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These are my personal top-10 photographs from my Alps 2000 trip. They include pictures from Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The text around them is from my personal favorite writing from the trip. If you'd like to know more about the picture, roll your mouse over it for more information.
Simple lines with contrasting shadows. Brilliant Colors. Proof that a foreground need not have a subject given a dominating background.

I remember a trip to West Virginia in 1988 (Canaan Valley) with strong images of fall colors. It was just Mom, Dad, and myself. I listened to Timbuk 3 singing about the '84 elections and thinking of how it was now the next set of elections. Then I heard the song again in '92 and likely '96, as it still evokes a strong memory.

Now it is the year 2000 and the elections have occurred - albeit I and the recent of the nation have no idea who the winner is. I am sitting beneath some incredible views, but this time of the Bavarian Alps. 

In my half sleep, I have a flurry of "metaphors" flowing through me. They are visual, but not crisp enough to flow to paper other than through the nebulosity of words. Once concentrated on too much with the conscious analytical brain, they dissipate and unravel by a manner which in and of itself is metaphorical.

For instance, in my mind I saw a granite outcropping, dark, unpolished - natural. There was a large cylinder hole in it - like the ones left over from blasting when drilling with dynamite sticks. Stuffed inside this were some old papers wrapped cylindrically, 1-3 sheets of paper. They were a message of sorts, because the image kept wanting to transform into an arrow with the message attached. The image didn't transform, though - the papers were not so romantic, so desperate as to be flown through the air at random. The papers moved left to right before me, as if I were walking by them. 

Subtle curve, interesting interplay between farm/cows and church. Love the sky.
Missing some brightness, but it seems to suit the mood of the road by emphasizing the
A famous and frequently taken shot. No credit deserved

The thought occurred to me: why don't I just reach out and read them? This is not possible - it has several false assumptions with the metaphor. First, it assumes I am there, in front of, or even part of the metaphor. I am not. Secondly, even if I were to take a more 3rd person semi-omniscient perspective, it assumes the metaphor is dynamic. Sure, the viewpoint changes, and yes, the papers even seem to move, but to have them move in any other way breaks down the metaphor. Lastly, I could take the approach of just "knowing" what the papers say. But this fails too - the mystery is part of the metaphor. They are just blank papers if my mind pushes too hard. 

Mountain Overlooking a Castle Overlooking. I worked hard to intentionally get the curve of the mountain to emphasize an arrow pointing to the castl. I just wanted that castle turret sticking out more into the sky. I was standing on top of my ford focus roof for this picture, trying to avoid the unseen houses in the foreground.

When I push this hard, the metaphor unravels. For instance, the granite rock face turns into the side of a cave, and then my eyes are drawn to the brightness of the cave's opening, and my point of view flows to that opening, leaving the granite behind in darkness. The cave is not part of the original metaphor, but appears when consciousness enters, and I need to exit the world of metaphor. Even the exiting is done by metaphor. 

What a field day Krimml Falls was! This shot captures the ice the best, I think.
Simple Rule of Thirds
To me, It seems like the cloud is birthing the waterfall

These images are constantly floating if I shield my eyes from consciousness' overwhelming light, just enough to let my eyes see what is behind the brightness of the physical, corporeal world of tangibility. 

Cold Cold day, with only the castle separating the snow and trees from the foggy chill. The yellow just screams, when it would otherwise be quite soft

Of late, I am often flooded with the most amazing of metaphors. They roll off my tongue in a dream-induced trance. I wish I had more opportunity to record and explore these images. They require a level of a'loftness and freedom and intimacy I just do not have any more. 

Tig and Shadows. I love the soft backlighting on him, and the subtle bouncing of the sunlight over the rocks without hitting water, further emphasizing the size of the rocks.

(c) Geoffrey Peters, intangibility.com, 2002. For more information regarding this web page, please contact
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