*August

We had so many blackberries this year – they were super tasty! Also lots of tomatoes, which I’ve been eating fresh every day. The cosmos flowers are in full bloom, but the last rain pushed many of them to the ground and broke their stems, so I’ve already had to remove quite a few – though some are still standing.

There’s a lot of garden work to do at the moment, and it’s also plum season, so I’ve already preserved many of them. In case you’d like to try my easy berry cake recipe, I’ve written it down for you! You can use any kind of berries you like – it will always turn out delicious.

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*moments

Oh, those pictures already feel so far away! The gentle summer wind has recently turned into fresh autumn air, and we even had some much-needed rain. Over the past days I’ve cocooned myself in my own little world – working around the house and garden and illustrating late into the night. It feels as if I haven’t really been there these past days, because there were hardly any “thoughts” – and yet, there was more presence than usual, a kind of floating, uninterrupted being. Hard to describe!

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*nature

Nature

She is always here for you,

listening,

enfolding,

answering through the singing of the wind,

rustling trees,

birdcalls

and humming bees.

Sheltering your soul,

indulging your senses

every anew.

{Claudia Voglhuber}

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*clouded

Overcast days felt like a blessing this summer.

A welcome relief from the intensity of the heat,

and more energy for exploring new lovely places in nature.

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*on summer paths

On summer paths 

I wander without a sound.

The emptier my mind,

the fuller my heart.

Butterfly wings

are moving with the waves of the wind,

so softly and light,

no resistance to life.

Sheeplike clouds

cover the bluest of blues

while I'm resting my head

in this chamomile bed.

{Claudia Voglhuber}

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*ink doodles

Every now and then, I like to play with ink. It helps me overcome the perfectionist tendencies that often hold me back in art. I simply use a brush (or a pen) and ink, without sketching with pencil first, so I have to accept all the flaws as they are.

Yet, aside from photography, I’m not able to engage in any creative pursuit consistently. With photography, I feel less pressure – perhaps because I never intended to make a living from it. It has always accompanied me, through both good times and moments when life seems to fall apart. I will never stop feeling enthusiastic about photography. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I find comfort in looking at a pile of collected images that awaken a cozy feeling in me and help me feel lighter instantly.

There is so much beauty to discover in this world. Through my eyes, through aesthetic images, I can experience immense joy. I feel deeply thankful for the way my inherent nature allows me to perceive and appreciate it.

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*a long forgotten past

Have you seen the movie Elisa & Marcela? It’s about two girls who were in love around 1900 in Spain, and one of them assumed a male identity so she could marry her lover and be with her. (It’s based on a true story.) What intrigued me wasn’t so much the story itself, but the way it was filmed – in black and white, so beautifully captured. When I first saw my developed black-and-white film, it instantly reminded me of this movie.

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*warm brick walls

This old, abandoned farmhouse in my neighborhood was the ideal place to play with the old black-and-white film. I love the brick walls and old wooden window frames with the already broken glasses where wild wasps build their nests inside. And the changing seasons also change the feel and impression of the building continuously. I hope they will not demolish this for decades untouched house. I made many pictures around this place over the years and I still don't get bored to let it shine in a new light in my photography work.

I had a weird dream tonight. One of my school teachers who had treated me badly back then cried tears of regret and those tears were dripping into my face – I could even taste the saltiness while they where running over my mouth. My dream life is very active right now. A few nights ago I was flying above a raging, dark sea next to a big steamboat. The wind was blowing strongly, but I was not in fear. Though I knew that I must not doubt, because the moment you doubt, you immediately sink down when you fly in a dream.

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*Ilford HP5

Some time ago, I finally used an old black-and-white film that I had been postponing for years. I even loaded it into my camera unintentionally and only realized it after I had already taken several pictures. Since it was 36 years expired and hadn’t been stored properly, I doubted that anything usable would come out. But to my surprise, the pictures turned out in a very aesthetically pleasing way, almost as if they had been taken a hundred years ago! I’m in love! I’m so glad for my happy accident, and it has made me eager for more experiments!

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*golden fields

In the meantime, most of the fields have already been threshed, only the sunflower fields still hold their heads bravely toward the sun, and the corn ripens at its own pace. In the early mornings, mist rises over the woods again, giving me a vague sense of autumnal days – a silent longing in my heart for the introverted season already. Perhaps it’s because the last few weeks have been hard on me, and I haven’t been able to live a proper summer life. But God is kind to us, so everything is in His order, and we too are able to ripen – like those golden summer fields.

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