LIFE, CULTURE & ITS CONTINUITY
This latest photograph story project is entitled, Life, Culture & Its Continuity.
While traveling throughout the USA, Europe, Africa and recently moving to London, there is a constant gathering of material, developing this amazing story of the quality of life, culture, & its continuity.
These are only a few of the many, many stories being captured while living and re-living in a world so different from my own. This is an ongoing project, which will include publishing a book with more of these photographs, their stories, and some interesting things I've learned along the way.
Locations: Bulgaria, Poland, Austria, Germany, Barcelona, Texas, England, Prague, Ireland, Holland, Istanbul, Madrid, Greece, Rome and beyond...
Photograph Stories on Facebook
Twitter: @adrenuscraton
This is the photo that started it all... the beginning of a photographic journey that would last a lifetime.
It's the spring of 2004 in Kazimierz, Poland - exploring the streets leading towards the market square just as three gentlemen started on their instruments.
A family walks by, and their little girl runs into the middle of the rynek (market square), dressed in red from head to toe. She is dancing like she is the only one in town...
It was beautiful. For those few moments she held my complete and absolute attention (which is very rare)... and it became the reason behind why I began my quest - to capture this kind of life in every single photograph. This is a story of life, culture and its continuity...
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Krakow, Poland (2005)The morning after Pope John Paul II passed away. The streets were already lined with hundreds of lit candles and full of crowds (children & adults) mourning his death.I couldn't help making the comparison of the boy walking past with his mother and the man coming towards me in the trench coat.. two generations seperated by decades, experiencing something the world will continue to speak of, even when they are both no more. ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005)She tried her best, with her clenched fists, to stay upright while getting a taste of cold water pouring from the fountain.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Almost like a transporter of goods, other than what is seen. Strangely enough, he seemed to have no interest, what-so-ever, in selling those balloons... to anyone.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Madrid, Spain (cca.2007)
Meet Josef (one of the most colorful characters I have ever met). He holds in his hand a drink that he shares with me after this photo is taken. It is his favourite, 'Licor de Hierbas' ~ Behind him stands his equally colorful and valiant friend, Jose "The Tailor of Madrid" ✨
For one unforgettable night, I was one of them. Immersed, in love for tapas, licor, trying to speak Castilian Spanish, and marvelling (in between shots) at our common language, laughter.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)At the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul's busiest market. They say it is a place you stumble upon... and, well, they were right.
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Friday prayer reading...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
This is what 12 noon on a Friday looks like in Istanbul. To hear the sounds this photo could not absorb, is something I would go back to there for - but to feel what this photo cannot convey, it is something I would stay there for.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2007)
"Lei era molto benestanti," he said when I asked to whom they belonged. He kissed his fingers to the air. It was a tribute, something special that was not for sale. I spent the rest of my time there repeating "molto benestanti!" (and kissing my fingers to the air) every time I saw something beautiful.
No one ever corrected me, just big warm smiles and grazie mille's approving of my efforts.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vatican City, Italy (cca.2005)
God's work or the Devil's? Amazing sometimes, what you see after you've taken a photograph.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005)6am at the bottom of "Spanish Steps" and the shops are waiting for their flowers...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005)Without even a thought to money nor a place for coins, singing was purely for his own pleasure. He happily serenaded me in Villa Borghese. It was a first...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Barcelona, Spain (cca.2010) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
The Coliseum, Rome, Italy (cca.2005)Sun drenched, quiet, empty streets... until the Roman warrior ran after me, shaking his fists. He willingly snapped photographs of me with my camera, but apparently you are supposed to pay him. Beware of the friendly Roman warrior.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Athens, Greece (cca.2007)
The more I saw, the more apparent it became how often a street musician had been photographed, and also whether the music was for us or for him.
This music was for me.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Sofia, Bulgaria (cca.2011)
This was the last sunrise over the rooftops that I managed to photograph from my east facing balcony while living in Sofia. So, this one was pretty special ~ it was the morning after I learned I would be moving to London.
You know how everything starts to look different, more rich, more colourful, more magical, more meaningful, when you know you are about to make a big move, or a big change that will turn your world upside down, in the ways for you to discover even more magic underneath.
That was this moment. The stillness is always where you find the answers (even in chaos). How wonderfuly eye-opening to know that we can have this moment everyday. To know that a sunrise to new beginnings is always on the way.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Barcelona, Spain (cca.2010) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Amsterdam, Holland (2007)
I didn't stick around long enough to find out who or what that was...and to be honest, I didn't even see anyone standing there in the shadows when the photo was taken.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Krakow, Poland (2005)
Here a small boy places his candle.
