A Raven Image

The Gathering

2012-01-28T13:44:00.001Z

The Gathering, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Each of us has the right and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead, and those over which we have traveled, and if the future road looms ominous or unpromising, and the roads back uninviting, then we need to gather our resolve and, carrying only the necessary baggage, step off that road into another direction. If the new choice is also unpalatable, without embarrassment, we must be ready to change that as well."
— Maya Angelou (Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now)

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A Crisis In The Coloured Sky

2012-01-27T18:47:00.001Z

A Crisis In The Coloured Sky, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end
The goddess descends from the sky
Wings of light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting"
— Final Fantasy Crisis Core

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Golden Eye

2012-01-25T22:07:00.001Z

Golden Eye, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such"
— Henry Miller

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deGull Promenade

2012-01-24T20:04:00.001Z

deGull Promenade, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The promenade is a special subset of walking."
— Rebecca Solnit (Wanderlust: A History of Walking)

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Taking Flight

2012-01-23T19:39:00.001Z

Taking Flight, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"To such beings, such fugitive beings, their own nature and our anxiety fasten wings. And even when they are with us the look in their eyes seems to warn us that they are about to take flight. The proof of this beauty itself, that wings add is that often, for us, the same person is alternately winged and wingless. "
— Marcel Proust

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Clouds In The Sand

2012-01-22T14:50:00.001Z

Clouds In The Sand, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you -- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls."
— Edward Abbey

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Wilderness Moon

2012-01-21T10:46:00.001Z

Wilderness Moon, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
— John Muir

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - 2 Shot HDR/Photomontage

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North Island Vista

2012-01-14T23:56:00.001Z

North Island Vista, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again. Wanderer, there is no road-- Only wakes upon the sea.

Caminante, son tus huellas el camino, y nada más; caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Al andar se hace camino, y al volver la vista atrás se ve la senda que nunca se ha de volver a pisar. Caminante, no hay camino, sino estelas en la mar."
— Antonio Machado (Campos de Castilla)

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Obscured By The Dreaming Sky

2012-01-13T21:46:00.001Z

Obscured By The Dreaming Sky, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The truth was obscure,
Too profound and too pure,
To live it you had to explode"
— Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan- Where Are You Tonight? Blackbushe Camberley, England 7/15/78

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Transfixed By The Light

2012-01-09T07:11:00.001Z

Transfixed By The Light, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"To the lost, transfixed among the self-inflicted ruins,
All that is non-air (if this indeed is not deception)
Is agony immobilized. While Time,
The endless idiot, runs screaming round the world."
— Carson McCullers

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Just Another Cloudage Daydream

2012-01-08T09:45:00.001Z

Just Another Cloudage Daydream, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

A summer crisp with shining woods.
And I too dream'd, until at last
Across my fancy, brooding warm,
The reflex of a legend past,
And loosely settled into form.

From The Day Dream by Alfred Lord Tennyson ("Prologue" II, lines 1-5)

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Primeval

2012-01-06T18:57:00.001Z

Primeval, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings)

New Zealand's Central Plateau and Mt Ngauruhoe - Mt Doom in the LOTR movies - is such a primeval landscape...

The Magic of Memory #4 - photomontage of elements from three shots

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Admiring The Dreaming Moon

2012-01-02T15:20:00.001Z

Admiring The Dreaming Moon, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams.
World-losers and world-forsakers,
Upon whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems."
— Arthur O'Shaughnessy

The Magic of Memory #3 - photomontage of elements from four shots

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Making Tracks II

2011-12-29T18:12:00.001Z

Making Tracks II, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it."
— Gabriel García Márquez

The Magic of Memory #2 - photomontage of three shots

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Making Tracks To The Moon

2011-12-28T10:56:00.001Z

Making Tracks To The Moon, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

The Magic of Memory #1 - photomontage of two shots

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The Nature of Solitude

2011-12-26T22:18:00.001Z

The Nature of Solitude, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude."
— Henry David Thoreau

Spearfishing in the Tasman Sea at Christmas...

