About Waterlilies

Waterlilies have always been a great challenge for me. They are for many artists. They are difficult to photograph and to paint. That is why Monet is so famous and why he is really one of the greatest painters on this planet. As an artist I want my art to show something, that allows the spectator to enter into another world. 

With waterlilies the right light is more important than ever. I find, that when taking pictures of them, the lilies have to be in the shade, but I have to be in the brightest of sunlight at a distance from them. I have to lower myself to their level to catch a glimpse of their essence. The essence of something is also the beauty of that something. The essence is what comes from the universe. To extract it without damaging it is an art.

I want to show their timidity and their translucence 

I want to show their fragility and evasiveness

but also their incredible strength and resilience

I want to show their symbiosis with the water, that I call their "soul giver" 

And if i am lucky I can show you the very close relationship that they have with the ones that live amongst and from them

The ones that live below them at their feet

 they love them in return

 

And like her, we all start out not knowing how to do it right! Like her, we learn to look at something closer. Like her, I learned to paint flowers in the Orangery in Karlsruhe where great masters have walked and painted before me!    

And like her, I have along way to go ! But today I am happy with the lilies and that is why you see some waterlilies for the first time on my blog.

Nothing But A Fisherman's Dog

There is one topic in South Africa that is hard to avoid.

The fishermen, the fishermen's fish and their dogs

No, he is not hurt, just dirty

The fishermen and their dogs are a secret society

And usually there is more than one of them

There is a very fine thin cord woven between the fisherman and his dog

And it extends further out to the sea

So, the fish is hooked to the fisherman ( even if it i still swimming happily in the ocean) 

and the fisherman is hooked to the dog

so the dog is also hooked to the fish

The fish feels the fisherman and a little bit the dog,

the dog feels the fisherman and the fish,

the fisherman feels all three of  them !

Symbolically spoken

Don't know if you understand

This is a complicated matter

not easy to explain

But go and see for yourself

At The Reef

At Nahoon Reef this morning

A Hell Of A Life

Oh yeah, he had a hell of a life

swam all the way from the deep blue sea

got caught with a hook

that hurt 

and was set free in a rock pool

only as deep as a knee

he thought he could hide under the rocks

and wait for the soon to come tide

but the young fisherman thought otherwise

and the fish understood, he was free only

 until dinner time would arrive

So he really died twice

But oh yeah, he had a hell of a life !

A Sea Snail Life

A Man's Life

If somebody says to you: It's your destiny I'd say think twice. There is no blueprint in the universe on which god has written your life, your destiny or your purpose.

Sometimes you think you have to find that blueprint, that it must be there and that you have to find out what god had really in mind for you. But since that blueprint does not exist that quest is utopia itself.
God wants you to choose your own blueprint. Your mission in life is the mission you give yourself.

And a man's life and freedom is where he can find it. His purpose is where he says it is.
And God is happy to see you choose.

You can design the blueprint of your life yourself. And if it is a bad design it can be changed.

If this is difficult the question that should be asked is: " What brings my joy? The answer to this question will help to create a new life design.

Cape St.Francis - a life on sea

Where the Calamari is...

Cape St. Francis, not far from Port Elizabeth, is the small sea harbor in the Eastern Cape where huge amounts of the delicious calamari and fish are off-loaded and transported to their destination. Most of the calamari and fish caught in the Algoa bay which is the marine area around Port Elizabeth are exported in many different countries because they are of prime quality.

It's a man's world. And it's hard physical work. For days on the wet boat, sleeping and working in shifts. On my last trip to Cape St.Francis in July I was able to see these scenes.

The jigged calamari are already frozen and packed in neat boxes on board while the ships are out on sea.

Louise Marie and Blue Marlin, two boats that just came in after a couple of days.

Docking on..... tired

Boxes of calamari and fresh caught are carried off the boats and are brought the the waiting cooling trucks.

I was amazed to see how many boxes of calamari came of this boat.

A fishing boat coming in from a grey and stormy sea. It was a windy and rainy day.

Seagulls are getting free meals everywhere and are as fat as cows on green pastures.

The view to the other side, a posh little coastal village with apartments overlooking the sea harbour.

And finally the sun is out again..

A man and the sea

The boardwalk in Gonubie, a small village, outside East London.

The long-haired man and the sea. 

He was fishing peacefully on the rocks.

Surfers at the point...

Clean waves,

ideal surfing weather that day

And one of the nicest beaches

In the far distance the tip of East London is visible

A bed & breakfast on the hill overlooking the sea.

The bench on which one should read again " the old man and the sea ".

And my good ol' friend and me driving home again along the coast.