Eilean Donan Castle

The name Eilean Donan, or island of Donan, is most probably called after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite seperate "Sea Kingdom" of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or "birlinns" at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position. Over the centuries, the castle itself has expanded and contracted in size.

For the best part of 200 years, the stark ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected, abandoned and open to the elements, until Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.

Picture of Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland, on the road to Isle of Skye

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond must be the worlds most famous Loch and has been much written about, both in song and verse. It is a Scottish loch located in both the western lowlands of Central Scotland and the southern Highlands. The loch (as of July 2002) is now part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. On the Loch there are approximately 38 Islands, some of them inhabited. Loch Lomond has the largest surface area of fresh water Loch in the UK. The Loch is 24 miles long and five miles wide and at its deepest point is some 600 feet deep.

Nestling by the bonnie banks of Loch Lommond the family-owned Scotch whisky distillery takes its name and its exquisitely pure water from this most picturesque and celebrated of all Scotland's lochs. The beauty and tranquility of the setting belies the considerable activity within one of the finest Scotch Whisky Distilleries.

This picture was taken with Hasselblad 501C, 250mm Carl Zeiss, FP4 125 rated at 80, developed with rodinal. Picture of Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Central Scotland

Tranquility
by Ira Eden

Rolling swell to kiss the land,
falling back to crash the advance.

Flowing in a row of building ripple,
bow down to the sandy temple.

In the distance nothing is still~
ever moving windy mountains.
Hills and vales change location.
The sea whispers to the shore:

"I must come in now to soothe your wounds,
to wash away the footsteps."

Lightly caressing the rising mass,
then receeding back into itself.

.............

Muara Ujung Genteng, West Java, Indonesia

The Waterfall

By Henry Vaughan

With what deep murmurs through time’s silent stealth

Doth thy transparent, cool, and watery wealth

Here flowing fall,

And chide and call,

As if his liquid loose retinue stayed

Lingering, and were of this steep place afraid,

The common pass

Where, clear as glass,

All must descend

Not to an end ;

But quickened by this deep and rocky grave,

Rise to a longer course more bright and brave.

……………..

Senaru, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

The River's Tale

by Rudyard Kipling

TWENTY bridges from Tower to Kew -
Wanted to know what the River knew,
Twenty Bridges or twenty-two,
For they were young, and the Thames was old
And this is the tale that River told

.........................

River Thames from Waterloo Bridge London, England

http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_riverstale.htm

Cherry Blossom
Sleeping under the trees on Yoshino mountain

The spring breeze wearing Cherry blossom petals

…………………..
Wishing to die under cherry blossoms in spring

Cherry blossom season in full moon time

………………….

Saigyo

The River Dee
A notable river, the Dee rises deep in the heart of the Cairngorm mountains on the Braeriach plateau, some 4,000 feet above sea level in an area known as the Wells of Dee and it eventually reaches the sea at Aberdeen, some 87 miles from its source.
The Dee below Balmoral adopts a winding and slow moving course until it reaches Ballater, where it once more increases in tempo.

The Photograph was made with Hasselblad 501C, 50mm Carl Zeiss Plannar lens and red filter. The film is Ilford FP4 125 rated at 80, developed with Rodinal. Printed in Ilford paper with Ansco 130 developer.

THE ROMANTIC CASTLE, EILEAN DONANIn the superbly romantic setting amid silent, tree clad hills, Eilean Donan Castle possesses a rare and dream-like quality. Yet, standing lone sentinel on its rocky promontory at the meeting point of three sea lochs - Loch Long, Loch Duich and Loch Alsh - it is, in reality, a fortress of solid stone and formidable defences.

It is not hard to realise the position commanded by the Castle during the troubled times of the marauding Norse and Danish adventurers who raided along these coasts. Nor is it difficult, when gazing down today from the heights above the shore of the loch, to visualise an era of savage but somehow glorious warfare, when the Clans fought and the MacRaes found refuge in this impregnable fortress, defying the attacks of their enemies.

Much of the history of the Castle has been preserved within its solid walls and immortalised in the ballads and stories handed down from generation to generation.