Happy Holidays everyone ! ツツツ

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Fire and Ice

2011-12-25T17:34:00.001Z

Fire and Ice, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."
— Robert Frost

Happy Holidays everyone ! ツツツ

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Heart of the Sunrise

2011-12-24T19:28:00.001Z

Heart of the Sunrise, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Little by little the night turns around.
Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn.
Lotuses lean on each other in yearning.
Under the eaves the swallow is resting.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun.

From Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
by Roger Waters, Pink Floyd

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Returning Home

2011-12-23T07:45:00.001Z

Returning Home, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."
— Vincent van Gogh

Random Acts Of Beauty #6
chosen at random from the archives...

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Golden Lining

2011-12-18T15:06:00.001Z

Golden Lining, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

“The
Earth would die
If the sun stopped kissing her.”
― Hafez, The Gift

Random Acts Of Beauty #5
chosen at random from the archives...

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Bring On The Night

2011-12-17T16:16:00.001Z

Bring On The Night, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"You see my state, and still increase my pain
I see your face, the need for union regain.
For my welfare, you have no care, I complain
Why do you heal me not from the sickness I disdain?
You bring me down and leave me on the earthly plane;
Return me to my home, by your side let me remain.
Only when I’m dust, your mercy can entertain;
Your flowing spirit stirs up dust of the slain.
Heartbroken of your love, from breathing I abstain
My life you destroy, yet my breathing you sustain.
In the dark night of the soul, I was growing insane,
Drinking from the cups that your features contain.
Suddenly in my arms, you appeared, clear, plain;
With my lips on your lips, my life and soul gain and drain.
Be joyful with Hafiz, with love enemies detain,
With such potent love, impotent foes self-restrain.

مرا می‌بینی و هر دم زیادت می‌کـنی دردم
تو را می‌بینـم و میلـم زیادت می‌شود هر دم
بـه سامانم نمی‌پرسی نمی‌دانم چه سر داری
بـه درمانـم نـمی‌کوشی نمی‌دانی مگر دردم
نه راه است این که بگذاری مرا بر خاک و بگریزی
گذاری آر و بازم پرس تا خاک رهـت گردم
ندارم دستت از دامن بجز در خاک و آن دم هـم
کـه بر خاکـم روان گردی به گرد دامنـت گردم
فرورفـت از غم عشقت دمم دم می‌دهی تا کی
دمار از مـن برآوردی نـمی‌گویی برآوردم
شـبی دل را به تاریکی ز زلفت باز می‌جستـم
رخـت می‌دیدم و جامی هـلالی باز می‌خوردم
کـشیدم در برت ناگاه و شد در تاب گیسویت
نـهادم بر لـبـت لـب را و جان و دل فدا کردم
تو خوش می‌باش با حافظ برو گو خصم جان می‌ده
چو گرمی از تو می‌بینم چه باک از خصم دم سردم"
— Hafez

The Dreaming Isle

2011-12-11T16:31:00.001Z

The Dreaming Isle, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."
— Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

Random Acts Of Beauty #1
chosen at random from the archives...

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Flying Far Away

2011-12-05T15:06:00.001Z

Flying Far Away, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."
— Richard Bach

The Dancing Gull says goodbye...

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Praying To Neptune

2011-12-04T21:11:00.001Z

Praying To Neptune, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Either you repeat the same conventional doctrines everybody is saying, or else you say something true, and it will sound like it's from Neptune."
— Noam Chomsky

The wild West Coast at Granity in the north west of New Zealand's South Island... I dream of living there one day.
Spot the person praying to Neptune! :-)

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - 3 Shot HDR

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A Slice of Life

2011-12-02T15:36:00.001Z

A Slice of Life, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live 'em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give 'em."
— Shel Silverstein

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

Beach Silhouettes Series #5- The Gambia 2011

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Riding The Waves

2011-11-27T18:11:00.001Z

Riding The Waves, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"In riding a horse, we borrow freedom"
— Helen Thompson

