Photographic Tale of the Week - "Naked Wrist"

"Naked Wrist" by Blue Funambulist

First, I feel a bit guilty for not getting this up earlier. One of the inevitable repercussions of waiting for a while after announcing privately to the featured photographer / storyteller is that the photo itself is no longer an option for the Picture With a Story cover photo. Blue Funambulist's "Naked Wrist" would have been perfect for this. So without any further rambling from me, here is the story behind this most excellent work of art (in more ways than one as you will read):

It was supposed to feel like liberation, but actually it hurts. After more than eight years wearing handmade braids on my right wrist they finally got off. Two cuts, no blood. My tendency for keeping memories alive and the fixation for giving extra-sensorial meanings to certain self-made things has made this more difficult, for sure. However, the bigger problem comes when they exhaust their possibilities. One, was not as certain, felt and concrete as it should be. And the other, which always was the one, was not beating anymore. The sense was lost, and I needed to show myself clearly and physically than these things can happen in Life. However, in this slightly thinner wrist, now there is a completely white skin portion. Full of absence.

Somewhere in the Baltic Sea.

Blue Funambulist is a Spanish photographer whose "feelings and thoughts through art is the best thing that I have to share with the world."
Follow this link for Blue Funambulist's Flickr and Facebook pages.
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#52weeksofWE - 52 of 52, Beginnings

See what I did there? You thought I was going to end on a down note.
Feel free to interpret this in any way you want.
Thank you very much for spending the year in the digital #52weeksofWE gallery with me. While I did not necessarily take a shot every week, I am very happy to have been able to host others. I think we have done a very good job of capturing some of the beauty of Windsor - Essex, and I hope you had fun doing it.
At this point, because I am behind in lots of other things - and starting some new - I am not going to continue into 2016. Feel free to keep posting to the group, but there are several other groups that are Windsor - Essex based and open, so I won't be insulted if you don't. Also, if you have any suggestions for continuing on some sort of challenge that doesn't involve me having to post 52 weeks of themes on my own, I am open to suggestions as well.
Finally, some have suggested a meet up at some point. It was actually suggested during the fall, but my new baby stole the show during that time of the year. However, if people are interested feel free to comment on this photo, send me a message through Flickr, or send an email to essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom and I will try to coordinate something.
Thank you very much again. Hope you had fun. And who knows, I may start it up again in the future. 
All the best,
Patrick 
 Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 51 of 52, Terminus ...

Not expecting such a downer during the week that contains December 25th? Have you never experienced the Ghost of Christmas Future? 
Honestly, though, in spite of the picture I have selected for this week's theme - not to mention the theme itself - this doesn't need to be a negative experience. The terminus is merely the end of something: a line; an appendage; a road ... It can also be where things end together, like an "all roads lead to Rome" idea. Have fun, and Happy Holidays! 
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Photographic Tale of the Week - "It was a light ..."

"It was a light ..." by Bogdan Udrea

I will often blab on about something to do with having a cold, or a baby, to introduce the Photographic Tale of the Week, but I'm not going to do that this time. Bogdan has been displaying his works on the virtual walls of Pictures with a Story almost since the beginning, and I really could feature every one of his compositions on a weekly basis. It just so happens that I finally selected this photo for this week, and I am happy I finally did it. I very, very much encourage you to follow the links to his photography and see the rest of his pairings of beautiful images with the text that "reflect my inner feelings, my struggles, adapted in a cinematic way." They seem to me like cinematic stills, capturing powerful details of what it means to be a person in this world.
Underneath the picture in Flickr you read:



"It was a light that could barely be seen and hoped for it to turn into a curtain of sparkling fireflies. They say that comes with time."



When I asked Bogdan if I could feature him, he further elaborated on his compositions:

I am trying to put in words what the actual scene means to me, meant to me at a point, or what thoughts I have looking at it ( some of them remind me of popular scenes from movies - the words are quotes)

 Bogdan is 24 at the time of this post and is an engineer. I don't think it will be any surprise that he lists off movies, photography, psychology, and dark tones as his passions.
Again, I highly recommend that you find the rest of his work at the following sites.