View over Edinburgh

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city centre. It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline. The top of Calton hill is an excellent and usually quiet place to come on any day, with its grassy slopes and panoramic views of the city, including down the length of Princes street (the main shopping thoroughfare) and Edinburgh castle. There is a good view North of the ruddy-coloured cliffs of Salisbury Crags and the undulating slopes of Holyrood Park.

Glenfinnan and Loch Shiel
Glenfinnan sited on both the road and the famous railway line between Fort William and Mallaig the village, with a view down the long Loch Shiel, the '45 monument sited right at the head of the loch, and the always impressive Glenfinnan Railway viaduct. This area played a major role in the life of Prince Charles Edward and much of the initial support given to him came from this area. The monument is a tribute the men and times of 1745 and the statute that adorns the top is of one of Prince Charles' clansmen.

Loch Shiel is a fraction above sea level and hence is not tidal. It is however extremely deep, over 120m as indicated on the maps, and at its narrowest point only 600m wide - a classic case of glacial erosion. The loch is therefore much deeper than the ocean floor as far west as the continental shelf to the western seaboard.

The Glenfinnan end of the loch is dominated on the north side by the long craggy ridge under Beinn Odhar Mhor, and on the southern side by the equally rough looking mountain sides of Meall a' Choire Chruinn. The northern ridge of this mountain-top drops right down to the loch-side and making a focal point in the famous view along the loch.

GLENFINNAN VIADUCT
The Road to The Isles (Rathad nan Eilean)

The long reaches of Loch Shiel are veiled by steep mountains, and the rallying there of some 1,200 Highlanders must have been an awe-inspiring sight when the Prince arrived from Loch Nan Uamh on 19 August 1745.

In 1896 a mail steamer began a service along the loch to connect Acharacle with the railway at Glenfinnan. The Jacobite Steam Train and other trains regularly run this route, and just before arriving at Glenfinnan from the direction of Fort William, the line crosses a spectacular arched viaduct. The Glenfinnan viaduct recently came to prominence in the Harry Potter films, when the Jacobite Steam Train became transformed into the Hogwarts Express and was filmed crossing the viaduct. It also appears and will be appearing in subsequent Harry Potter films. The imposing arches of the famous viaduct carry the railway across the glen to Glenfinnan Station.

It's A New Dawn

Mount Sumbing is located to the northwest of Magelang District. Views of the stratovolcano peak can be enjoyed through the district as well as from the top of Candi Borobudur. At peak altitude of 3,371m and last recorded eruption in 1730, Mt Sumbing is neither the tallest volcano or the most active one. Nonetheless, this mountain is pleasing in its graceful gradient and somewhat mystical when viewed above the morning mist of dawn.

r.

THE DANCING TREES

"Long before man and woman

walked the earth.

The trees walked about.

They danced.

They danced as gracefully

as the finest ballerina.

The sound of the wind

was their music.

It was a symphony unlike

any other

...."

By Terry Lowenstein

FROZEN TREES

As if these were
frozen trees in light
that know neither day
nor endless nights.

As if, time
decided not to pass
and for a little while,
left this place to be.

As if I were still
whom I used to be
with dreams to follow
and this light to see.

Text taken from http://flickr.com/photos/tamaar/

Photograph was made with Hasselblad 501C, 50mm Carl Zeiss Plannar lens and using yellow filter. The film is Kodak Tmax 100 rated at 64, developed with Rodinal in N process using semistand agitation. Printed in MGIV FB Ilford paper developed in Ansco 120

SNOW
by Archibald Lampman

White are the far-off plains, and white
The fading forests grow;
The wind dies out along the height,
And denser still the snow,
A gathering weight on roof and tree,
Falls down scarce audibly.
The road before me smoothes and fills
Apace, and all about
The fences dwindle, and the hills
Are blotted slowly out;
The naked trees loom spectrally
Into the dim white sky.
The meadows and far-sheeted streams
Lie still without a sound;
Like some soft minister of dreams
The snow-fall hoods me round;
In wood and water, earth and air,
A silence everywhere.
Save when at lonely intervals
Some farmer's sleigh urged on,
With rustling runners and sharp bells,
Swings by me and is gone;
Or from the empty waste I hear
A sound remote and clear;
The barking of a dog, or call
To cattle, sharply pealed,
Borne echoing from some wayside stall
Or barnyard far afield;
Then all is silent, and the snow
Falls, settling soft and slow.
The evening deepens, and the gray
Folds closer earth and sky;
The world seems shrouded far away;
Its noises sleep, and I,
As secret as yon buried stream,
Plod dumbly on, and dream

Photograph was made with my lovely Hassy, a yellow filter to reduce the blue cast of the sky light, Kodak Tmax 100 rated at 64, and the lens was 50mm Carl Zeiss Plannar. The film was developed at Rodinal 1:50, 21 minutes with semistand developing method. The paper was developed with Ansco 120, and the magic came to live in the Ilford paper. It's an amazing experience, indeed.

