Something New!

Tourist snap of Schönbrunn by Nigel A. JAMES

"Events" is my new page containg info about what's going on around the world! I will of course be updating it all the time, adding and taking away, etc. If you have something you want to post on my "events page", please send me a mail. To read "events, all you have to do is to click on to it at the top right hand side of this page.

njmailboy@gmail.com

The Calm After the Storm!

Fishing in the Calm of Balaton!

Not all calm waters are always still. Just one day before I took this picture, Lake Balaton in Hungary, had been hit by some of the worst weather in living memory! The damage on shore was really bad, but, as far as I know, everyone lived to tell the tale.

My e-mail address is njmailboy@gmail.com

Ushi Haderer

Ushi Haderer - photo by Nigel A JAMES

A Branch of Photography that can Grow on You!



Most people’s hobbies consist of activities that are only of interest to like minded people. Fishing, for example, can only be discussed by fishermen, and tennis, for anyone other than a keen player, is the most boring pastime on earth! Ushi Haderer’s hobby, however, is different!

Ushi has a hobby that is as fascinating for her as it is for everyone else! Ushi, in her spare time, is a photographer; and the photos that she takes are those of trees; and her pictures are sensational.

Last week, whilst visiting her, she showed me, and the other guests as well, one of her albums. Two things struck me. The first was the nature of her pictures, and the second was the genuine interest that everyone was taking in her work. Trees, it seems, have a fascination for everybody.

I have always believed that the shooting of trees (in a photographic sense –that is) to be a very difficult thing indeed. They don’t smile for you, you can’t tell them to turn their heads, and you can’t tell them to say cheese! The work is for you. You’re the one who has to walk around and around until you find the perfect angle, and so on and so on. But Ushi doesn’t see it in the same way.

Trees, she says, have feelings of their own; they are, after all, just as alive as you and I are. If you give them long enough, they will surely tell you, in their own special way, all that is needed for the perfect picture. The time of day, the differences in the light, the weather, etc, make absolutely no difference at all. Every time is the best time for a very good picture; all that you need is a camera, the trees, themselves, will guide you!

After looking at Ushi’s pictures, I, too have started thinking differently about tree. They are, in a way, as essential to us as water. They provide us with warmth, shelter, furniture and many other countless things as well; and, thanks to Ushi, they give us great pleasure as well!



If you wish to send me a comment, my address is, njmailboy@gmail.com

High Society

A Cut Above the Rest



There are many eastern European townscapes which are still dominated by blocks of “socialist” flats. Known as “Plattenbaus”, these apartment blocks were not built, they were constructed; and all out of pre-cast concrete sections. All of the apartments offer the same simple basic comforts, and range in size from one to four rooms. Apartment blocks have, on average, 12 stories.

Veszprem, a small town in the west of Hungary, has an entire quarter which consists entirely of Plattenbaus, and, within this area, a society of its own has developed. There are all of the regular small shops and services that are normal to every society; but many of them are to be found within the basements and rooms of the actual apartment blocks themselves.

The above picture shows a hairdresser’s saloon. As you can see by the piping and the windows which are just below the ceiling, it is located in the basement of a tower block. Anita, the hairdresser who owns it, is busy giving Maxi a “Summer hair cut”.

Anita, by the way, is a very good hairdresser!




My e-mail address is, njmailboy@gmail.com

Alexandra Tuvic

Alexandra with Aramis - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Deadlines




To the north of Lake Balaton in Hungary lies the little village of Alsöörs, and it is from there, whilst travelling down by road, that one gets one’s first impressionable view of the lake; and it is there in Alsöörs, on the right hand side of the road, that 12 year old Alexandra Tuvic lives.

Living in the country means a closeness with animals, and this applies more-so to Alexandra than to most other people. Her family has a riding school, and Alexandra has been riding since before she could walk: first a small pony, then a small horse, and now Aramis, a magnificent Haflinger. But a stable life isn’t only horses, it's dogs and cats as well.

Alexandra loves all animals, animals are her life, but it is for dogs that she feels the most. She understands them and they can understand her. She knows what they are thinking, it’s written in their eyes, and the wagging of their tails show her how happy they are. But, sadly, not all dogs are happy!

Dogs have the same depths of emotional wanting that we have, but without us they are lost. Dogs are totally dependant upon us, not only for food, love and shelter, but also for life itself; and, tragically, many a stray or lost dog has finished its life prematurely at a “last stop kennels”. Either no one had come forward to claim their dog, or no suitable new home had been found. And 14 days was all that they had! And one day, a couple of years ago at a nearby kennel, Alexandra looked into the eyes of those that were waiting to die, and she was saddened.

A big problem was money, and food in the kennel was short. Amazingly, Alexandra set about doing something about it. With the help of her parents and friends, she organized a flea market and raised lots of cash for lots of food. So successful was her first endeavour that this year will be her third, and her success has certainly made a very big difference.

Things have changed. The dogs in the kennel no longer have such sad and wanting eyes. Maybe it’s the food? Decent food, after all, does make a very big difference! And amazingly, fewer and fewer dogs are being put to sleep - and more and more are finding new homes!

What Alexandra started was an awareness of what was happening, and this in turn lead to happiness - and it’s still spreading.

Thanks to Alexandra’s vision, the eyes that once told of despair have now turned into stories of life as it should be!


My e-mail address is, njmailboy@gmail.com

work-schop.28 and Galerie Ruth Maier

Christopher Bily with his Mona Lisa - Photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Colouful Dynamics

Something very special will be happening this coming weekend in Galerie Ruth Maier in Vienna! As of Friday (the 7th of May), the artists of work-schop.28 will be presenting their work in a show that promises to be nothing other than a colourful sensation! Work-schop.28 is the home of many fine young artists, and, in the past thier exhibitions have proved to be not only highly successful, but also highly moving as well.

The Vernissage will be held on Friday the 7th of May, 19-22hrs, all are welcome! The exhibition itself will only be open on Sunday the 9th of may between 14 and 17hrs.

Galerie Ruth Maier - Siebensterngasse 25 - 1070 Vienna. tel - 01/ 409 2655

See You at the Vernissage!