Summer Equinox....
has arrived and we have halftime for the year 2017. Summer now has arrived in the eastern Levante, not that I have been looking forward to it, not really. Although the days and nights are still bearable, soon the humidity and the temperatures are going to rise to uncomfortable levels. My last post was about the trip to Siam, or really to Bangkok only for a few days, but as mentioned there, I really liked it a lot. The Philippines were good as well, different from Thailand, similar never the less.
Point Alpha Memorial area - Uniforms of the Border Police (Bundesgrenzschutz) and the Customs (Zoll)
A quick trip to Germany in May, also for a longer period this time, three weeks to be precise. I travelled a little bit around, visited my old area I had been working in the Border Police on the German-German border in the late 70's and early 80's, which by now is nearly 40 years ago. Time does fly. The border is long gone, at some places they have left parts of it for museum purposes and for future generations to see what the border represented in physical terms. It was interesting to stand at the same places I had been when on active duty, now one can travel freely, and cross the old borderline, something we could not do in those days. Also we often thought how it would look after the curve in the road we could see, what was beyond the horizon. At those time, we all thought that none of us would ever experience the border to open and we could travel freely across it. When optimistic we said, that maybe our children would see that, but only maybe. Then one day in 1989, everything came down, borders opened and what we only two years before had thought would be impossible happened. The physical border came down, but the border in people’s heads remained much longer and I suspect is still prevalent in many people’s minds. However if shows and espcially showed me how fast things can change, from impossible to done, in the blink of an eye. Now that Border Police of those times is long gone, a new institution has been created on the foundations of those years, calling itself the Federal Police, which has now much more duties and tasks all over Germany. What was in essence a paramilitary police force with combatant status is now a civil police force like all the others.
Butterfly Garden in Mambukal Resort at Mt. Kanlaon vulcano
Back here nothing much has changed. Went to the Chouf (Shouf) mountains for a day, high up to the pass that connects to the Beqaa Valley at 1900m but we did not drive down to Kefraya. As always I enjoy the mountains, the clean and still crisp air, the green of the trees and other plants, with wildflowers still in full bloom in the higher elevations. Of course Beirut has been on the menu as well, but not as often as I used to go in the past. I bought a new lens in Germany for the Olympus, the 8-18 mm wide angle lens, which gives me really good results as indicated in all the reviews that I read beforehand. Very happy with that purchase. I am still working on the 'Rue Hamra' project but it is going much slower that I thought it would. Recently when walking around the area as I normally do, my vision was blurred in a sense that I did not see any worthwhile photos to take. There was some new graffiti on the walls, that was all. I found the plastic AK 47 in silver again in a shop window, this time together with some shoes, wigs and sunglasses. What a way of attracting attention to your display. I guess only in Beirut :)
Sipalay Beach in southern Negros Island on the Sulu Sea
While in Germany is used the x100s only, I just love that camera even with the restrictions of the 23mm (35mm) lens. I have the 50mm extension lens but not very often use it as, really, for most scenarios these days the 23 (35) mm lens is just fine. For a long time I have not photographed wildlife anymore, well, at least animals I mean. The is enough 'human wildlife' around, but for that the normal lens is just fine :).
The Sulu Sea near Sipalay in souther Negros Island
As always I have been thinking of a new camera to buy, GAS coming back occasionally. Since I am also attracted to make films for YouTube about my travels, I am looking for something that is usable for this on a more or less professional level. I did some research and found the Panasonic FZ 2000 (EU) that does 4K filming and has a lot of other features that I like. It is a so called 'Bridge Camera' the lens extending from 24 to 480mm, a one inch sensor and lots of other stuff. Or, do I dash out the money for the OMD MK1 II which fits all my Oly lenses or, this is the point I am currently at, face the withdrawal symptoms of GAS and work with the gear I have and try to master that before progressing and buying another piece of expensive gear that then, due to the limited time I have, sits in the cabinet and collects dust, like some other stuff.
Justine Joy (JJ) on the beach in Sipalay, southern Negros Island
Indeed, with my possible retirement soon, i.e. next year I also want to focus a bit more on my social media presence on YT and Flickr to present my photos to family, friends and a wider world if interested. I do have a Twitter account, but so far only to read news, but I might use it for photos as well. We will see. I have these accounts and will start publishing them on this blog as links just if someone is interested to see more photos. The next big event is the retirement from my current job sometimes around this time of the year. I can go as early as April, but for pension purposes I might stay until June or even August. I am looking forward to the time after, hopefully doing what I want to do since a long time, creating Art through photography and content and information through videos on travel and experiences, especially when finally living back in the Philippines. The house planning is going along, slowed down through the usual bureaucracy there, but one has to deal with it. An eye will have to be kept on the security situation in the country, especially if it will remain safe for foreigners. A concern could be the kidnapping for ransom and outselling to the terror organizations of these days to be used as hostages. Time will tell how it will go, I am hopeful that it will remain a viable option to retire in the islands. It is always good to have plan B and so on, for this case it would be Cyprus. Plan C and further will have to made up as the situations develops and be directed by immediate needs and developments. As for now I remain positive. What else to do :)
So, I think for this time I have said a lot. My back hurts, still from my fall, and I cannot sit for so long. Enough now of writing and until the next time. Bye!
Taking Aim - Near Bacolod City on Negros Island
Selfi Selfi - Bago City
For the ones interested, below are the links to my YouTube channel and also to my Flickr account. Copy and paste into browser windo.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnYYMjyuQiPeZT35MvmMmFg
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/achimvoss/