“May your roots grow deep and your branches reach high.”
To this day my favorite piece of music is “Forest Requiem” which plays in Kolima and Kolima Forest.
This will be available as a 11x17 print at the next con!
Best Friends
Born in Africa to French wildlife photographer parents, Tippi Degré had a most unusual childhood. The young girl grew up in the African desert and developed an uncommon bond with many untamed animals including a 28-year old African elephant named Abu, a leopard nicknamed J&B, lion cubs, giraffes, an Ostrich, a mongoose, crocodiles, a baby zebra, a cheetah, giant bullfrogs, and even a snake. Africa was her home for many years and Tippi became friends with the ferocious animals and tribespeople of Namibia. As a young child, the French girl said, “I don’t have friends here. Because I never see children. So the animals are my friends.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
— from The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) by Margery Williams, 1922
Misao and Fukumaru. “We will never be apart.”
12 years ago, Japanese photographer, Miyoko Ihara (伊原 美代子) started to take photographs of her grandmother, Misao. Born in 1981 in Chiba (Japan), Miyoko Ihara has studied under Kenji Higuchi (樋口健二), after graduating from the Press Photography Course at the Nippon Photography Institute in 2002. Miyoko is also a member of The Photographic Society of Japan.”
“Under the sun, everyday is a good day. Another good day, Fukumaru”, Misao. Eight years ago, Misao found a odd-eyed kitten in the shed. She named the cat “Fukumaru” in hope that “God of fuku” (good fortune) comes and everything will be smoothed like a “maru” (circle)”.
“We’ll never be apart!”, says Misao to Fukumaru. Both of them live in a tiny world, with dignity, with mutual love. Still today, under the blue sky, Misao and Fukumaro work in the fields and in these natural surroundings, where they shine like the stars.”
Sources: asianoffbeat.com
Website: whitemanekicat.p1.bindsite.jp
Taken in various locations around Maniwa and Okayama Prefecture in Japan between 2008-2011 this brilliant series of photographs captures the wild frenzy of gold fireflies as they mate after thunderstorms during the June to July rainy season. Shot using a slow shutter speed, the neon green and yellow contrails seem almost digitally imposed on the scenic landscapes, but I assure you these are real.
beautiful and surreal.
