Blog – Seite 21 – by GG – Fine Art Photography

Skies of Love: New Collection, New Photographs on byGabrieleGolissa.com

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First, to let go of life. In the end, to take a step without feet;
to regard this world as invisible, and to disregard what appears to be the self.”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Persian philosopher, 1207 – 1273),
from „The Works of Shams of Tabriz“

Isn’t that what we are all looking for: love? True, deep, and endless love making us happy all over? Well, whether you have already found your other half or are still searching, I hope you will enjoy the new photographs I have just uploaded. I called the collection Skies of Love. There you will find pictures full of love and passion as the evening sun has turned the clouds into an ardent red. As the sun set, the colors changed into tender shades of violet.

Limited edition prints of these photographs are available as original photo prints under acrylic glass, as HD metal prints, and as canvas prints in different sizes. Please see photographs for details.

<!–And do enjoy the slideshow! It comes with one of my favorite love songs which is of course by Aaron Howard: “Always Been Yours” from his latest album “Hearts on Fire”.–>

Update on: Music—Aaron Howard

“Individually, we are one drop.
Together, we are an ocean.”
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927)

I am overjoyed that Aaron has given his permission for me to play his music here on my website! You can now listen to his wonderful music while watching some of the gallery-slideshows. Just click on the Slideshow-button when you are in one of the following galleries:

– Blue Skies with Aaron’s „Children Grow“ and
– Shades of Grey and Lilac with Aaron’s „Long Way to Go“

So go ahead: watch, listen, and dream along!

Thoughts About the World as It Is… or Could Be (3): Music—Aaron Howard

“(…) music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all,
but you are the music
While the music lasts.”
T. S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages, 1941, V

So much is happening right now that I don’t get around writing about my photography anymore. But I will come back to that, I promise, I already have a few topics on my mind. And I really have to share this with you, my latest addiction. It is music and one singer/songwriter in particular: Aaron Howard. I’ve been listening to his songs almost without pause for the last few days. As I said, addiction. But his music is simply wonderful; songs of life and love. When I listened to Aaron’s songs for the first time, they already seemed so familiar to me. I don’t know if it’s the melodies, the lyrics, his voice—probably the whole package—, but his music goes straight to my heart. Even when I am not actually listening, his music is still with me when a line from his songs suddenly crosses my mind or I catch myself humming one of his melodies. I hope Aaron will continue writing and singing and simply making wonderful music. I believe nobody can sing the way he does without it coming from the depth of their heart.

So, be sure to check Aaron’s music out. You can listen to his latest album “Heart on Fire” on his webpage. And if you like what you hear, and I am sure you will, please spread the word and like/follow him on Facebook and Twitter. Aaron’s songs would also make a great Christmas present for a friend or a loved one; you can download his music or buy a hand-signed CD from his webpage. Go on, listen and enjoy!

Thoughts About the World as It Is… or Could Be (2): Peace

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,
I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
Imagine, John Lennon, 1971, from the album “Imagine”

Naïve I was, dreamer I am. Improving the lives of people where there is need has become just another item on the to-do-lists again. When facing the realities of terror, nations respond with violence, again. The attackers won. Why do we obviously still believe the use of violence would lead to less violence? Why do we think others should follow rules we do not follow ourselves? Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in the right of self-defense. But there is a difference between self-defense and self-justice.

Last summer, a young man killed nine people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. As different as this shooting was from the recent shootings in Paris, they are all acts of violence and terrorism. What struck me most in the aftermaths of these horrible events was the response of the people. In Paris, Davide Martello set up his piano—adorned with a peace sign—outside of the Bataclan theatre and played John Lennon’s “Imagine”. In Charleston, people showed forgiveness towards the attacker and unity when faced with an attack intended to divide.

Using violence is not a sign of strength, using violence is a sign of weakness. Strong are they who respond with love when facing evil.

Frieden—Hépíng—Mir—Pace—Paix—Pax—Paz—Peace—Salām—Shalom

Thoughts About the World as It Is… or Could Be (1): War

“All Wars are Follies, very expensive and very mischieveous ones. When will Mankind be convinc’d of this, and agree to settle their Differences by Arbitration? Were they to do it even by the Cast of a Dye, it would be better than by Fighting and destroying each other.”
Benjamin Franklin in an unpublished letter to Mary Stevenson Hewson on January 27, 1783, in: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin

By now you have probably found out that I like quotes. What sometimes drives me mad though, is that very often what troubles us today is nothing new to our generation. Instead generations before us, sometimes even going back well before the current era, have been dealing with the same problems. And even worse, people have made suggestions on how to solve these problems.

What I find most disturbing at the moment are the many wars on this planet; some of which have been going on for quite some time, others for not so long. Especially troubling I find the war in Syria. Everybody willing to take a closer look can see all the ugly sides of wars there. Benjamin Franklin’s words uttered well more than 200 years ago, are unfortunately still up to date.

But I am also hopeful. Still. And in spite of what I have said before. Because something is different now. There is an exodus of people from the war-stricken regions in the mid-east. And they not only look for refuge in nearby countries, no, they are willing to risk their lives to find a safe haven in Europe, where fortunately, most people nowadays know wars only from TV. Countries en route as well as the countries of refuge are facing problems new to them, especially in that scale. And maybe, maybe this will start a process of rethinking war and the price it comes with in the political classes. Hopefully this will eventually result not only in the realization of the truth of Benjamin Franklin’s words, but also in actions to stop this senseless killing of people and the destruction of every possibility for the survivors to make a living, not even talking about making a living in a healthy environment.