One of the beautiful squares in Berlin: the Gendarmenmarkt. On one side you find the Deutscher Dom a.k.a. Neue Kirche (German Cathedral), and opposite the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). The top photo reflects the latter in the doors of the Deutscher Dom.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the memorial landmarks of Berlin is the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche. In its simplicity it is a powerful landmark and memorial.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A more detailed view of the photo I published yesterday of Leiden. Leiden used to be famous for fabrics, and canals provided the infrastructure for the logistics. Some of the canals were filled up in the second half of the 20th century. However, there are debates about opening a few of them again. These discussions focus on sustainability and environmental quality.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #361 is ‘Doors revisited’. That theme was also the brief for LAPC #20. A door is a pass way to another space behind it. That space can be something we know already. Or something we like to imagine to see there when we go through. And in books you can end up in another world. In this post a few doors I met in my life. One I used for a long time, most I just passed by or passed through on holidays.
The word ‘doors’ for me is also linked to the band The Doors. The name of the band came from a book by Aldous Huxley, The doors of perception. And Huxley took it from William Blake, who used it as a metaphor:
“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern . Doors lead you to another side or space, break on through to the other side.”
‘Break on through to the other side’ became the title of a Doors’ song.
So a lot can be said about doors. Luckily, we still have the photos. Here are a few from my conscious memory.
This is the front door to the house I was born and lived in for 25 years. The photo is shot on Ilford XP with a Pentax K1000.
This door in Caylus is ready to be knocked. Shot on Nikon D70.
I looked through my archive. It struck me that lots of the doors I saw there are doors of small or bigger churches. This one is on Karpathos. Shot on Nikon D70.
Another church door on Karpathos, shot on Kodak TriX with Nikon F90.
A chapel door in Lesbos, also shot on Nikon D70.
The city hall of of Delft with the steeple of the New Church in the background.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
This part of Katwijk is not much photographed, I guess. The roofs and the tower of the church made a nice composition.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The cemetery of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Choir Gate of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A window of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Today we remember that 80 years ago thousands were willing to pay the highest price to give us our freedom. John Steele landed on the pinnacle of this church in the early morning of June 6 1944 in Sainte-Mère-Église.
To the brave and courageous
Who were willing to pay the ultimate price
And gave me my freedom
As a precious treasure
Never to be taken as a right
But like they did then to be defended
Again and again
Lest not forget
shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Some photos do not fit the LAPC’s themes, so there is a rest category ‘last chance’ being #280. I never am guided by the themes in the photos I shoot. Some fit in, some don’t. But I never know the theme while shooting. Here is one from the archive I recently stumbled upon, never published.
Slane Hill in Ireland. Close to Slane Castle castle that is famous among other historical facts, for being the recording site for U2’s The unforgettable fire’ in 1984. And famous open air concerts.
Outside the village is The Hill of Slane with a small old ruined chapel, a ruined monastery and a graveyard, overlooking the landscape and the river Boyne.
The most interesting place is a small hill with undergrowth right behind the site, from which this photo was taken.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
This week LAPC #254 is ‘spiritual places’; I use an old photo that I also published in October 2021 of a little chapel in Naxos that could do with some tender loving care for lens artistists challenge #168: seen better days. I edited it with a lighter atmosphere and took out the most obvious dust and scratches this time, so if you want to compare, here is that post.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but still, like most of the archive, do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The Netherlands, Katwijk – March 2023
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The weekly theme for LAPC #239 is ‘finding peace’.
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
St. James’ church in Shere.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
St. James’ church in Shere.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Detail of the Abbaye de Beaulieu.
Lens Artists Photo Challenge #204 for this week is ‘doors and doorways’. The partly open gate of the church in Montmorrilon, France.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Bayeux is an old village in Normandy France. Home of the Bayeux Tapestry. Here the entrance to the cathedral.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Le Mont Saint Michel is an old village on a rock in a bay on the west of France in Brittany. It is positioned in between Normandy and Brittany, and is famous for its abbey.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.
View on St. Peter Square in Rome.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Originally shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The 141th Weekly Lens Artists Challenge is ‘geometry ’.
The altar and backdrop of the Chester cathedral in England.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed. Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version.
Christmas is about light, shining in the dark, a promise of possibilities, of new events. Small sparks that may turn into the brightness of a beautiful sun, offering warmth, comfort, trust, security, well being and new life.
I wish you lots of light in the coming year, to see and observe the difference between the light and the darkness, to embrace and accept them both as parts of our life.
This year’s last Lens-Artists Challenge (#128) is ‘And here comes the holiday season………..’
Shot with Nikon D500, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #123 is ‘Found in the Neighborhood’.
Well, this is a photo of a neighborhood from a long time ago during a holiday in France.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta, Click the picture for a bigger version
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #116 is ‘symmetry’.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #114 is ‘Negative Space’.
The term ‘negative space’ to me is confusion: technically it is the space around the main subject of a photo. It means ‘negative’ as opposed to ‘positive’ attention for the main subject. The word ‘negative’ as a noun brings back good old memories. Being older I actually worked and work with negatives (for the millennials: it has to do with film, the light sensitive stuff we used to put in a camera to get a photo on (in negative) that later could be printed (in positive).
So ‘negative space’ is about the focus a viewer of a photo is offered in a photo. If there is a lot to see around the subject, than that distracts from that subject. In other words: it is a creative tool a photographer can use.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #113 is ‘A labor of love’.
Regardless one’s opinion about religion: faith is a labor of love.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #110 is ‘Creativity in a time of Covid’.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Malta, Valletta – November 2010
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #85 is ‘treasure hunt’
This note was pinned on one of the doors of the co-cathedral in Valletta Malta.
Especially the addition of narrow heels makes it even more interesting to read.\
If you want to join or participate in the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges just follow the link above.
Shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
England, Chester – September 1980
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #79 is ‘a window with a view’
Chester Cathedral, a window in the Cloisters.
If you want to join or participate in the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges just follow the link above.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was are originally shot with a Pentax K1000 on Ilford FP4, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Ireland, Slane – October 2008
This one is for Dutch goes the photo’s ‘portal’ theme.
Slane Hill in Ireland. Close to Slane Castle castle that is famous among other historical facts, for being the recording site for U2’s The unforgettable fire’ in 1984.
Never judge an album by its cover, but part of the castle burned in 1991, but was restored in 2001. Slane Castle is also famous for its concerts and festivals; a lot of famous band and artists performed there.
Outside the village is The Hill of Slane with a small old ruined chapel, a ruined monastery and a graveyard, overlooking the landscape and the river Boyne.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Italy, Rome – May 1997
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #65 is ‘pick a place’.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
Greece, Karpathos – September 2009
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #65 is ‘pick a place’.
Karpathos, a small island between Turkey and Crete. At a time I still used film.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
The Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden.
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
Spain, Mijas el Pueblo – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
Spain, Mijas el Pueblo – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
An old photo taken in February 1991 through the gate of De Burcht in Leiden, The Netherlands looking at the Hooglandse Kerk.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
The Netherlands, Leiden – February 1991
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This weekly theme is ‘layered’.
Huemore
England, Burnham Market – August 2017
Shot with iPhone 6s plus using Huemore edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This weekly theme is ‘texture’,
England, Shere – May 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The weekly theme is ‘heritage’.
Shere is a beautiful little village. Its church has been the backdrop of a few films.
And of course there is a war memorial.
England, Shere – May 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The weekly theme is ‘security’.
Leiden the Hooglandse Kerk.
The Netherlands, Leiden – May 2005
Originally shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
Tideswell is a little, charming village in the Peak District.
England, Tideswell – May 2013
Shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The Netherlands, Den Haag – July 2016
Shot with iPhone 6s plus using Huemore edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
What's (in) the Picture? 