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Lazy Day Cruising

2011-11-26T19:41:00.001Z

Lazy Day Cruising, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I suppose it is out of laziness that the world is the same day after day. Today it seemed to want to change. And then anything, anything could happen."
— Jean-Paul Sartre

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Senegal Safari

2011-11-25T19:29:00.001Z

Senegal Safari, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has no personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it."
— John Steinbeck (Travels with Charley: In Search of America)

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #9 -Giant Eland

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A Forest of Necks

2011-11-24T20:28:00.001Z

A Forest of Necks, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things."
— Pablo Picasso

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #8 - Giraffe

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Zebra Stripes

2011-11-23T16:29:00.001Z

Zebra Stripes, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go."
— Dr. Seuss

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #7 - Zebra

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Red On Green

2011-11-22T16:37:00.001Z

Red On Green, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?"
— Shel Silverstein (A Light in the Attic)

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #6 - Red-Billed Hornbill

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Monkey Wondering

2011-11-20T12:28:00.001Z

Monkey Wondering, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

“Whatever it is you're seeking won't come in the form you're expecting.”
― Haruki Murakami

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #5 - Green Monkey

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Another World

2011-11-19T17:18:00.001Z

Another World, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

“Life is not like water. Things in life don't necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.”
― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Lying under this shade all day, reading Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, listening to the pounding surf... priceless!!!

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - 3 Shot HDR

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Golden Beach

2011-11-18T13:58:00.001Z

Golden Beach, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow."
— Bob Dylan

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

Beach Silhouettes Series #3 - The Gambia 2011

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Hitching A Ride

2011-11-17T20:51:00.001Z

Hitching A Ride, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
— Barack Obama

"Hitch your wagon to a star."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #3 - Giant Eland

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Inquisitive Egret

2011-11-16T12:33:00.001Z

Inquisitive Egret, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Curiosity, especially intellectual inquisitiveness, is what separates the truly alive from those who are merely going through the motions."
— Tom Robbins

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #2 - Egret

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West African Sunset

2011-11-14T11:26:00.001Z

West African Sunset, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."
— Desmond Tutu

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African Family

2011-11-13T13:55:00.001Z

African Family, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Westerners arriving in Africa for the first time are always struck by its beauty and size--even the sky seems higher. And they often find themselves suddenly cracked open. They lose inhibitions, feel more alive, more themselves, and they begin to understand why, until then, they have only half lived. In Africa the essentials of existence--light, earth, water, food, birth, family, love, sickness, death--are more immediate, more intense. Visitors suddenly realize what life is for. To risk a huge generalization: [In the West], amid our wasteful wealth and time-pressed lives we have lost human values that still abound in Africa."
— Richard Dowden

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

Beach Silhouettes Series #2 - The Gambia 2011

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Monkey See Monkey Do

2011-11-12T19:39:00.001Z

Monkey See Monkey Do, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"We are all just monkeys with money and guns."
— Tom Waits

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot

African Wildlife Series #1 - Red Colobus Monkey

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Review: 1Q84 Book 1 and Book 2

2011-11-11T22:17:00.001Z

1Q84 Book 1 and Book 2 by Haruki Murakami

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Murakami, the master weaver of worlds, at his epic best! This is a stunning and complex story expertly woven by alternating the two main characters, Tengo and Aomame. This book defies categorisation. at once drama, thriller, epic and love story it is a literary masterpiece that enthralls the reader from beginning to end. Absolutely the best Murakami, in fact best book I have read for a long long time. Clearly the first two of three books, the end leaves everything hanging and demands you immediately read Book 3. Thank god for the Kindle! ...even though I was on a beach in sub-Saharan Africa I just went online and downloaded Book 3 there and then with Whispernet.

A Brilliant literary masterpiece from a modern literary master!

