching some stupid TV channel, mostly thinking about that very thin line that separates life from death.

Sometimes we would cook a Griessklösschensuppe to keep us warm, and whenever we found the energy for it, we would try to laugh as much as we could… Laughing to keep from crying!

Often we would dress our warm coats in the middle of the night and go for a walk in the woods or through the fields, the only waken souls in the region.

Although I knew Reken for some decades, I felt kind of strange there: me and Luís’s mother were already divorced, somehow I didn’t belong no more there…

Looking back, I sometimes think that those hard times contributed for us to learn a lesson, albeit a hard one; we grew spiritualy for sure… And we got very close friends!

“I wish you well my son, I hope that you find your way, and that your way is a good one!”.

“Blowing in the Wind” – Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea ?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free ?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry ?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

 (From the album “The Freewheelin’”, 1963)

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A Day at the Races - Estoril, 19th of November 2011

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At first I was reluctant and said no.

But my son Jorge insisted, and I agreed to take part on the Photographic Training organized by Colorfoto ( it is no exggeration if I claim that they are the best photographic retailers in Portugal) and Canon Professional Services.

Instructor was Mr. Paulo Maria (Interslide), a professional with long experience in the field of Motorsports Photography, and who happens to be a very kind person.

David and Rui Morgado from Colorfoto were also always at hand with good advise and driving us around the track.

We also could try some of those beautiful grey Canon lens that you can watch the pros using on TV during sports events.

As a whole, all the event was very well organized and a joy to be part of.

Thinking afterwards, I came to realize, that I had never photographed a car race before.

So, you’re watching a kind of premier…

The long lenses from Canon are really top-notch and digital photography is a very convenient medium for this kind of stuff.

Yes, you guess it right: even a hardcore Leica guy like me has to concede that in this field Canon sounds better than Leica!

“Come on, you will have some fun!”.

Well, I must admit that Jorge was right, and I am happy that I came along.

We had a wonderful day at Autódromo do Estoril!

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"Vai, triste canção..."

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"Modinha" - Tom Jobim / Vinicius de Moraes


Não!
Não pode mais meu coração
Viver assim dilacerado
Escravizado a uma ilusão
Que é só desilusão.


Ah, não seja a vida sempre assim
Como um luar desesperado
A derramar melancolia em mim,
Poesia em mim.


Vai, triste canção, sai do meu peito
E semeia a emoção
Que chora dentro do meu coração.


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Sofia and Ricardo Got Married - September 10, 2011

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My nephew Ricardo and Sofia got married last September.

I decided to take the chance and use the occasion to make some classical Leica photography: unobtrusive and intimate. The kind of stuff Leicas are good at and got famous for!

In black and white film, of course!

I chose two Leica M bodies (a M3 from 1955, - yes, that’s the year of my birth! and a M4 from 1968/69 respectively, - yes, that’s the year the first men landed on the moon!) and a couple of lenses:
 Super-Angulon 21mm f/3.4  (a really true non-retrofocus classic, designed and built by Schneider and resold by Leitz), Summicron 35mm f/2.0  (the often called “king of Bokeh, whatever people mean by that…), and the very enjoyable and small Tele-Elmarit 90mm f/2.8 (sadly in the meantime vanished from the Leica catalogue, I will forever treasure it!).

As film material, I picked up Agfa APX 100 (another true classic) and the new Kodak T-Max 400 (my concession to modern technology…).

I stuffed it all, together with a Gossen Variosix F lightmeter, in a small Leitz Kombitasche M.

 I was ready to go!

Wishing this nice couple all the best in the world, a wonderful song as food for thought:

“Congratulations” – Paul Simon

Congratulations
Oh, seems like you’ve done it again
And I ain’t had such misery since
Since I don’t know when,
Oh, and I don’t know when


I notice so many people
Slippin’ away
And many more waiting in the lines
In the courtrooms today
Oh, in the courtrooms today

Love is not a game
Love is not a toy
Love’s no romance
Love will do you in
And love will wash you out
And needless to say
You won’t stand a chance, and you won’t stand a chance.

I’m hungry for learning
Won’t you answer me, please?
Can a man and a woman
Live together in peace?
Oh, live together in peace

(From the album Paul Simon - 1971)

Technical Data:

Cameras - Leica M3 + Leica M4

Lenses - Super Angulon 21mm + Summicron 35mm + Tele Elmarit 90mm

Films - Agfa APX 100 + Kodak T-Max 400

Developer - Kodak D-76, diluted 1+1

Location - Setúbal, Portugal

Date - 10th of September 2011

Scanner - Epson 4990 Photo

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Sketches of Spain – Andalucía + Extremadura, Spain, May 2010 (Rolleiflex 3.5F)

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Santiponce, Monasterio de San Isidro del Campo

 

Castilblanco de los Arroyos

Almadén de la Plata (Andalucía)

 

Monasterio (Extremadura)

Technical Data:

Camera – Rolleiflex 3.5F + Carl Zeiss Planar 75mm f/3.5

Film – Fomapan 200

Developer – Kodak D-76, diluted 1+3

Location – Andalucía + Extremadura, España

Date – May 2010

Scanner – Epson Perfection 4990 Photo

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