holgermischke

Traveling. Photographing. Writing. Living. Not necessarily in that order.

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Us Kids Swim Off A Gray Pier ...

I don't know why i think of it now in these german woods and not then when i was walking south on 8th on my way to Ted's studio in SoHo. But i did and it was good and now that i hear Steven's voice again i'll go and meet you at Tomkins Square. I will, Jack. It's all i could think of those last seven years after i left Manhattan.

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Chincoteague Island

I was on Achill Island on a hill above Keem beach looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and i wondered what was out there. Behind the clouds, beyond all that water. Well, it's Chincoteague Island, Virginia. And i like to think that someone there looked out on the ocean and wondered what is behind the clouds, beyond all that water. And that he'd looked up to find out it's Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland.

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Stay Frosty

Out on the fields this Friday morning, the first frost was here for the night, covering the leaves with little ice crystals outlining and emphasizing every tiny detail.

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Where Do You Live?

I left Berlin almost three years ago because i thought three million in one place is just too damn much. But it's not only the masses of people, it's the concrete, the wet blacktop, the small patches of sky which makes me want to get out once I'm there. In the city. Any city.

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August Came And Went

And with it the memory of linen shirts which would fly from the fence like a flag over our tiny space between the high grass, reading french books and trying to keep the white wine cool by wrapping it in damp towels. The sand would still be in our clothes, the salt of the sea on our lips and the thoughts of the books subject to endless discussions when we climbed into our beds at night.

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I Can See You There

Sometimes i wish all i had and had to care about was the smallest island, my little solitary world where i could see you coming across the water, all i would hear was the wind in the trees and the birds singing. But still even there would be dark patches in the lake i couldn't trust to be free of evil things, things that would creep up on my island at night and leave me in fear.

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Natural Composite

You could fire up Photoshop, take a picture of fallen leaves and one of naked trees against the sky and combine them. Or you could just open your eyes and see it happening in real life as i did here at Cologne's Rautenstrauch-Kanal. Nature almost always does it better.

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From Down Here

I can see a bit of the sky through the blind windows up above, sometimes grey as the walls inside, sometimes a shining blue and that's when rays of light cut through the dust that covers everything. And i think to myself that in a place that huge there must be space for hope as well.

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Blalatha

That's the elvish word for mushrooms. To believe it is and if a language like elvish even exists for a better reason than just entertaining nerds, is your choice. But if there is no space in this world for things that just might not be backed up by scientific proof, then there are no such things like fantasy, dreams or even hope. Cos these are beyond what we can actually see and comprehend.

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Deadwood

At first glance, the structure and tones seem to extensively explain the appeal of dead wood especially for monochrome images. But it is not only that. Somehow in death a tree seems to remind me so much more that it once was something alive than when it was standing there all healthy. This, like autumn leaves,  is one of the rare instances when there seems to be beauty in something dead.

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An Boireann

The hills of the Burren are composed of limestone pavements with cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints". In this area south of Fanore  approximately three quarters of Ireland's species of flowers can be found.

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2:30 in Westport

Sometimes looking up, looking away from the people, the cars, the billboards is enough to get a somewhat timeless view of things. Like the clocktower at the octagon in Westport, County Mayo in Ireland.

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Color Me Blue

It is a tradition, and a very necessary at that, to brand the sheep in Ireland using a combination of colors. That combination stays in the family for generations and is used to sort out the sheep as they are spread all over the meadows on the mountains and in the valleys of Eire.

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An Cheathrú Rua

Just north of the Aran Islands in County Galway, southwest of Carraroe we find a place where cows stare at us, a lone seagull is flying low and someone on the shore to the west is desperately trying to start a diesel. I wish we could wait for the tide right here. And another one ...

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To The Sea

A tiny stream that originated somewhere between the high grass, flows into the lake and the water moves on in every direction but is eventually drawn to the sea. It's all one. It's in everything i look at. It's in me.

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Ripples And Rocks

Up at Lough Nadirkmore i ran my hands through the high grass, squinted when the sun broke through the clouds and seeing the ripples on the water i wondered who was crying now.

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Back To The Cliffs

If you come to Ireland, at least to Western Ireland, you have got to see the Cliffs of Moher. At least that's what every travel guide says and what everybody and their proverbial mother does. Of course. It's a beautiful place. The downside of this of course is that when you get to the parking lot and the visitor center, the place is packed and the only time when you get a clean, tourist-free shot of the cliffs is probably at night. So when i was there at noon, i just turned to the other sight of the road and you know what? That wasn't that bad either. And it's not even in one single travel guide.