Cathedral Candles

I thought I had a quarter in my pocket.
I wanted to light a candle
They're majestic aren't they?

Get a picture with me right in front while I light the candle
oh but damn I don't have a quarter.
Get the whole thing, all the way up to the top.

Are you getting the whole thing?
That very tippy-top candle?
_

What do we visit a church for?
A cathedral built for the worship of a God we regard skeptically
and whose name we take in vain.

If you get a shiver of emotion upon entring,
which heart string is being pulled?
Is it a testament to Man who built it?
Faith that inspired it?
Self congratulation for being there?
Gratitude for that moment?

Awe.
Boredom.
Flippancy.
Nostalgia.
Curiosity.
_

What would the men who built it think of the world surrounding today.

photo Jean Gaumy: October 1980. Pilgrims standing in front of the cave. Lourdes, France

Lille France Day Trip

Day trip from Paris to Lille en images

In the morning, it was a bright and quiet time.
With no others, but, a splash in the pond.
"Hello friend," came a call. "Are the fish biting
this fine morning?"
"Come have a seat and we can answer together."
They sat peacefully and kept their senses all
in the tips of their fingers.

"Good morning, sirs," accompanied the
soft sound of grass underneath advancing feet.
"Fine fishermen, may I share the shade
of this noble tree with you?"
"Gladly. Please, sit. But we must insist
that you keep still as a the trunk of that tree
so as not to scare the fish away."

Some time of silence and quiet passed
without the sound of any man
not even the companions along the water's edge.

"I sense your effort, kind sirs, to send your senses
to the tips of your fingers so as not to miss
the slightest nibble from your aquatic prey.
But I must insist that in your patience, you
leave just enough sense up here
to enjoy this magnificent day."

unspoken dialogues

I love the silent dialogues, internal in the first image from Martin Parr on the Summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Whales (a Magnum Photo) And the following two from Elliot Elisophon take in Lapaland (Life Photographs)

Grunge Heroes

At the Rock en Seine music festival Renaud Montfourny was the honored photographer, with a photo expo combining aerials of dead animals in city streets, and, of course, portraits of Rock Stars. The man, who also founded the french magazine Inrockuptables (the French Rolling Stone), has an eye for the greats and how to create an image of them as real people, full on with in their iconic attitudes.
Hung up next to each other:
These are my two grunge heroes-

A great LIFE photo series

See more at LIFE

Amazing images

From the collection of images on the walls of the Astor Hotel ( I don't know where it is, because tracing it back the website access is forbidden) but here is the archive of images
Mostly attributed to Edward Sheriff Curtis

love this picture

from a cool site for celeb photos