International Juxtaposition

Weekly Photo Challenge: Juxtaposition

My second submission to this challenge, these images were captured on my travels.

The Modernist Barcelona “Eyeball” Building juxtaposed against a more classical structure.

A spray of colourful flowers is juxtaposed against the sobering backdrop of the monument of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.

Looking up at Sydney Tower and its juxtaposing neighbours ~ from Pitt Street.

A floating staircase in the Sagrada Familia spirals toward heaven.

Firth of Clyde, Scotland

Click here to see “The Boys” featured in my first submission.

Enjoy!

Dorothy 🙂

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©Dorothy Chiotti, Aimwell CreativeWorks 2014

Shout Outs

Travel Monkey

Jeff Sinon Photography

Black Hills Reiki

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting … Moments

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Sam and Bear on a tear …

A fleeting sunset at Brodick, Isle of Arran

Point-to-Point near Lismore, Ireland

Seagulls and tourists enjoy a moment under Horseshoe Falls, Niagara, Canada

Fleeting fire in the sky, Northumberland Co., Ontario

This week’s photo challenge invites us to consider the notion of fleeting.

As it turns out I’ve selected six images ~ two equestrian; two sunsets; two at Niagara Falls, representing moments where I stood still and observed the fleeting exchanges around me.

Love those moments …

Enjoy!

Dorothy 🙂

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Shout Outs

Cyclocross2012

Alien Shores

Jeff Sinon Photography

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Copyright Aimwell CreativeWorks 2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Up … Enjoy the View!

Thanks to this week’s photo challenge we get to look up.

What a great theme!

I love to look up and have made a habit of doing so whenever and wherever we travel.

There’s so much to see, don’t you agree?

Bamboo … Yokohama, Japan

Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, Australia

Ceiling detail, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Paris Opera

“What’s up?” … A moment with Bear

Ceiling detail, St. John’s Cathedral, Den Bosch, Holland

Palm Up, San Francisco, CA

Bird up in the sky … Isle of Arran

Ceiling detail, St. Canices, Kilkenny

Heron on Atomic Dome, Hiroshima, Japan

Ceiling detail, Barcelona Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain

Remember to look up … 😉

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy

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Shout Outs

Mapping Chattanooga

Cheryl Andrews

A New Day

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Copyright Aimwell CreativeWorks 2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Free Spirit

A seagull escorted our ferry from Brodick on the Isle of Arran to Ardrossan on the Scottish mainland. He swooped and soared in great swirling circles above and skimmed the gushing wake below. He teased and taunted with his shrilling cries, all the while lusting with beady eyes after crumbs of bread or potato chip morsels carelessly discarded by lazy tourists.

His comfortable proximity to the huge vessel made him wonderful fodder for the camera lens, so I followed his free-spirited meanderings and captured as many moments as I could.

This image is one of my favourites. I love how the seagull’s wings are burnished with light, reminding me of the story of Icarus, but without the tragic ending.

The seagull soars. I dream of soaring. He is a free spirit. In my heart I too am free.

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

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Copyright Aimwell CreativeWorks 2012

Embracing a New Light … Isle of Arran, Scotland

Today started on a very dark note — a serious family emergency that totally caught me off guard.

After a night of no sleep and wondering where the silver lining is to all this turmoil, I feel utterly exhausted. My eyes and heart are heavy; my focus almost non-existent.

This image, taken a couple of years ago while walking along a dusty lane near Broddick on the Isle of Arran, reminds me of what happens when the clouds part — the light is even brighter than before the clouds appeared. Have you ever noticed that? The clouds separate and the light bursts with seemingly renewed energy?

That’s what I’m hoping for those touched by this crisis – that they emerge from the shadow of this experience renewed and re-energized to embrace a new light; a new beginning.

As I’ve said before, I believe in silver linings …

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

Enjoy the View … Isle of Arran, Scotland

By car, you can travel the circumference of the Isle of Arran in less than a day — with the odd stop along the way. Take in a brewery; have lunch at a distillery; visit a castle; walk barefoot on a sandy beach; skip stones on a rocky beach; say hi to the sheep that dot the hill sides … and yes, enjoy the view.

The A841 skirts the shores and, as in this image, traverses the colour-infused highlands. It’s a sight, to be sure.

