This is the final batch of Spanish Doors as entry for February 27, 2020 Thursday Doors. Hosted by Norm 2.0. Two weeks ago I posted some blue doors that I encountered in Cadaquès, Catalunia, Spain. Last week’s post was centered around the doors of Salvador Dali’s house there. Whereas this week, the remainder of interesting doors is a bit of a dog’s breakfast.
This photo of the Salvador Dali House is the entry into the challenge from Brashley Photography, Mid-Week Monochrome. A.k.a. MWM #26.
This remarkable house, turned into a museum lies by the sea in Cadaquès, Catalunia, Spain. But it certainly isn’t the only sign of Dali, who is omnipresent in this village that he tried to save from relentless tourism.
Cadaquès Graveyard• Tuesday Photo Challenge is my submission into Dutch goes the Photo challenge – Yard. To come up with a ‘spin’ on ‘yard’ I did not have to go back far. On a short break in Cadaquès, Catalunia, Spain we came upon this wonderful chapel, the Church of Sant Baldiri.
Church of Sant Baldiri
We followed the road on the left of it, and the first thing we saw was a gate to the graveyard behind it, the Cementiri de Cadaqués.
A view to the graveyard
Approximately ten yards (forgive the pun) away there was this little window in the wall.
Another ten yards or so away was the main entrance to this Cadaquès graveyard.
Main entrance
The gates were all locked when we were there, so for a look inside click here and scroll down a wee bit. Or click here to see the photos on TripAdvisor.
For my previous submission in fpj-photo-challenge, click here.
Fisherman setting out to sea in Cuba at sunset • Lens-Artists #85
While the setting sun is a bit of an after-thought, here’s a more obvious and cliché one. Notice the outline of the moon right above the sun.
Setting sun over the sea • Lens-Artists #85Little bird haughtily turning its backMy late friend BulletjeA funny signOnce I was a bicycleBasilica of Our Lady • Maastricht • The NetherlandsA double decker airplaneWater Taxis on a cold morning
Extra credit items
Portrait of a Flamenco guitarist in CubaPortrait of a fruit salesman in CubaUnusual place to have dinner • Moroccan desertAn animal you don’t normally see
So, this treasure hunt of the #85 Lens-Artists Photo Challenge seriously depleted my photo library.
You can find more entries in photo challenges here.
Michael Wolf Windows is my entry in Ludwig Keck’s challenge Monday Window 24 February. The late Michael Wolf was a German photographer who lived for 8 years or so in Hong Kong, working as a photographer for Stern Magazine. According to Wikipedia Wolf has stated said that a decline in the magazine industry led to photojournalism assignments becoming ‘stupid and boring’ and from 2003 he decided to work only on fine-art photography projects.
Architecture of Density
One of these projects was called Architecture of Density. The photos below show you why.
‘The Back Door of Hong Kong’
One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer. The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks, finding mesmerizing abstractions in the buildings’ facades. He called it in one of his last interviews semi-lovingly ‘The Back Door of Hong Kong’. I, having spent enough time in Hong Kong, not so lovingly just dubbed this after him. Michael Wolf Windows.
Obviously, these are photographs that I took of his giant photographs on display in the KunstMuseum in The Hague (back in 2018). The first thing that struck me is the lifelessness of this body of work. The second thing that is clearly noticeable is that this work is almost devoid of perspective.
Rory, a.k.a. A Guy Called Bloke, in his The Really You series this time wants to know ‘what are you reading then?’ Among two other things. Here’s the Q & A:
Q: What are you reading then?
Currently a wide array of books (fiction, but mostly non-fiction), short stories, blog posts and the like. Newspapers I only read on weekends. And two Dutch monthly magazines featuring short stories and excerpts novels.
When it comes to books I’m currently halfway through ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck‘ by a blogger called Mark Manson. Quite entertaining. I’ve been known to live up to this…at least to the second part of Manson’s title. Have to work on the ‘subtle” part though…according to someone who’s quite dear to me. But hey, I’m only halfway through the book.
Another lovely book is Most people are decent by Rutger Bregman. Which subtitle translates into A new history of the human being. If you’ve never heard of him, please click the link. I’m trying to improve my writing and am currently also reading Stephen King’s On Writing and a book by one of Holland’s renowned novelists Renate Dorrestein which title translates into something like Under the bonnet of writing. Furthermore I dip in and out books for – and some by – Parkinson patients. Especially the mental effects. I deliberate dip in and out of them since PD is already noticeably present a lot of the time. But currently I’m engrossed in Susan Sontag’s Illness as a metaphor / Aids and its metaphors.
Q: What prompts you to respond to prompts?
I mostly responds to photo-prompts. They need to trigger something really in order for me to go out and shoot photos with that prompt in mind, or go look through my old photos. A few prompts that have captured my attention to do so are Monday Window, Thursday Doors, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Tuesday Photo Challenge and of course Cee’s Photo Challenges. Writing challenges just are not my thing to participate in them, although I love to read them.
I tend to be rather wordy, which makes my writing less suitable for a blog post. A comment on a blog post I received is that posts are rather superficial and tend not to have a long shelf-life.
Q: What is your favoured style of writing-genre?
Don’t have one really. As long as it’s well written, offers me new ‘things’ or a perspective on things I’m game. Oh, I generally hate self-help books. Be it physical or spiritual self-help.