As men age their opinions change.
As women age they sharpen their perception.
At first there were the mountains, those magnificent massifs that capture both the eye and the imagination. Snowcapped peaks, luscious valleys carved by gushing streams, challenging rock faces and all those other inspiring views.
Yes; mountains are the definition of impressive grandeur; a thrilling subject to nature lovers and photographers alike.
I too was and am under the spell of the grandeur of nature. At first reels and reels of film and later on gigabytes of graphic files were saved under the headings of different mountain ranges.
The Maritime Alps (France), the Mont Blanc Massif (France, Switzerland & Italy), the Pennine Alps (Switzerland & Italy), the Silvretta Alps (Switzerland & Austria), the Ötztal Alps (Austria & Italy), the Kitzbühel & the Zillertal Alps (Austria), the Dolomites (Italy & Austria), the Lavanttal & the Julian Alps (Austria & Slovenia), Mount Etna (Sicily), the Tien Shan System – also known as the Celestial Mountains (Kyrgyzstan), the Chon Alai Range (Kyrgyzstan), the Urals (Russia), Rakhine Mountains (Burma), the Atlas Mountains (Morocco) and the Semien Mountains (Ethiopia) are all subdirectories filled with gigabytes of pictures of these marvelous mountains.
At some point the in time, the attraction of luscious landscapes waned. It was replaced by a longing for the desolate.
- Lands without water; deserts, dried up riverbeds –
- Domains devoid of a warming sun; arctic tundra, polar wildernesses –
- Barren realms changed by volcanic works, wind and weather -
These became the new focus of my attention.
And then again, my sensitivities developed and matured. People and places, markets and multitudes, synagogues, shrines, churches and cathedrals where contemplating congregations started to fascinate my photographic eye.
The crowds, the clamor, the confusion became less important less pronounced - they whittled down to a significant central theme – The person and the personality.
NO – Not staged portraiture, more a rendering of individuality on the go.
YES – Street photography, “In your face” photography, photography of the moment!
In your face photography