Flickr
"Various" Blogspot

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#52weeksofWE - 50 of 52, Christmas in Mid-December

Were you expecting some sort of Holiday theme on week 51? Surprised you!
With the balmy weather and cold December rain, here is the opportunity to really get your pre-celebration on for Christmas, and all the holidays that conglomerate around this time of year. 
Now, you ask, what will be the themes for the last two weeks? The suspense is building ...
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Photographic Tale of the Week - The Photographer

The Photographer by Britt W

The appeal may be obvious for those of you who live in a similar climate as mine. Though the tail end of fall / incoming winter has been mild, we have still had snow and cold, blustery days. If I go down to the great lake beaches where I am there is going to be a very good chance that I will not have the same opportunity that Britt had when she captured this photographer. 
This is what Britt had to say about "The Photographer":

I was catching photos of surfers and the brilliant sunset on the Bonzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, when I noticed this photographer standing in an extremely photogenic spot. I just had to snap his photo. I love sunset silhouettes!

Check out more of Britt's photography here.

Make sure to check out the rest of the Photographic Tales of the Week on this blog. Also, visit the Pictures with a Story Flickr group where I have selected them from. 
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#52weeksofWE - 49 of 52, Street Life

While we may enjoy our houses, restaurants, and indoor retail experiences, a city is all about its streets - and in my humble opinion, though the car is convenient for getting from A to B, a walk-able or bike-able city is a healthy one. Not to mention the best way to get to know a place. Now we are starting to wrap up #52weeksofWE, and I think a shot of the street life of Windsor and County towns is a good way of getting the feel of what we have been celebrating for the last 48 weeks. Even now that we are getting into the cold weather, the streets are still active and photogenic. Snap away!
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 48 of 52, History 101

Though Windsor and Essex County are ever shifting and dynamic, we continue to live among the living history - the buildings, the statues, the celebrations - of our far reaching past. Okay, maybe it isn't as far reaching as if you were to walk around Windsor, England (we don't have castles per se), but it is still an area rich with stories and relics of an engaging past. So feel free to take pictures of this history. Also, this more so than other weeks, feel free to attach some text to the picture for a short history lesson.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

Photographic Tale of the Week - Floating Village

"Floating Village" by Gabe Garcia

Both involve water, but rather than the cool simplicity of last week's "SUPping into the Unknown," Gabe Garcia's "Floating Village" is all about capturing the bustle of a Hong Kong fishing village. Though not filled with people, Gabe's words paint a picture of fishy commerce and the beauty of catching a fish, docking, and eating it right there. This is a great photo that encapsulates the busy lines and angles of the village with the rounded layering of hills almost becoming one with the haze of clouds in the background.

This is what Gabe has to say about this picture:

This is a site of Hong Kong not often seen. This is a floating fishing village off shore located between a few islands near the top of the peninsula. You can boat out here and eat at a restaurant they have or fish or come just to buy live fish to take home fresh to eat. This place is huge, about 100 meters long and 50 meters wide. It is built entirely on top of plastic 55 gallon blue barrels and foam blocks with wood planks tied on top. The employees and fishermen live on boats and shacks on the floating village. I asked our host what they do for Typhoons, he said they take the roofs down so they do not blow off, anchor it well then leave for shore and hope it's there when they return. It has survived many typhoons over the years. We ate here for lunch, we caught a few fish, gave it the the staff who cooked it and we were eating it 10 minutes later. It was the best cook fish I have ever eaten. These guys know what they are doing when it comes to fish.

You can see the rest of Gabe's photostream here.

Make sure to check out the rest of the Photographic Tales of the Week on this blog. Also, visit the Pictures with a Story Flickr group where I have selected them from. 
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#52weeksofWE - 47 of 52, You light up my YQG

Add together the earlier sunset, heavy grey clouds, and the freezing of precipitation, and the result is we tend to experience a little more darkness these days. But life continues. We don't tend to drop into bed at 5:30 when the sun is almost down, no matter how much we want to. Instead, we flip on a light or flock, like moths, to where the light is. We even make our lights pretty, twisting them into shapes and giving them different colours. Capture any and all this week in Windsor - Essex. For any of those intimidated by low light shots, the lights don't have to be on.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 46 of 52, A Place to Sit

If it's not one thing, it's another. After a month and a half of chaos and family expansion my body sensed the slack in schedule and decided to succumb to the cold / flu bug going around. Add the regular work and familial duties and the theme for this week just seemed to slip away from me. 

