Sahara

I went to the Sahara again last evening. The sand was still warm to the touch, as the sun had been merciless to them all day. The wind was picking up though, sweeping across the Sahara dunes soothingly, dissipating the heat. The mid day sun was so ferocious but the fluffy clouds in the evening softened its rays. The desert was silent but the wind was howling. The dunes seemed calm but the sand was swirling restlessly. The vast Sahara was mighty and harsh but the sand I was sinking my feet in was super fine and super soft. The land is arid but certainly not lifeless. The elements of nature at work here are extremely powerful, and may appear to be contradicting, but they are very much in complementary and often amazingly breath-taking. The sun baking the sand golden brown. The wind shaping the dunes and drawing beautiful sand wave lines.

How does one not fall in love with such delicate beauty of the nature? How does one not in awe confronted with such magnificent demonstration of the power and grace of nature? How does one not feel small in the face of such endless greatness of nature?

I'm HAPPY.

Here I am in Nouakchott for almost 3 weeks already. 20 days 1 hour and 45 minutes to be exact, but who's counting anyway?

Tonight, I had my first beer!!!

I then walloped another 2!!

I'm HAPPY.

I know I'm easily amused. The simplest thing in life makes me the happiest.

Overheard #5

"Men age gracefully. Women age."

Women age... Yeah, if you are lucky.

I know, I'm a pig.

Wild Africa

Excited beyond words!

That's how I felt when my boss told me to pack up for a short gig for work in Nouakchott, Mauritania, northwestern Africa. It was quite a short notice thing, which left me excited beyond words  and panting heavily from rushing around arranging for visa, flight and vaccination jabs. Well, definitely a heck lot more excited than panting.

And of course I shared the wonderful news with my friends.

"Oh cool! Say hi to the elephants to me." A friend joked knowing my Africa trip.

"Beware of the wild beasts." My ex-classmate, C warned me.

"See any lion yet?" My buddy, Y asked me online when I logged on.

I've been here for almost 3 weeks. So far, the wild animals I've seen here are donkeys pulling carts on the street and a bunch of goats. Plus the few peacocks in the office yard. Actually there isn't a big chance for the wild beast encounters as almost 75% of the Mauritanian land is desert. I went to the desert at the edge of Nouakchott over the weekend, well, no camel sighting too. 

What Say You?

I saw these along the way on my train ride from the airport to Paris. I mean ALL along the way. Some say it's ugly. Some say it's cool. Some say it's rage. Some say it's expression. Some say it's trashy. Some say it's creativity. Some say it's illegal. Some say it's alright. Some say it's vandalism. Some say it's art.

What say you? 

And even this.

Je T'aime, Paris

Day-tripping in Paris while on transit to Africa. Hope to stay for a couple of days in the City of Lights on my returning leg. More pix to come.

Bottleneck

It hit me as the plane was landing at Charles De Gaulle. It's summer and the field flanking the runway was dotted with beautiful small white wild flowers. They reminded me of those pictures I took, and really like, in the Chilean Patagonia, Ottawa and even Miri. Then I found myself wandering when was the last time I shot and produced something I really happy with. Man that was so long ago! 

I think I've lost it. I no longer can take beautiful photographs. By beautiful I mean something I personally would like and be proud of. 

Perhaps I should take a few steps back, examining the reason for every click of the camera, evaluating my passion for the art of photography. Where am I heading with with this passion? What am I trying to share through the images? What are the stories the subjects in the pictures are telling me, telling us? How can I assist them best through my lens?

I took these at the park at the Eiffel Tower. Little white flowers, simple and graceful and pure, the essence of photography. Well, to me at least. 

 

Tonight...

I'm going to AFRICA!!!

Well, it's for work. But hey I'm going to AFRICA!!!