Amid The Falling Snow
a song by Enya

How I remember sleepless nights
when we would read by candlelight,
and on the windowpane outside
a new world made of snow;

a million feathers falling down,
a million stars that touch the ground,
so many secrets to be found
amid the falling snow.

Maybe I am falling down.
Tell me should I touch the ground?
Maybe I won't make a sound
in the darkness all around.

The silence of a winter's night
brings memories I hold inside;

remembering a blue moonlight
upon the fallen snow.

Maybe I am falling down.
Tell me should I touch the ground?
Maybe I won't make a sound
in the darkness all around.

I close my window to the night.
I leave the sky her tears of white.
And all is lit by candlelight
amid the falling snow.

And all is lit by candlelight
amid the falling snow.

----------------------------------
The images lie in my head.. And the song keep singing in my mind as if am watching over and over the trees upon the falling snow..

By That Long Scan of Waves
by Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)

By that long scan of waves, myself call'd back, resumed upon myself,
In every crest some undulating light or shade--some retrospect,
Joys, travels, studies, silent panoramas--scenes ephemeral,
The long past war, the battles, hospital sights, the wounded and the dead,
Myself through every by-gone phase--my idle youth--old age at hand,
My three-score years of life summ'd up, and more, and past,
By any grand ideal tried, intentionless, the whole a nothing,
And haply yet some drop within God's scheme's ensemble--some
wave, or part of wave,
Like one of yours, ye multitudinous ocean.

Images was made with Hasselblad 501C, 250mm Carl Zeiss Plannar Lens, yellow filter and used Kodak Tmax 100. The Film was developed with Pyrocat MC and the print was developed with Dektol.

Thanks for Ananda for introducing me to the lovely poem of Whitman

AUTUMN

Kala pagi terus memanggil
Bias sinar mencumbu embun….

Kala daun meninggalkan ranting
Usang jalan berserak warna….

Kala hari menjadi susut…
Dekap dingin menyengat tengkuk…

Kala Gugur menyapa….dingin menghampiri matahari.

London, Sept 2006
By: Chendra Panatan

LEAVES OF AUTUMN

As summer turns to Autumn
The leaves begin to turn.
About God's love and beauty
This is the time to learn.

Just look outside your window
At colors bright and bold.
Leaves of red and orange and brown
And some look like pure gold.

You say you don't believe in God?
I say, how can you doubt?
When you go to your window
And simply just look out.

Outside my kitchen window
A tree grow's strong and tall.
It brings such joy and peace of mind
To watch leaves of Autumn fall.

It sways in winds but never falters.
And from it's pattern never alters.
It must be God no man can say
I made that tree to look that way.

The sun rays form a halo
Around that big strong tree.
And there's a voice that seem's to say
Look up and think of Me.

By Carrie Reger.

BOROBUDUR SUNRISE

Admiring the grandeur of Borobudur at day and seeing details of each statue and stones with relief of the constructors is something that people from around the world are longing to do. However, not many people realize that Borobudur also has other unique view, namely the scenery of the beautiful rising sun that blows the statue of Buddha sitting cross-legged at the peak of the temple that was constructed in the ninth century. The rising sun with its bright light will at least encourage you to live the life one year ahead, and for sure it becomes a remembrance that wisdom or nirvana symbolized by the peak of this temple is the main destination of your life. Once the sky in the east begins to shine, you are ready to see the movement of the sunrise. Once the reddish yellow light emerges, it means dawn has come in the peak of Borobudur symbolizing nirvana. (http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-tourism-article/borobudur-sunrise/)

I used Canon 30D camera with 70-200 lens.