But, here we are for our shortened Week 46 theme. Fortunately for us, be you king or pawn, there is nothing better than a good sit (anybody know the reference?). Yes, I know you can sit practically anywhere, but this week we want to celebrate any of those especially photogenic chairs, or benches, or stools, etc in Windsor - Essex. There are many of them, so I hope that the shortened week won't stop you from getting at least one shot off before next week's theme.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

Photographic Tale of the Week - SUPping into the unknown

"SUPping into the unknown" by TdW (RSA)

My family, for the past several weeks, has been fighting off a cough / flu visitor that seems to be tackling us one at a time. It was my turn starting last night. The closed in feeling of an pounding head, aching joints, and tight chest was not necessarily inspiration for this week's selection - I had selected it before feeling crappy - but it is even more appreciated now that I am putting it up. TdW's "SUPping into the unknown" a beautifully colourful, simple composition is acting for me like visual Vaporub - the cooling blue, the openness of water and possibility, the blending of surface and sky is a breath of fresh air. 

Here is TdW's writing on the picture: 

 

A lone SUPper (Stand Up Paddler) on lake Slocan near New Denver.
It's not exactly what the camera saw and what my eyes (and brain) saw, but watching this man, who I didn't know at all, glide over the water, nor knew his purpose of paddling or destination, I overlayed the state of my mind on the picture, so that where he came from or went to are invisible. But I would have been left with blue only had I made the fact visible that he is unknown to me.
So I salute this unknown man who so peacefully and one with his environment did this solo performance.

It's quite unlikely for us far away here in South Africa to visit BC in Canada. But in Aug we traveled for nearly a month with our (grand)children in the beautiful Kootenays and Rockies. What a great area to visit (apart from the many forest fires causing so much smoke). When I saw this man paddling quietly away, while we had picknick on the pebbles, I liked the scene, so serene. The original shot had a slope at the other end of the lake filled with trees, the way every slope in BC seems to be filled with trees. I blurred the trees away with Lightzone, using Gaussian blurr, in order to create the mood described.  

 

Maybe some day I will travel, from Canada, to South Africa. Find his photostream here. 

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Patterns Exploded - Catching up with Weeks 36 through 44

"Bee on Wild Flowers" by Paul Thibodeau

My work life tends to revolve around penciled out lists of tasks to accomplish, some scratched out and others left incomplete and unmarred. The pages of my notebooks over the past couple of years are filled with them so that you would think I did little else other than remind myself of what I need to do. Don’t let that give you the impression that I am organized to the point of being an exceptionally productive member of society. 

Productive maybe, but not exceptionally so.

All lists were thrown out the window nearly six weeks ago when the pregnancy related discomfort, false labour, and the consistent concern that our fourth would be born on any day kept me busy at home. Our wee bundle of joy arrived on Thanksgiving Day

Also, the challenger photographs continue to roll in and I have been able to only skimp my responsibility for one week. Next to the continued good health of my baby, the great support from grandparents, the understanding of work, and the fact that the two deer we hit with the car on our way home late from the hospital did not go through the windshield, watching the great shots come in of flowers, challengers personal favourites, and the newer themes have made an overwhelmingly stressful couple of month and a half more palatable. 

So instead of featuring a bunch of shots from everything I have missed, I am going to pick one especially enjoyable picture from each week. Also, selfishly, I will include the ones I contributed. Don't worry, these weren't many.
 

Thank you, and I am happy you continue to enjoy the #52weeksofWE photo challenge.

Blissfully unaware of what was on its way, week 36 was Pattern Recognition - you can find the description here. 

"Untitled" by Laura Arce

Week 37 was Add Some Flower - a greatly popular theme that saw many beautiful shots. Here are a few.

"Summer's Dying Days" by Paul Thibodeau

"Untitled" by April Particelli

 

"Untitled" by Laura Arce

Have a favourite thing? Shoot it! Here is the description for A Few of Our Favourite Things, weeks 38 and 39.

"September11" by April Particelli

Week 40 was my overly convoluted, "creative" title Windows are the Eyes to our Houses.

