Old Man And The Sea

15 hours from the South Eastern Borneo coast. Over a kilometer of water under the keel and cloud formations more visually powerful than seen in a long time. Open space and a whole community of man made structures in full power
taking on mother nature. Fishermen gather at night for a sure catch under fluorescent light from steel rigs and platforms.

A Vagabond For Beauty

"I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly. Why muck and conceal one's true longings and loves, when by speaking of them one might find someone to understand them, and by acting on them one might discover oneself?"

From the last letter Everett Ruess sent to his brother, 

dated November 11, 1934. 

'When I go, I leave no trace… and when the time comes to die, I'll find 
the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is… I will be glad when I am alone again; it is too much work for me to get along with other people... I think I have seen too much and known too much - so much that it has put me in a dream from which I cannot awaken and be like other people, ambition is distasteful to me, more and more I feel I do not belong in the world, I am losing contact with life, labor would not cure me of my troubles, it would only exaggerate them'.

Everett Ruess 

'Everett Ruess - Vagabond for Beauty' by W.L.Rusho.

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Photosynthesis

The Old Cadillac

-"gonna Shotgun you in the back if you linger in here son…"

Plaster Personality

Never been a "people" photographer.  Even though have been shooting portraits and location shots of people for many publications and what not. When on free range travel assignments I choose to shoot some individuals if it can bring strength to the image, if the mood is right and I feel that I need the images strongly enough, or if the person/people shows that they "belong" in the image. I have during the years developed techniques to shoot candid just an arms-lenghts away or to set up a conversation to make the victim relax and ignore the camera (not keen on posing stuff). Most of the times in my world the stronger images are without people in them though.  Most people I meet when I am out and about rarely have nothing to bring to the table, while a man-made object many more times has a feel and stronger personality, so the "people" is still in the equation in a way. The man/woman who sculptured and painted the above plaster sculpture has possibly less personality than the goddess he/she created, I believe he put his personal touch on the task and brought out his creativeness in the procedure, and he did a great job. Ofcourse, as a (ex-pro) photographer you are on very thin ice mentioning that People, Nudes and Fashion doesn't do it for you as much as location shots, architecture, object and landscape/cityscape photography. I love naked women but I have no interest in nude photography. Some of my friends are humans (?!), doesn't make me want to photograph them very often. On the contrary, I really like shooting live music, this is for me one thing close to my heart and where I can say people are interesting to shoot, the heavier and lively gigs the better. One of my absolute favorite photographer is Steve McCurry, he does portrait photography as no one else I have come about. His portraits are very un-human to me and that is what makes them so attractive. The way he finds the focus and blends it with the spot-on color balance and shades makes him in my view a master artistic craftsman.  Maybe if I liked people more….. Funny thing is, the portrait I have taken during my years have turned out really good and still does have a rather high "personality feel" to them and I like these. Still, a portrait is a portrait is a portrait, even if it's a painted piece of plaster.

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Paul Bäumer's Paradise

-"We have to take our situation as lightly as we can. That's why we seize every opportunity, and why terror finishes up cheek by jowl, 

with tomfoolery, in stark juxtaposition and without any midway stage. We can't help it, we just throw ourselves into it. Here to we work like mad to create a paradise, a paradise, needless to say, of guzzling and sleeping".

All Quiet on the western front - Erich Maria Remarque, 1929.  

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No Quarter (LZ)

Down Toned Stay

On the road (always), left Thailand's "water throwing" festival week just because it pisses me off to not be able to go out without wrapping everything in plastic bags. Also, it brings out the very worst in the Thais, sadistic little people behind those smiles. Anyways, I had a great time in one of my favorite towns, Penang Island's heritage Georgetown. Found a couple of "new" eateries and enough books to last.

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The Doppelgänger |ˈdäpəlˌga ng ər|

Grease My palm

That Old Forgotten

P.S. Next time I'll bring a flashlight, more rooms under this forgotten temple.

Fading Protection

About walls. Built to keep others out or "the others" in?

Shot this morning on the way home after a stop at the train station. Leaving town tomorrow with the night express. Few remaining section of the wall surrounding the city still stands. Slanting piles of clay bricks purposeless stopping no one and his thoughts. I see labour and toil. Time erase everything.

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