Monday, September 30, 2013

Hogwarts and Photography


I love photography. If you know me at all this statement will not come as a surprise. Another love that is well known is my love for the world of Harry Potter. There is something about the idea of magic actually existing that excites my love for life. The known world is a little boring to me, the unknown is invigorating. Imagine my amazement when I discovered that the very home where William Henry Fox Talbot invented photography (his version anyways) is also where they brought some of the magic of Harry Potter to life. This image is from the cloisters of Lacock Abbey. These were also the halls of Hogwarts. Down the hall to the left was Snape's dungeon and also the classroom where they stored the Mirror of Erised. Welcome to the location of one of my versions of heaven on earth; where magic and photography met.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Stonehenge Sunrise


Thursday, September 26, 2013

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Binchester Roman Fort


This site was once the home of a large Roman Fort which was located in Binchester, Bishop Auckland up north in the United Kingdom. I visited this site right at sunrise knowing absolutely nothing about it. I parked my car and of course everything was locked up so I tried to photograph what I could find or get access to. As my large camera does tend to attract a certain amount of attention, it wasn't long before a wonderful lady named Julian, who lived on the site, came out and introduced herself. We ended up having a wonderful talk and she gave me a personal tour of the site, along with her large dogs, before they even opened up for the day. You can see one of the active archeological digs just to the right of this large tree.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Glastonbury Tor


Monday, September 23, 2013

Tour Eiffel


One of my favorite classroom settings ever. I took a group of our study abroad students out for a sunset at this spot and had lessons about exposure and mixing ambient and natural lighting while photographing architecture and cityscapes. I am the teacher who feels that being in a traditional classroom is the least effective place to learn. Viva la France!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Une Moulin


Ode to Joy, and Despair

I like to write but I rarely share. I like to think that photographs can suffice. At times I question that power and recently that fear has gained new traction in my life. I know my photographs have a bias towards beauty and that I eschew the negatives aspects of life. This give me pause. I don't know if I can truly understand what it is that I try to say with my photographs without contemplating that which I have chosen not to. When life speaks maybe I should try to listen and right now life is anything but silent. I always fear that which I don't think I'm good at. Writing is one of those things. I don't think I'm good at it so I write only for me. It is symbolic of how I have approached much in life. This approach creates a state of being tentative which prevents me from being present in many aspects of life. I am tentative out of fear of both success and failure. I decided to stand up to fear today and not only write my thoughts but also share them.

Life is beautiful or so they say
too narrow a claim to wholly embrace.
A declaration of joy and triumph for one,
can be a dagger that pierces the soul of another.

Life is to be lived, what of joy?
All people are given life but joy is rare.
It is in the absence of joy that we learn of its power
yet in its presence we forget of its danger.
Perhaps we have neither joy nor despair in life,
 only the comparison of the one to the other.
As light is given to one, a shadow is created for others.
They are partners not enemies.
Shadow defines in tandem with light,
it is through both that we are capable of sight.

When joy or hope departs what remains?
A chasm is created that cannot be filled.
Nor can it be fully comprehended.
Maybe you can’t measure emptiness
for emptiness does not exist.
It is merely an echo of what once was.
A shadow of something lost that we long for.
When others hurt it is a natural condition of life,
it is evidence that they loved or have tried.

Is hope the lack of despair,
or despair the lack of hope.
Why should I delineate the two?
One cannot exist without the possibility of the other.
Must we embrace the pains of loss and loneliness
to be considered worthy of its compliment?
Is it better to have loved and lost
or do we even have a choice?
Can you have one without the other? 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Rosslyn Interior


Here is another view that shows the interior of the Rosslyn Chapel. A view that is far more enjoyable than what is typically seen as it is usually filled with throngs of tourists. It was so peaceful and allowed me to truly soak in all that makes this location such a magical place. It is no wonder that so many legends exist concerning the history and purpose of this chapel.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Rosslyn Chapel


It is time to start sharing some of my photography again. I haven't put anything up since I left a cryptic post back in May. I am going to leave it cryptic for now and will go into more of an explanation as I have time to edit and start sequencing my imagery but needless to say it has been an amazing quest so far. This image is from Rosslyn Chapel just outside of Edinburgh Scotland. The chapel was made famous from the Dan Brown novel and the subsequent movie The Da Vinci Code. Photography is actually not allowed in the chapel but through discussions with the Rosslyn Chapel Trust they were gracious enough to allow me access.

There is a lot of subtle symbolism that I have included as I was composing this image. The biggest one is physically not possible to see but it is due to the location of the tripod as I took this picture. Without me providing the context inspiring the image I hope you can still enjoy the beauty of it. The chapel truly is remarkable and I would highly recommend visiting it if you ever find yourself in Scotland. If you find yourself not ending up in Scotland then I also recommend changing that predicament as soon as possible. Incredible country, weird getting used to driving in, but other than that it is absolutely stunning.

 
© 2012 Travis Lovell Photography - All Rights Reserved