"Windows" by Paul Thibodeau

And the signal to my triumphant return to photo challenge consistency, Make Like a Tree which deserves several featured photos.

"Wire and branch, bard and leaf" by Patrick Firth

"Finding Autumn's Glow" by April Particelli

"Twisted Tree" by Laura Arce

And, finally, those more photogenic aspects of Worship was week 44. 

"Autumn Church Path" by Patrick Firth

"Storefront Idols" by Paul Thibodeau

Join us capturing dragons and goblins in Windsor - Essex, as well as some Halloween leftovers, in this week's theme - Windsor Fantastic. Check all the other photos and various other communications from the Essex Masque my various other platforms.
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Photographic Tale of the Week - Autumnal Shrine

"Autumnal Shrine" by Enrico Fossati

Are you looking for the most beautiful word in the English language? Do you desire the most aesthetic collection of sounds and phonemes  gathered into a collection of letters made to form, in this case, three syllables of absolute bliss? Look no further than Tolkien's "cellar door" or "sellador" and enjoy away. However, if you ask my opinion, the word I am constantly drawn back to and could take a fragrant bath in is the word "autumnal." The first syllable - the "ahh" sounds like an opening up in a cosmic sense; the second, "tum" like the beating of deep, earth-shaking drum; the last syllable, "nal," I haven't decided yet, but it is good nonetheless.
Suffice it to say, my decision to feature Enrico Fossati's "Autumnal Shrine" as this week's Photographic Tale of the Week" from my Flickr group, Pictures with a Story" may have been a bit biased. However, I think if you take one look at this masterpiece of light and beauty, you will find no fault in its selection. Read what Enrico has to say about it:

"Exploring a new alpine area i have found this incredible Shrine of the autumn at its maximum splendour, i hope my shot can reproduce the majesty of that place and the feelings who i have felt."
Strongly recommend watching this on a black background .
  For Capture this shot i have used Lucroit Equipment, if you are interested don't forget that you can get 10%OFF with my Discount Code FOSSATI10. lucroit.com/SHOP/?&id_lang=1
WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: Want to join me on an adventure here? I'll be co-leading a workshop in the Dolomites with Erin Babnik this July 17-23. This is an adventure-style workshop that will take us to some of the most amazing wilderness locations in the region. The workshop includes six days of shooting and a post-processing session on the last day. We have a 12-page brochure available that contains all of the details. For more information, visit www.erinbabnik.com/workshops

Additionally:
About the picture is a new location who i have discovered in the French Alps, during a beautiful 4 days trip with my friends hiking and taking photos. It was a fair day when the autumn was at his maximum spendour, it was a bit tricky to compose due the huge amount of sprays coming from the waterfall and the rocks was very wet and not very comfortable for composition. I have used a polarizer for reducing the glares and enhance the beautiful tones of the foliage. 

I am an image maker based in northern Italy. I love to capture the beauty of nature and I am seriously fascinated by landscapes of any kind. I love to edit my works with dark and dreamy moods inspired by movies and artworks from many great artists. I love to share my works all over the world, and I hope you enjoy. I leave you with a famous quote that in my opinion fits extremely well with my approach to landscape photography:
“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”
 
You can find Enrico at the following sites:
https://www.facebook.com/enricofossatiphotography/
http://www.enricofossati.it/  
https://500px.com/efossati

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#52weeksofWE - 45 of 52, Windsor Fantastic

No matter how much the goblins, dragons, and ghosts have been relegated from the reality of older generations to the fantasy of contemporary times, they still make their way into daily life - whether they be dragons on Ouellette or ghosts on the trains out in Ojibway. This is your chance to capture one of the elusive beasts.
I'm sorry for the timing of this one, as it may have been less of a challenge during Halloween week, but you may find some decorative leftovers anyway. And don't let the name deceive you, there are still fantastic creatures in the County.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 44 of 52, Worship

As you may have noticed people tend to create things - whether they be buildings or statues or art - where they can celebrate or worship the great, enigmatic, subtle divine that touches our lives , whatever our belief. Again, be creative. There are many ways we represent worship, and many ways that we perform it. And many of them are beautiful, so capture away!
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

Photographic Tale of the Week - Kali Avatar - Mutharamman, Kulasekarapatnam , India