View all my reviews

At The Beach

2011-11-11T09:19:00.001Z

At The Beach, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"This is how the entire course of a life can be changed: by doing nothing."
— Ian McEwan (On Chesil Beach)

* Pentax K20D + Samsung 50-200mm Lens - Single Shot SOOC

Beach Silhouettes Series #1 - The Gambia 2011

Selected images are available high res and unframed at RedBubble

Roofline Reflection

2011-11-10T09:36:00.001Z

Roofline Reflection, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
— Charles Dickens

I'm heading off for an adventure in the Winter Sun of sub-Saharan Africa and will be away for three weeks... see you all when I get back, hopefully with a stock of new photos :-)

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - Single Shot

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A Sense of Space

2011-10-24T17:45:00.001+01:00

A Sense of Space, a photo by TomRaven (Away) on Flickr.

"Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery, teach me how to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my sacred space and love beyond my fear, and thus walk in balance with the passing of each glorious sun."
— American Indian Lakota Prayer

* Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd - Single Shot

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The Romance of Sunset

2011-10-23T16:15:00.001+01:00

The Romance of Sunset, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Cuando amor no es locura, no es amor."
"When love is not madness it is not love."
— Pedro Calderón de la Barca

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Land of the Long White Cloud

2011-10-21T20:56:00.001+01:00

Land of the Long White Cloud, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Clambering up the Cold Mountain path,
The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on:
The long gorge choked with scree and boulders,
The wide creek, the mist-blurred grass.
The moss is slippery, though there's been no rain
The pine sings, but there's no wind.
Who can leap the world's ties
And sit with me among the white clouds?"
— Han-shan

Kapiti Island lies dreaming between sea and sky, under the long white cloud...

* Pentax K20D + Sigma 28-80mm Lens - Single Shot

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Flying To The Sun

2011-10-20T20:00:00.001+01:00

Flying To The Sun, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

“It's hard to tell the difference between sea and sky, between voyager and sea. Between reality and the workings of the heart.”
― Haruki Murakami

Its getting really cold here in the UK... so I'm planning on flying to the sun :-)

* Pentax K20D + Sigma 28-80mm Lens - Single Shot

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Molten Dawn

2011-10-19T21:36:00.001+01:00

Molten Dawn, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"O Dionysus, we feel you near,
stirring like molten lava
under the ravaged earth,
flowing from the wounds of your trees
in tears of sap,
screaming with the rage
of your hunted beasts."
— Euripides (The Bacchae)

The volcano Mt Ruapehu is clearly visible on the horizon, some 320 kms/200 miles away, as the dawn light reflects on the breaking surf on the black volcanic sand of the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand.

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - Single Shot

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Retreating Ocean, Advancing Sky

2011-10-18T23:16:00.001+01:00

Retreating Ocean, Advancing Sky, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Somewhere over the darkened curve of the world the sun and moon were pulling; and the film of water on the earth planet was held, bulging slightly on one side while the solid core turned. The great wave of the tide moved further along the island and the water lifted."
— William Golding (Lord of the Flies)

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Sun Arise

2011-10-16T17:03:00.001+01:00

Sun Arise, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Be calm, be strong, be grateful, and become a lamp full of light, that the darkness of sorrows be annihilated, and the sun of everlasting joy arise from the dawning-place of heart and soul, shining brightly."
— Baha'i Writings

The sun rises over the Kapiti Coast in the south west of the North Island of New Zealand.

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Of Shadows & Light

2011-10-13T17:23:00.001+01:00

Of Shadows & Light, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3))

Shadows and light play across the tumbled gravestones in St Woolos Cemetery, the oldest public cemetery in Britain and a very large and peaceful place. Used as a location for two Dr Who episodes, Blink (2007) and The Next Doctor (2008).

Contemplating Crossings

2011-10-11T19:47:00.001+01:00

Contemplating Crossings, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I sat cross-legged in the sand and contemplated my life. Well, there, and what difference did it make? "What's going to happen to me up ahead?"
— Jack Kerouac (The Dharma Bums)

deGull contemplates three of the nine bridges crossing the River Usk at Newport / Casnewydd, Wales / Cymru. The George Street Bridge, the first cable-stayed bridge in Britain, the City Bridge and the Newport City Footbridge in front of the new riverside campus of the University of Wales.

Watching The Fall Blow In

2011-10-10T21:29:00.001+01:00

Watching The Fall Blow In, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Time that withers you will wither me. We will fall like ripe fruit and roll down the grass together. Dear friend, let me lie beside you watching the clouds until the earth covers us and we are gone."
— Jeanette Winterson (Written on the Body)

After several days of unseasonably warm weather, 27C/80F. I sat here watching the cold front of Autumn/Fall roll in, bringing with it a cold wind and a plunge in the temperature to 10C/50F ... brrrrr :-)

Rays Above The Valleys

2011-10-09T18:13:00.001+01:00

Rays Above The Valleys, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I don't think it had ever occurred to me that man's supremacy is not primarily due to his brain, as most of the books would have one think. It is due to the brain's capacity to make use of the information conveyed to it by a narrow band of visible light rays. His civilization, all that he had achieved or might achieve, hung upon his ability to perceive that range of vibrations from red to violet. Without that, he was lost."
— John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids)

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Sunflower Serendipity

2011-10-05T20:51:00.001+01:00

Sunflower Serendipity, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun:
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done;
Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow
Arise from their graves and aspire
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.

Ah! Sunflower By William Blake

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Late Summer Blooms Series #2

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Fuchsia Discretion

2011-10-04T17:19:00.001+01:00

Fuchsia Discretion, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

A spear of zinc light wounds stone and water,
stripping the scarlet fuchsia bells and yellow buttercups

of any discretion, so they confess their end in this
luminous declaration that they are no more than

shortlived absolutes in living colour, bright eyes
open against the dark.

From Summer Evening by Eamon Grennan

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Late Summer Blooms Series #1

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Flowers and Clouds

2011-10-03T22:29:00.001+01:00

Flowers and Clouds, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."
— Martin Luther

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Embracing The Ocean

2011-10-02T18:49:00.001+01:00

Embracing The Ocean, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
— John Lennon

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Dusk of Delight

2011-10-01T18:07:00.001+01:00

Dusk of Delight, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"There is only one day left, always starting over: It is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk."
— Jean-Paul Sartre

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Breathing It In

2011-09-30T16:37:00.001+01:00

Breathing It In, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
— Maya Angelou

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Mystigull

2011-09-29T21:32:00.001+01:00

Mystigull, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly."
— Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

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Transitory Tracks

2011-09-26T22:39:00.001+01:00

Transitory Tracks, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Things aren't all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life"
— Rainer Maria Rilke

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Watching It Fall

2011-09-25T18:36:00.001+01:00

Watching It Fall, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
— Roald Dahl

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Listen to Joey Fehrenbach - Being Around You

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Hovering Above

2011-09-24T19:41:00.001+01:00

Hovering Above, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment."
— John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men)

If you look hard you can see the shell the Gull is dropping to break it open on the hard wet sand :-)

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Listen to Koan - Sweet Dream

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Surf Coast Dreamtime

2011-09-23T16:26:00.001+01:00

Surf Coast Dreamtime, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

I am a child of the Dreamtime People
Part of this Land, like the gnarled gumtree
I am the river, softly singing
Chanting our songs on my way to the sea
My spirit is the dust-devils
Mirages, that dance on the plain
I'm the snow, the wind and the falling rain
I'm part of the rocks and the red desert earth
Red as the blood that flows in my veins
I am eagle, crow and snake that glides
Thorough the rain-forest that clings to the mountainside
I awakened here when the earth was new
There was emu, wombat, kangaroo
No other man of a different hue
I am this land
And this land is me
I am Australia.

Spiritual Song of the Aborigine by Hyllus Maris, Aboriginal Poet (1934-86)

Read more: www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/#...

