Tournez à Gauche

Tournez à Gauche, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

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"Mankind only exiles the one whose large spirit rebels against injustice and tyranny. He who does not prefer exile to servility is not free in the true and necessary sense of freedom."
— Khalil Gibran

Newport's new Railway Station on the Great Western Railway line and the South Wales Main Line

* Samsung EX1 - 3 shot HDR

Beneath Layers of Memory

Beneath Layers of Memory, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

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"Another important discovery of our research was that memories of emotional and physical experiences are stored in the psyche not as isolated bits and pieces but in the form of complex constellations, which I call COEX systems (for "systems of condensed experience"). Each COEX system consists of emotionally charged memories from different periods of our lives; the common denominator that brings them together is that they share the same emotional quality or physical sensation. Each COEX may have many layers, each permeated by its central theme, sensations, and emotional qualities. Many times we can identify individual layers according to the different periods of the person's life."
— Stanislav Grof (The Holotropic Mind: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives)

* Samsung EX1 - 3 shot HDR

Terra Marique

Terra Marique, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

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The Winged Sea Lion of Newport stands guard by the River Usk next to the 12th Century Castle of Casnewyyd in South Wales. The Winged Sea Lion also appears on Newport's Coat of Arms and the new City emblem, the Newport Lion. It is an unusual heraldic device also shared by the Security Service MI5

Terra Marique - By Land and Sea

* Samsung EX1 - 3 shot HDR

Goodbye Golden Orb

Goodbye Golden Orb, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Orbed, and glittering, and pendent,
Apples of Hesperides!
Not one missing, still transcendent,
Clustering like a swarm of bees.
Yielding to no man's desire,
Glowing with a saffron fire,
Splendid, unassailed, the golden
Apples of Hesperides!"
— Amy Lowell

Running Man

Running Man, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Lyrics from Time by Pink Floyd (1973)

Sunset Flight

Sunset Flight, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I can't help flying up on the wings of anticipation. It's as glorious as soaring through a sunset... almost pays for the thud."
— L.M. Montgomery

Wind, Sun, Surf, Solstice

Wind, Sun, Surf, Solstice, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Seabird tracks scattered about the surf's edge like pine needles after a brisk wind."
— Haruki Murakami (A Wild Sheep Chase (The Rat, #3))

Solar Seagulls

Solar Seagulls, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we've destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?"
— Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

Sunset Island

Sunset Island, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"It was November--the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul."
— L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables (Penny Books))

Final Moments

Final Moments, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet."
— Rumi

Armadillo on the Clyde

Armadillo on the Clyde, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

The Armadillo or Clyde Auditorium is part of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) and sits on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. This shot was taken at sunset on a grey day... I love the multiple reflections!

*Samsung EX1 - 3 shot HDR

The Shard Rises

The Shard Rises, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Shard London Bridge, previously known as London Bridge Tower, and also known as the Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge and The Shard, is a skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. When completed in 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union.

This shot is taken from Temple Gardens in the City of London one of the oldest parts of London. A nice contrast of old and new and a commentary on the changing skyline and character of London.

HDR processed from 3 shots from my Samsung EX1 using Photoshop CS5 on my new Samsung N310 Hackintosh Netbook running Mac OS X Snow Leopard... while in a hotel in Glasgow :-)

Worshiping the Hidden Sun

Worshiping the Hidden Sun, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"You have to take risks, he said. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. Every day, God gives us the sun--and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist--that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists--a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles."
— Paulo Coelho (By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept)

Embracing The Shadows

Embracing The Shadows, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him."
— Siddhārtha Gautama

Bee Content

Bee Content, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox."
— Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook)

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

Petals of Sweet Excess

Petals of Sweet Excess, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Poppies bleed petals of sheer excess. You and I, this sweet battle ground."

— From White Oleander by Janet Finch

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

Pretty Drugs

Pretty Drugs, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."
— Karl Marx

Pretty powerful drugs to... the Opium Poppy and the Foxglove, otherwise known as Digitalis, not only look beautiful but are also the source of some of the planets most powerful and used drugs... Morphine, Codeine, Heroin, Opium, Digitalin

Hey, I'm growing drugs in my garden!!! :-)

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

The Sunlight Becomes You

The Sunlight Becomes You, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

Bokehlicious Blossoms Series #3

Feeling Peachy

Feeling Peachy, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I'm as peachy as a peachy peach!"
— Koge-Donbo

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

Bokehlicious Blossoms Series #2

Delight of the Dancing Bee

Delight of the Dancing Bee, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

The days aren't discarded or collected, they are bees
that burned with sweetness or maddened
the sting: the struggle continues,
the journeys go and come between honey and pain.
No, the net of years doesn't unweave: there is no net.
They don't fall drop by drop from a river: there is no river.
Sleep doesn't divide life into halves,
or action, or silence, or honor:
life is like a stone, a single motion,
a lonesome bonfire reflected on the leaves,
an arrow, only one, slow or swift, a metal
that climbs or descends burning in your bones."
— Pablo Neruda (Still Another Day (Kage-an Books))

* Pentax K20D and Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens

An Unknown Prospect

An Unknown Prospect, originally uploaded by TomRaven.

Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys and sour 'prentices,
Go tell court huntsmen that the King will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices;
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

From The Sunne Rising by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Prospect Cottage, former home of filmmaker Derek Jarman sits proudly in the surreal landscape of Dungeness. On one wall ( image below) part of the John Donne poem 'The Sunne Rising' is emblazoned and the whole cottage and open gardens are immaculate. Dungeness B nuclear power station sits behind it, a long term question mark on the landscape.

Dungeness Dreaming Series #3

*Samsung EX1 - 3 shot HDR