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

An Ol’ Routine … Firth of Clyde, Isle of Arran, Scotland

Tourist #1: “Hey look! … Over there! …  A seagull!”

Tourist #2: “Huh? … Oh, ya, I guess it is! … The scenery’s beautiful, eh? …”

Tourist #1: “Sure is … I wish we’d been able to stay longer on the Isle of Arran. It would have been fun to do some hiking … ”

Tourist #2: “Ya … Oh well … next time … ”

Tourist #1: “Hey! There’s that silly seagull again! … Do you think he’s following the ferry?”

Tourist #2: “I don’t know … maybe. Kind of looks like he might be … Wow! Look over there … It’s so pretty! … The water’s so calm …”

Tourist #1: “Ya … so tranquil for such a large body of water … But look! There he is … again! … He keeps swooping and circling around the ferry!”

Tourist #2: “Where is he?”

Tourist #1: “Up there! … Can you see him?”

Tourist #1: “You know … I think he’s escorting the ferry all the way back to Ardrossan!”

Tourist #2: “You think so? …”

Tourist #1: “Why not? Maybe it’s what he does … you know, an ol’ routine …”

Tourist #1: “Look how high up he is! Like he’s circling the sun!”

Tourist #1: “Wow! … And now he’s so close I can almost touch him … Isn’t he something!?”

Tourist #2: “Oh, he’s something alright. … He better not you-know-what on my head …”

Tourist #1: “But that’s good luck … right?”

Tourist #1: “Well … look at that. … He’s resting on the loud speaker …”

Tourist #2: “Looks like a bit of a tap dance routine to me …”

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Remember to look up …

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

The White House … Isle of Arran, Scotland

Must be my British ancestral blood that makes me go weak at the knees when I witness the beauty of those ancient lands.

To me this image emotes Scotland … the white-painted stone house surrounded in native shrubs; the golden gorse whose coconut fragrance intoxicates me even with the memory of it; the stone walls and winding road and rolling hills and cloud-cloaked skies. And the buffeting winds that embraced me as I captured this moment and held it in my heart.

Ol’ gran would be pleased …

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

Inukshuk … Our Canadian Calling Card

Inukshuk at Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran

Travelling can afford many opportunities for play. One of the things we like to do when we visit coastal regions or lakes is build inukshuks.

Inukshuks are monuments that originated with the Inuit people as a way to communicate and traditionally mean “Someone Was Here.”

Because they are built of materials that occur naturally, most commonly stone, it’s an environmentally-friendly way for us to leave a Canadian calling card.

We are under no illusions about any of the inukshuks we’ve built surviving for any length of time. High tides, strong winds or miscreant teenagers will quite likely demolish them over time. But it’s fun to wonder if they’ll still be there should we ever return.

Inukshuk at Lough Corrib, Co. Mayo, Ireland (bottom right hand corner ... see how it blends in with the environment?)

There’s almost something reverential about the act of communing with nature in this way. When I see one I wonder who put it there. When I build one I wonder who will see it.

Often, if the inukshuk is large enough, people will add their own small stone to feel they have been part of something almost spiritual.

The best example I’ve seen of this is an inukshuk someone constructed, who knows when, on the shore of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Alberta. Along its many ledges you’ll find pebbles that have been placed by others feeling the reverence of the moment and wanting to show they were there. I added one of my own in 2010.

Inukshuk at Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta

Thanks for visiting, and feel free to let me know you were here . 😉

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

Seascape … Brodick, Isle of Arran, Scotland

Today I indulge the sunset junkie in me and post another image from the magical sunset mentioned in my blog of February 17 (Arran Sky — Promise of a Silver Lining — see Scotland category).

As I looked across the sky to the east of that dramatic post-storm cloud formation my eyes rested upon this lovely seascape. The image of a soft pink and grey sky above a  serene, still sea, was in stark contrast to its western sky cousin, but no less mesmerizing.

And this particular sunset sky was, in fact, so changeably beautiful it was difficult to know where to look next.

We stayed by the sea at Brodick to observe the changing face of the dimming sky until the only light to be seen emanated from the lamp posts that dotted our one kilometre walk back to the hotel. We walked in silence, both lost in another treasured memory of our short stay on the beautiful Isle of Arran.

(This image captured with my iPhone 3G.)

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012