The morning after Pope John Paul II passed away. The streets and parks were already lined with hundreds of candles and full of crowds (children & adults) mourning his death. ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Old Town Barcelona, Spain (cca.2010)It was so tempting to follow him wherever he was going. I watched him walk to the end of the alley and turn left before realising I was supposed to be a tourist.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Making my way through the Spice Bazaar, the men of Istanbul glaring at me being without a head covering. That was a wild experience. The next day, I wore a scarf around my head and felt respected ~ even an elder from the previous day nodded at me kindly, in acknowledgement.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Oil for sell...He let me have a sniff - although it was not entirely voluntary. The smell lingered on my arm for hours, even till the end of the day when I wished I had bought one of his bottles.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Praying is universally accepted ~ and mezmorizing...
Sacred prayers in the Blue Mosque on Friday (aka, Sultan Ahmet Camii)
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
While praying is universally accepted and mesmerizing, wearing a burka is not. This is something I have yet to understand. While we all pray, must we all wear the same thing?
Sacred prayer day at the Blue Mosque (aka, Sultan Ahmet Camii)
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
She knew we were lost - I knew we were lost...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Trastevere, Italy (cca.2005)
It is the new "city that never sleeps".. 1am in Trastevere's night markets. After endless tries to get a perfect photo in almost zero lighting, he politely asked me to f*** off.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity" Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Off the beaten path of tourists, there is more magic.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Athens, Greece (cca.2007)
This view at the top of Athens made me realise the truth in this old saying, 'How you do anything is how you do everything.'
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vatican City, Italy (cca.2005)
We speak German. We speak English. Both of us speak the language of laughter and love.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vatican City, Italy (cca.2005)
In the most simple explanation, we all need and seek direction.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vatican City, Italy (cca.2005)
The central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church - so it is.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Prague, Czech Republic (cca.2004)
My first life learnings about communism...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vatican City, Italy (cca.2005)
Actually, I sat and watched this carpenter for 15 minutes (with a beer of course, if I observed with wine, probably I would still be there) building, gluing, & shaving this one wooden frame.
He was surely aware of me there staring at him, and after I finally made the photo, he glanced up with a smile of appreciation (or annoyance), one or the other.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Barcelona, Spain (cca.2010) ×
Trastevere, Italy (cca.2005)
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Barcelona, Spain (cca.2010) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Carlow, Ireland (2003)
He waved us back to buy some of his fresh rhubarb...
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Dublin, Ireland (2003)
His name is Sean. His wife, whom he's been married to for 51 years, has Alzheimer's. Every evening, he goes to this Dublin pub for his pint of Guinness. ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Las Ventas, Madrid, Spain (2007)
This bull did not die. The matador was booed out of the arena while the bull stood there defying this game. It was heartbreaking. Even more so, because I never knew going in that this is how it went. As a little girl watching Saturday morning cartoons in Texas, I cheered the mouse character #SpeedyGonzales in the bull ring as he waved the red cape for the bull to charge.
But this wasn't a cartoon, and I quickly learned while sitting there in the arena (expecting to be entertained with only a red cape) that the bull was meant to die by a clean sword. I cried. My face got hot as I sat there watching in horror. I wanted to shout. And then it just happened. I stood up. I wanted to save its life. I still can't recall if I actually shouted or not, but the matador became less and less precise. The crowd became less and less tolerant. More people rose up, the arena erupted in boo's and Catalan curses, until eventually he walked out in shame. The bull had won. His life was spared.
And then I understood. The protests I had photographed outside, that we all fought our way through to get into the arena, was a rising up against this tradition ~ something that had defined its culture for centuries. It gave me chills to be so far on the wrong side of a protest. I had to learn more... #KnowledgeIsPower
"Catalonia became the second autonomous community in Spain to ban bullfighting after the Canary Islands did so in 1991. The ban came into force on 1 January 2012. Bullfights by matadors were banned in Catalonia at the end 2011 but bull-dodging, in which bulls are not killed, remains lawful."
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Rome, Italy (cca.2005)
There is a story to tell, that goes from red to gold, between these four walls and the corners of Sofitel Rome to Villa Borghese.
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"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vienna, Austria (cca.2008) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Vienna, Austria (cca.2008) ×
"Life, Culture & Continuity"
Istanbul, Turkey (cca.2005)
Sacred wash outside the Blue Mosque, before special Friday prayers ~ aka, Sultan Ahmet Camii
×This latest photograph story project is entitled, Life, Culture & Its Continuity.
While traveling throughout the USA, Europe, Africa and recently moving to London, there is a constant gathering of material, developing this amazing story of the quality of life, culture, & its continuity.
These are only a few of the many, many stories being captured while living and re-living in a world so different from my own. This is an ongoing project, which will include publishing a book with more of these photographs, their stories, and some interesting things I've learned along the way.
More photos can be seen at: www.facebook.com/adrenuscraton
Locations: Bulgaria, Poland, Austria, Germany, Barcelona, Texas, England, Prague, Ireland, Holland, Istanbul, Madrid, Greece, Rome and beyond...
Photograph Stories on Facebook
Twitter: @adrenuscraton
Facebook: AdrenusCraton