Surfcoast Dreamscapes Series #6
Look here for #1 and #2 and #3 and #4 and #5

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Listen to Joey Fehrenbach - Mellowdrama

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Dreamscape II

2011-09-22T17:22:00.001+01:00

Dreamscape II, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."
— Edgar Allan Poe

Surfcoast Dreamscapes Series #5
Look here for #1 and #2 and #3 and #4

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Listen to O Yuki Conjugate - Ascension

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As Falls Richmond

2011-09-21T09:14:00.001+01:00

As Falls Richmond, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

…So Falls Richmond Falls

"All of the waves and waters hastened, suffering, towards goals, many goals, to the waterfall, to the sea, to the current, to the ocean and all goals were reached and each one was succeeded by another. The water turned into vapour and rose, became rain and came down again, became spring, brook and river, changed anew, flowed anew."
— Hermann Hesse

A change of pace and a change of style as I look back and conjure up some memories of my childhood in Richmond, North Yorkshire. These are Richmond Falls and I spent many a happy moment diving and swimming here.

Memories of Home Series #1

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Liquid Serenity

2011-09-19T15:31:00.001+01:00

Liquid Serenity, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Serenity is when you get above all this, when it doesn't matter what they think, say or want, but when you do as you are, and see God and Devil as one."
— Henry Miller

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A Tree of Clouds

2011-09-18T18:07:00.001+01:00

A Tree of Clouds, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Shall I tell you the secret of the whole world? It is that we have only known the back of the world. We see everything from behind, and it looks brutal. That is not a tree, but the back of a tree. That is not a cloud, but the back of a cloud. Cannot you see that everything is stooping and hiding a face? If we could only get round in front--"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday)

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Bridge To Yesterday

2011-09-14T21:28:00.001+01:00

Bridge To Yesterday, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning."
— Albert Einstein

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Drifting Away

2011-09-12T22:03:00.001+01:00

Drifting Away, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream- Lingering in the golden gleam- Life, what is it but a dream?"
— Lewis Carroll (Through The Looking Glass)

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Watching The Sun Set On The West

2011-09-11T17:25:00.001+01:00

Watching The Sun Set On The West, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
— Benjamin Franklin

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Drift and Glow

2011-09-10T17:19:00.001+01:00

Drift and Glow, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"It was at the outskirts of the world that the Old Things accumulated, like driftwood round the edges of the sea."
— T.H. White (Ghostly, Grim and Gruesome)

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Raise Me Up

2011-09-09T21:16:00.001+01:00

Raise Me Up, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!"
— Dr. Seuss

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Say Goodbye Blue Sky

2011-09-08T17:12:00.001+01:00

Say Goodbye Blue Sky, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
— Thich Nhat Hanh

One Blue Day Series #3

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To Catch The Rays

2011-09-07T20:02:00.001+01:00

To Catch The Rays, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy. "
— Ray Charles

One Blue Day Series #2

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I Raise My Eyes

2011-09-06T16:35:00.001+01:00

I Raise My Eyes, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.
- Pablo Neruda

One Blue Day Series #1

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Solitary Psybient Silence

2011-09-05T22:43:00.001+01:00

Solitary Psybient Silence, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

...all alone in the psybient silence, with a stick and a prayer!

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."
— Ansel Adams

Cloudage Daydreams Series #3

Listening to a lot of Kaya Project lately :-)

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A Parade of Clouds

2011-09-04T22:23:00.001+01:00

A Parade of Clouds, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"
— Hunter S. Thompson

Cloudage Daydreams Series #2

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Obscured By Clouds

2011-09-03T18:43:00.001+01:00

Obscured By Clouds, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Bridges burning gladly
Merging with the shadows,
Flickering between the lines.
Stolen moments floating softly on the air,
Borne on wings of fire and climbing higher.

Ancient bonds are breaking,
Moving on and changing sides.
Dreaming of a new day,
Cast aside the other way.
Magic visions stirring,
Kindled by and burning flames rise in her eyes.

From Burning Bridges by Pink Floyd from the album Obscured By Clouds

Obscured by Clouds on YouTube

Kapiti Views Series #6

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Island Blues

2011-09-02T16:18:00.001+01:00

Island Blues, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"I've been feeling a little blue - just a pale, elusive azure."
— L.M. Montgomery (Anne of the Island)

Small puffy white clouds hang over Kapiti Island as it basks like a Crocodile between the deep blue sea and the sky blue sky.