Kali Avatar - Mutharamman, Kulasekarapatnam, India

Welcome back.
The bad news is there has been at least a month of photographs and stories that have gone by without acknowledgement. And, no matter how much I love the cover photo on the Pictures with a Story group, a new one needs to go up.
The good news? I have a brand new daughter, and I have now gathered together enough minutes out of the day to post the newest Photographic Tale of the Week. 
I didn't pick Kartik Kumar S's photo of a Kali Avatar because it's Halloween. The "costume" is the only similarity. Read the description of the photo to learn more about the Dasara celebrations in India, and check out Kartik's other photographs from the festival for other avatars. I expect my selection is no surprise - the beautifully composed foreground with the contrast of the back makes for an especially striking work of art. Thank you to Kartik for allowing me to celebrate his photo this week.

Here is Kartik's description:
Sri Mutharmman temple is located at Kulasekhara pattinam village near Tiruchendur 55 km south of Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu, India) on the East coast Road en route to Kanya Kumari. The DASARA celebrations in September/October every year are second to that of Mysore (Kanataka,India). The uniqueness and oddity of the festival is that the devotees need not spend from their pocket. They are expected to beg alms from door to door and a token offerings only is expected to be offered at shrine after meeting out their expenses. On the climatic day the sea shores of this otherwise deserted coastal village turns into veritable carnival of folk music and folk dance of the devotees in their chosen fancy dresses to either solicit the grace of or to thank for the boon granted by presiding deity sri Muthramman considered to be the incarnation of SAKTHI the consort of LORD SHIVA in Hinduism. More than 1.5 million people gather here year after year on the tenth day after new moon day in the month purattasi (September/October) according to the Tamil calendar.

#52weeksofWE - 43 of 52, Make like a tree

Time certainly flies when you're having babies, and the past several weeks are no exception. Thank you for the congratulations, and the understanding as we ignore the gap between weeks 40 and 43. 
I debated what week would be best to inspire fellow challengers to go out and really capture the changing of the leaves and trees - autumn exemplified - throughout Windsor - Essex. I was going to push it a week so that here are more golds and reds and oranges, but having put the complete family in the mini van today and gone pumpkin picking, I do not believe that challengers would be at a loss for subject matter. Plus, if I left it too long we may be shooting nothing but bare branches. Before you have to go out and rake the pesky things up, take a couple of shots and share them with the group.
Thanks again, and I hope there will be not be any  more gaps this year. All the best.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

Photo Contest Voting at the Tamarack Institute - Possible

This and two other of my photographs are up for a vote at a photo contest. Go to the link below to vote!

Being in community development - when I'm not doing photography - I am a follower of the important work being done by the Tamarack Institute, based in Waterloo, ON Canada. I was overjoyed when I saw that they were running a photo contest with the "Possible" theme. There is nothing better than combining my passions; I immediately entered. I have been waiting for a while for their judges to pick the winning shot, but just noticed that they decided to open the contest to a public vote. Follow the link below to see my shots (Patrick Firth) and the photographs of other contestants. Also, check out what else the Tamarack Institute does. 

Possible Photo Contest

#52weeksofWE - 40 of 52, Windows are the eyes to our houses

Let me be clear - I do not condone window peeping. But here in Windsor - Essex there are plenty of windows out there that are both incredibly beautiful and won't land you in trouble with the police. Whether the sun is flaring off of them in the golden hour, or whether there is brilliant red leaves poking out through their broken panes, it is time to frame them in our compositions and capture the essence of the eyes to our houses.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 38, 39 of 52 A few of our favourite things

Consider this my treat to everyone participating in the #52weeksofWE photography challenge - a very open ended call to include the type of photography that you love best. Include your favourite shots that you have already done, and track down that content you prefer and compose some new ones.
Though my love of photography goes further back than the shot I selected for the cover photo, it was this one that really inspired me to pursue this creative medium further. There is something about fog and drift that I love, and that makes me venture forth with my camera even when I am sick (in the particular case of this shot) or push my children out of the way to snap some shots before the sun burns it away. 
What do you love? Share it with us, and consider this as my apology for having to cram two weeks into one. Though I think I have a pretty good excuse. 
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom