As the train left the station

Tags

1984, Inspiration, photos, Reading

The warm light looks welcoming

I was reading 1984 while in London before christmas. I haven’t finished the book yet, I really like it but the last weeks the few moments I’ve had to relax, I have not felt in the mood for sharing those moments with a book, no matter how much I like it. The book still has the bookmark in it, I still remember where I had to let go, and as soon as Husband’s back home and I’m spending the morning on the bus I’ll get back to the story.

But nobody enters and they close, revealing their taunting colours

Anyway, this post was not supposed to be an apology or explanation for not finishing a good book. What I wanted to show you were these photos I took while waiting for the train. Photos that I felt an urge to take there and then, but I couldn’t immediately say why I felt this urge. When I a little later sat down on the train and fished my book out of my bag I realised why. Big brother’s watching you…

The world through the eyes of a toddler

Tags

Camera, photos, Son, Toddler

Occasionally I am spellbound by what Son manages to comprehend, observe, ponder and reflect upon. Those wee people of no more than a few years in this world really have a lot to teach us. And they should never, under any circumstances be pushed aside, underestimated or ignored. Because of their inability to express their opinions verbally we often forget, or often aren’t aware of, their ability to listen, understand and consequently reflect upon and further develop the thoughts and meanings they hear from the people around them.

I am blessed with a son who speaks a lot, he has an ear for language. He is rarely quiet for more than a few minutes, and he even talks in his sleep. He has been able to express himself quite intricately for a long time already, which has really helped me understand how he sees the world, what scares him, what he appreciates, and not least, how well reflected a two year old really is.

Lately we have sometimes let Son run about with one of our cameras. He runs about and takes photos from his height the way he sees the world. Afterwards we sit down with him and let him guide us through the photos, he tells us what he has been able to capture. There’s always a lot to learn from such a session, and also from observing him as he runs about with camera in hand.

A lot of time was sacrificed trying to get a photo of our cat. Quite a few shots included a tail, a paw, or simply just grass, where Son had tried to take her photo but not succeeded. This furry little creature means a lot to Son but unfortunately the affection is not always returned.

The stairs that he’s not allowed to climb. Seen from a different angle than I usually see it from.

Documenting the hard work of his father, which Son helps out with the best he can.

And to round of: a self-portrait. Notice the smile 🙂

Wawel Castle and Polish weather

Tags

Castle, Cracow, photos, rain, Wawel Castle, Weather

I’m not at all generalising when I say that the sun doesn’t shine often in Cracow. I have been to Cracow once, I stayed for four days, and I, of course, thoroughly studied the weather while in the city. Just like in Switzerland, where I have been twice, and stayed for several hours each time, the sun never makes an appearance. At least not a proper appearance. The pictures taken from the balcony of our hotel room, showing Wawel Castle, show the variation we saw in the weather, and also the lack of sun. This is how it was when we first arrived.

Shortly after our arrival dark clouds rolled over the city, darkening the sky. The castle immediately took on a more somber expression:

There was lightning and thunder coming closer, rolling over the city before again disappearing into the horizon. Then the water sluiced from the following deep grey sky.

It didn’t rain much during our few days in the city, but the sun was timid and hid behind a clouded sky. The first of the photos here well represents the weather we saw.

On our last evening, after hearing about the horrible events in Norway, I took this picture of the castle. I was sitting in the window sill (nothing like this one) trying to sort out my thoughts, which of course was an impossible task at the time. However, after the sun set and it grew dark, the castle was lit up from all possible angles, and I was at least distracted from my thoughts long enough to get my camera out and take this splendid view home with me.