Kapiti Island, Wellington, New Zealand, South Pacific

Kapiti Views Series #5

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Island Song

2011-08-31T17:23:00.001+01:00

Island Song, 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)

Kapiti Views Series #3

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Another World

2011-08-30T20:34:00.001+01:00

Another World, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."
— C.S. Lewis

Kapiti Views Series #2

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Our Golden Star

2011-08-29T16:34:00.001+01:00

Our Golden Star, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"On soft Spring nights I'll stand in the yard under the stars - Something good will come out of all things yet - And it will be golden and eternal just like that - There's no need to say another word."
— Jack Kerouac (Big Sur)

Kapiti Views Series #1

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On Mirror Beach

2011-08-28T12:45:00.001+01:00

On Mirror Beach, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

My soul was a light-blue gown, sky-coloured;
I left it on a cliff by the sea
— Edith Södergran (Poems)

Classic Raven Series #2

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Reflections On Tranquility

2011-08-23T15:56:00.001+01:00

Reflections On Tranquility, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it."
— Charlotte Brontë

Photographic Memory: New Zealand Series #1

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International Avenue

2011-08-21T16:52:00.001+01:00

International Avenue, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war and until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes. And until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, there is war. And until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, rule of international morality, will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained... now everywhere is war.”
— Haile Selassie I (Popularized by Bob Marley in the song 'War')

Photographic Memory: Pennsylvania Series #3

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Love Is All You Need

2011-08-19T17:19:00.001+01:00

Love Is All You Need, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

The Love sculpture by Robert Indiana in Love Park, Philadelphia

Photographic Memory: Pennsylvania Series #1

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Waitohu Stream Reflections

2011-08-17T08:44:00.001+01:00

Waitohu Stream Reflections, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are the eternity and you are the mirror."
— Khalil Gibran (The Prophet)

Photographic Memory: Otaki Beach Series #2

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Galatea

2011-08-15T17:18:00.001+01:00

Galatea, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
— Albert Einstein (Albert Einstein (Living Philosophies))

Photographic Memory: Bay of Plenty Series #3

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Looking Back

2011-08-11T18:40:00.001+01:00

Looking Back, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
— Robert Frost

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Foreboding

2011-08-10T17:20:00.001+01:00

Foreboding, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The artist, and particularly the poet, is always an anarchist in the best sense of the word. He must heed only the call that arises within him from three strong voices: the voice of death, with all its foreboding, the voice of love and the voice of art."
— Federico García Lorca

With the financial stormclouds gathering again I fear our much vaunted western civilisation is on the verge of a major shipwreck against the immovable cliffs of our unsustainable lifestyles and expensive foreign wars.

These are the cliffs between Anglesea and Bells Beach on Australia's Surf Coast... otherwise know as the Shipwreck Coast and home to many a shipwreck over the years.

Surfcoast Dreamscapes Series #3

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Serenity

2011-08-10T08:20:00.001+01:00

Serenity, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Surfcoast Dreamscapes Series #1

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Silence

2011-08-07T16:39:00.001+01:00

Silence, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
— Aldous Huxley (Music at Night and Other Essays)

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Procession

2011-08-06T10:51:00.001+01:00

Procession, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."
— Albert Einstein

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Purple Dawn

2011-08-02T20:35:00.001+01:00

Purple Dawn, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Deus et natura non faciunt frusta - God and nature do not work together in vain
~
A Year of New Beginnings Series #2

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Definition

2011-08-01T09:33:00.001+01:00

Definition, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself."
— Robert Frost

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Distinction

2011-07-31T10:54:00.001+01:00

Distinction, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"In dreams you don't need to make any distinctions between things. Not at all. Boundaries don't exist. So in dreams there are hardly ever collisions. Even if there are, they don't hurt. Reality is different. Reality bites. Reality, reality."
— Haruki Murakami (Sputnik Sweetheart)

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When Phones Were Phones!

2011-07-30T17:27:00.004+01:00

Do you ever pine for the days when mobile phones were just that, phones you could carry with you? Simple small, light single purpose devices that did a couple of things really well... make and receive phone calls and send and receive txt messages.

