238 / ocean paintings

These have been stored for a while

unpacked them to show to someone who'd seen others 

from that time

there's some I'd like to fiddle with, but don't wish to

interrupt the mountain ones in progress

for me, theres something like a water 'zone',

its very different to an earth zone
(zone being the state of mind the pictures happen in)

maybe if

 you are a super competitive mountain climber

or swimmer etc, its different - more of a race

this is more about the difference between the elements

237 / plans

Plans to visit Nepal in October are in flux.

Bought my plane ticket before the earthquakes,

the insurance will not pay if I cancel
(here is at Angkor)

so I've been looking at what it is that draws me to 

parts of Asia, & what I love to photograph
(beautiful ruins in Vietnam that were bombed, I think)

the ravages of time & nature, of course,

& the signs of long ago past events, here in Thailand

I really enjoy time's hand on surfaces

& an (isolated) story like this.

But how will it be, with half a million houses destroyed,

almost all the historical monuments,

& so many wonderful Nepalese people left with nothing?

Webjet says they don't insure for 'loss of enjoyment'.

They'd never understand things like 

feeling the difficulties all around me.

It would break my heart.

Shall wait to see what I do, come October.

236 / settings

At the beach this week, I could hear that my camera was

making a different noise

couldn't check why till I got home:

it had somehow changed to another setting

which I'd thought might only be useful for sports,

so I'd not used it

fun to see how it dealt with waves, & how that

opens up further possibilities.

235 / Shechen monastery

The beautiful Shechen monastery is also at Boudhanath,

& has unfortunately been damaged in the earthquakes,

but is nevertheless housing some 2000 people 

affected by the quakes

as you may know, the great 

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was associated with 

the monastery

I like to stay at their guesthouse nearby, as any profit

goes to support the monastery,

as well as a medical centre

& theres a very pleasant garden

the monastery building itself is a work of art

234 / Boudhanath

At Boudhanath, in Kathmandu, there is a very large & old stupa,

which is a focal point of visits there

sometimes the pigeons seem to watch people 

walking in a clockwise direction around the perimeter

There are shops on the outer rim,

with beautiful Buddhist statues & artefacts

Avalokiteshvara

is the personification of perfect Compassion.

always like how the glass windows reflected

the stupa behind me

send help to Nepal, please

233 / Kathmandu & Pokhara

Heartbreaking to see the photos from Nepal,

& realising the plight of the people there

in Bhaktapur many of the old buildings were wrecked 

including in the main square

these are from my stay in 2012

no news yet about the beautiful Shechen monastery

which is next to where I stayed in Boudhanath, I think theres been 

some damage to the big stupa there

& while people I know in Pokhara are safe,

there are grave fears for the villages, 

the death toll continues to rise,

everyone in Nepal will be affected for years to come

Macchapuchare

the Holy mountain, in the Annapurnas

232 / perfect days

a few more from Boulder Beach 

we've had a series of beautiful clear days, cool evenings
How come we are so lucky to be here?

hope its good where you are too.
Send love & donations to Nepal!