Sunday, December 16, 2012

A Holiday Sampler . . .

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For James Reflections Weekend, these first two are from Cologne, Germany, across from the cathedral there. Famous faces. Call me a "reflections papparazzi".
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This next was high up in the tower of the cathedral. People just have to leave a trace of their presence, affirmation of existence. I guess a blog in cyberspace is the same sort of thing ?
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Finally, saw this fading photo on ceramic in a cemetery near Chantilly, France, this afternoon. Born in 1919, she died in 1940, her short life spanning the space between two World Wars. RIP Marie Lousie.
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As mentioned earlier, I admit to spending a bit of time these days on Facebook cultivating my new photography page there under Owen Phillips Photography France, and also looking around at the surprising number of excellent pages produced by people who have similar interests in cemeteries and abandoned buildings, or other artwork in various places.
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Some particularly good sites I've come across in my wandering on Facebook so far are (click the links here to go there, and these are not in any particular order) :
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Historic Cemeteries
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Staglieno Cemetery and More
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Maurizio Ghiggeri Photography
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Jeanne Trend-Hill Headstone Hunter
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Headstones and History
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Charnel Rose Photography
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Abandoned Love Photography
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Ms Misunderstoods Moments
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Dirty Angel Photography
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Abandoned Americana
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Martin Vegas
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And no doubt all that is just the tip of the iceberg. But am still checking in here too from time to time...
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21 comments:

Lynne with an e said...

These pictures strike me as fine examples of how to make Photoshop effects without actually using Photoshop. Coming from me, you know that's high praise, indeed. Oh, you must also know that I don't mean "high" as being enhanced by any chemical aids. Other than, perhaps, a slice or two of pigeon pie.
Jeez, you get us all addicted to these blog size servings and then you leave us hungering for more while you go off playing in the fresher fields of Facebook. Ah well, we can all console ourselves by saying "we knew you when..."

Owen said...

Dearest Lynne, you can serve up pigeon pie anytime, always ready for a midnight snack...

French Girl in Seattle said...

Sélection variée aujourd'hui, Owen. Reflections; graffiti; Vieilles photos dans les cimetières... Tout le monde y trouvera son compte... Alors comme ça, on s'amuse bien sur Face de Bouc? :-) Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Amanda said...

I thought it was "fesse de bouc? I love all those reflections!

Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden said...

I second Lynne's comment. But I can hardly talk - it's not Facebook that distracts me from the Blogosphere but gardening and children and ...
Anyway that photo of the Girl with the Pearl Earring and her collection of beautiful scarves, and the coat weave blending with the stonework is very magical and enigmatic. All good you magician you. Love Jeneane

Arija said...

What clever reflections . We lived in Cologne for a while and I love the cathedral but never could climb to the top as it was still being rebuilt after the war.

People tend to deface sacred sites. To me it is about as savoury as peeing on your own doorstep.

A Reckless Dreamer said...

These pictures are beautiful and enchanting!!

+To Me It Matters+

Gwen Buchanan said...

the Marie Louise faded ghost like image.. so appropriate.

Gwen Buchanan said...

... and not to forget the Girl with the Pearl

Steve said...

Love the classic works of art merged in shop windows... says so much about modern art these days.

Le Journal de Chrys said...

Waouhhh bien vus ces reflets!

Vraiment une chouette réussite.

Félicitations.

Belle soirée à toi

Oakland Daily Photo said...

The Vermeer girl really caught my eye. Since I'm not on Facebook, can't follow those tempting links. My hat's off to you for being able to do both Blogger and FB. If I were on Facebook, I'd never be off the computer.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pieces of art !

Owen said...

Many thanks to one and all, am happy if you are finding some smiles here.

Am perplexed as to what to do about spam on Blogger. Here there were 18 comments, the last five were pure spam, which I just deleted. Then in the spam file, seems like every time I sign into Blogger these days, I have about 100 spam messages to delete. But I don't want to turn on the comment validation with having to type in numbers and letters that half the time can't even be read from that marvellous Google random code generator. So should I enable validation for all comments, and not just those on postings older than three days ? At least then they wouldn't get through to the comment box... where they can only be deleted one by one... What would you do ? Do you all get similar levels of spam, or am I just lucky ?

And you can't even make a sandwich with all that Spam ! :-) (bad joke... that's what my daughters would call a Dad Joke...)

James said...

Great reflections! I can't decide if I like Vermeer or the da Vinci better.

Wow! I don't think I've got a total of 100 spam messages in almost four years of blogging with three blogs. You might check a Blogger help forum for suggestions. Good luck!

Nathalie said...

Hi Owen - just like you I've been struggling with Spam lately and that prompted me to turn on the word verification tool but I hate it. If you ever find a better way, please let me know!

BTW I love your series here and am also taking this opportunity to wish you and family a very happy festive season.

Alyson | New England Living said...

I love these reflective shots! You've got such a great eye. And I love your facebook page! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.

Stickup Artist said...

Love the dreamy colors in the first two and the way both subjects shift their eyes in unison to look out at the viewer. Art and commerce. Very rarely have the two not been linked. Sometimes an easy alliance, other times a curse. And good for you spreading your wings to embrace other means of social networking. It's a great idea to mix it up! Too bad about the spam, it's super-annoying but seems it's the price to pay when a blog starts getting substantial traffic. Maybe there are some plug-ins floating around that would help.

Here's a little holiday gift rap ;-)

It's that time of year,
so I'll leave my message of cheer,
while I'm here!

Warmest thoughts and wishes to you and your family for a a Wonderful Holiday Season. A Very Merry Christmas to you all !!

PeterParis said...

Same problems with spam... and no better solution. ... and I also dislike the comment validation. Well... I wish you to enjoy Christmas in full, with family, anyhow! God Jul!!

Roxana said...

yes, Lynne is right, it would seem that Photoshop only imitates the effects of time and life themselves, and your photos are the vivid proof :-)

happy winter celebrations for you and your sweet family, cher Owen!!!
love and hugs

Owen said...

Thanks DEEPLY to you good people... great bundles of love and hugs to you all for New Years !!!