Not these expensive multi-purpose phone cum computer cum email cum TV cum DVD player cum Camcorder cum Camera cum Hi-Fi System cum everything devices. Not these mega expensive, mobile connected, everything, everywhere portable computing devices that also happen to do phone calls… and also happen to track your every move!!!

Pine for a world were word processing, voice recording, video recording and playing, music making and shopping and constant email contact didn't follow you everywhere you go? A world where you could walk down the street without bumping into people stumbling aimlessly around head buried in their 'Mobile Device'? A world where you didn't have to put up with white ear bud wearing, inanely smiling people living in a world of their own laughing at some in joke email or personal video message, or something, whatever!

Well I got fed-up of the multi-touch, multi-media world lately and decided to go back to the good old days of only 10 or so years ago. To my favorite mobile phones that I have owned over the last 30 years (and I have owned a lot and always had the latest)... the Ericsson T28 and the Ericsson R320.

Lovely phones, small, light, long battery life and great for voice calls and txting. Both have voice activated calling and great reception and the T28 is a brilliant and totally classic piece of design that has never been replicated. A button activated flip out mic and auto voice calling and just so small and light when compared to the expensive and relatively fragile iBricks most people carry around these days. A mere 83gms and 97 x 50 x 15 mm with 4 0r 5 hours of talk time and a massive 65 hours of standby time. These things don't need charging everyday like those multi-media iBricks tend to.

Picked them both up really cheap on eBay and their in great condition. Perfect to throw in the pocket and forget about until you need to call or txt someone and then to know that you will always have good reception and don't have to worry about holding them in a particular way or standing close to the window or something equally daft that we have come to take for granted with those expensive multi-media mobile devices.

Maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man but I really don't know what the latest tech is adding to the world... maybe its just a tech addiction that feeds corporate coffers and has us throwing perfectly good devices away just so we can have the newest, greatest and latest Android or iPhone. I remember some technology wag saying many years ago that the only thing sure about the future was that the phone companies would make a lot of money... you only have to look at the high street proliferation of mobile phone shops and who are the global giants to see how right they were.

So I thought it was time to go back to the future and get rid of my iDevices and invest in some proper mobile tech. So I thought about which were my favorite phones of all time given I had been an early adopter and always had both personal and work provided mobiles upadted very regularly. The Nokia 8110 was good and the Motorola Razr to, but the Ericsson phones of the late 90's early 2000's were the best ever.

I think mobile phones reached an apogee at the Millennium and it has been all down hill since then.

The Ericsson R320 is actually my favorite ever phone, I had one one they came out in 2000 and kept it for years. It even has an infrared port (remember those :-) and can be configured for email and simple WAP browsing etc... but who needs those things. I just want a good reliable sturdy phone that is going to do the job it's designed for and both these classic retro Ericsson phones do the job, brilliantly!

The T28 has got to be the retro classic and in my opinion has yet to be bettered as a small, light basic mobile phone. Very Star Trek, actually! Born in 1999 it will live long and prosper :-)

I now use both and always carry the T28 when I go anywhere. Long live the real mobile phones from the time when phones were phones were phones...

Enjoy!, Tom

ps: I recently picked up a job lot of T28's, some T28 World, T28s and T28sc models and plan to refurbish them, so if any of you fancy a great little classic 'retro' phone that does what a good mobile phone should then just drop me an email at tom@ravenred.net or call me on my R320 at 07519 839 604
... going cheap to good homes :-)

Floodlights at Dawn

2011-07-30T09:33:00.001+01:00

Floodlights at Dawn, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
John Lennon (1940 - 1980), "Beautiful Boy"

So far this has been a year of new beginnings for me, starting with this stunning sunrise over Tilbury Docks. Feels like there is more to come :-)

A Year of New Beginnings Series #1

* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - Single Shot

deGull in the Orange Sky

2011-07-24T17:45:00.001+01:00

deGull in the Orange Sky, a photo by TomRaven on Flickr.

"The gull sees farthest who flies highest"
— Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

deGull, he follows me everywhere :-)