The dusty lens

Extraterrestrial life

2010-07-05T22:20:00.004+02:00

D300 - 100 mm, 1/500 sec f/13, ISO 400

"... bah! The Universe is nothing but barren rocks, dust and some rather inhospitable nebulae. Here on Earth, on the other hand, we have jellyfish, armadillos, cherry trees and other peculiar creatures who, rather than trying to live and survive, like to spend their time in meetings and schools."

This - and much more - you can hear in the hallways of my physics department. Who says physicists aren't funny... (btw, anybody's watching The Big Bang Theory??)

Figurines

2010-06-27T20:41:00.003+02:00

D300 - 50mm, 1/100 sec f/4.0, ISO 500

We eat with greedy eyes, talking business of some sort, tossing jokes to avoid thinking... and I feel so detached. The scene is frozen, suspended, I'm not listening anymore. I see golems shaped by a wicked ego. Alive, apparently, but no one cares. Sugar coated ideas are slipped in between bites... we so look like a bunch of good friends. The glasses are empty but no one cares.

Interlude XII

2010-06-19T09:21:00.005+02:00

J.S. Bach - Sonate for violin, G min, fugue.

Trees, complex and unadorned

in my mind dance with heavenly grace.

The walking

2010-06-14T19:37:00.006+02:00

D300 - 24 mm, 1/2 sec f/22, ISO 100

Sparkling jewels I have found

among many other things:

a secret

small and not for sale,

time to think,

a ponytail.

Yet treasures lay,

(my dearest ones)

in blurred paths, so dull and gray

like canvas ready to be stroked

by time itself

and hearts, at play.

To be or not to be [blogging]

2009-12-17T22:49:00.006+01:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/15 sec f/4.0, ISO 2000

Dear readers, friends, thank you.
I should really put an end to this silence and start posting again. The renowned light at the end of the tunnel is not a requirement for moving on.

For the curious, this photo was taken in Rome underneath the basilica of S. Clemente.

When in NYC

2009-08-31T21:19:00.004+02:00

D300 - 46 mm, 1/200 sec f/5, ISO 200

There is no better way to feel one's own ignorance

than confrontation.

Untitled

2009-08-27T22:54:00.003+02:00

D300 - 105 mm, 1/250 sec f/22, ISO 200

Impulses turned into images.

Out of office

2009-08-04T21:30:00.004+02:00

D300 - 105mm, 1/250 sec f/8, ISO 200

Worries

hooked up to an innocent wall.

This is what a vacation is all about.

Summer mood

2009-07-20T21:54:00.004+02:00

Today it was a tough day, and I spare you the details. When I got back home I felt the urge to play music again. While tuning my cello after many years of inactivity I broke 1 string. Stubborn as never before, I went on tuning the instrument, carelessly planning on playing with three strings and I broke another one.
All things conjuring up against me? No, it is only an unmistakable sign I need a break. Hopefully a relaxing one.

P.S. I know.. this is no poetry nor anything insightful but don't I deserve a little rant every now and then?

A lesson for the ego

2009-07-14T21:05:00.004+02:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/160 f/16, ISO 200

In the shadows of a sunny day

I spotted a pattern.

Simple and shallow it seemed

but who am I to judge?

Exhibition

2009-07-11T17:39:00.002+02:00

As some of you suggested either in person or on some FB/email/chat/.. whatever, I recently participated to a local photography contest and apparently a couple of my shots have been selected for a "real" exhibition. Those of you keen on flying to a gorgeous spot on the Italian Riviera may meet me here on Sunday, July 25th.

Salty flowers

2009-07-08T21:14:00.004+02:00

I bet you never thought capers were so beautiful.

How

2009-07-08T20:56:00.004+02:00

Dear Readers,

there would be many things I could blame for not writing anymore. Situations, feelings, people... you name them. But there is no excuse for choices, and projection - that is blaming the "outer" world - is one of those habits we so gladly indulge in.
So here I am, back on the trail. Anybody for a walk?

The absence

2009-06-06T08:41:00.002+02:00

D300 - 100 mm, 1/400 sec f/11, ISO 200

Of the many days we shared
I am left with unfocused images,
indistinct tastes
and a hardened heart.

Yet this chant from the past has no consistency
all it takes is a single instant
to wake up
and smile.

Far and near: Ten

2009-05-16T22:52:00.004+02:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/200 sec f/20, ISO 200

Grounded to the ancient sands...
treading in the footsteps of others.

Strawberry girl

Time is not easily tracked...
by the shifting of the sand.

Strawberry girl

Sands of time, barely marked
by our passing.

piacere

We'd better think of the past like footsteps on sand:
as vivid as they may seem, they are completely inconsistent.

A. Chincarini

Memento

2009-05-11T22:15:00.000+02:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/160 sec f/13, ISO 200

Smile to yourself in a rainy day.

The sun is just above the clouds.

Far and near

2009-05-06T22:07:00.002+02:00

So..... there we go again. My apologies to all my faithful readers for I have been rather absent from the blogosphere lately. Hopefully this new "challenge" will stir your imagination (and mine) well enough. Enjoy it here, for the deadline is on Saturday, May 16th.

Dreamtime

2009-05-02T11:12:00.007+02:00

D300 - 145 mm, 1/400 sec f/7.1, ISO 200

I am very slowly agreeing with the definition the aboriginal people of Australia give to our reality: "the dreamtime".

Half

2009-04-28T19:50:00.003+02:00

D300 - 105 mm, 1/80 sec f/2.8, ISO 200

Here I am,

perpetuating the separation of good and bad,

believing my ego is too big to be beaten

and not realizing that "I" isn't really me.

Corners

2009-04-23T22:44:00.000+02:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/100 sec f/22, ISO 640

Cornered, in a seemingly real existence

if only we could remember

our timeless and shared

happiness.

Reciprocity

2009-04-22T18:17:00.000+02:00

D300 - 12 mm, 1/125 sec f/4.0, ISO 400

Men measure Time,

Time measures men.

Hangover from a "Bilder einer Ausstellung"

2009-04-19T15:35:00.004+02:00

D300 - 300 mm, 1/250 sec f/4.0, ISO 1250

The boundary between photography, painting and dream has seldom been as blurred as in the recent exhibition (Seravezza, Italy, April 4th - June 7th, 2009) by Anke Merzbach. I must say it was my first approach to her work and I found it rather disturbing. Her very personal approach to photography and her superb technique in processing images cannot go unnoticed. This picture here is a very personal remake of her style, based on my memories of the event.

Interlude XI

2009-04-19T10:35:00.006+02:00

Thomas Campion - If thou long'st so much to learne

"... Salamander-like with fire"

For my Italian friends

2009-04-19T10:27:00.003+02:00

For the sake of coherence, I moved all italian blog links to my new blog, so that cross referencing can be done within the same language framework. Please update your own links to the new site if you see fit.

The dusty lens

2009-04-15T22:01:00.000+02:00

D300 - 24 mm, 1/80 sec f/2.8, ISO 640

It makes me believe I'm seeing

what I'm only imagining.