Cruise Control

BY BERT STEPHANI

My headlights always seem to be switched on this time of year. Every morning my car greets me with the ping that warns me for slippery roads despite the new winter tires. I can see a roller coaster year in my rear view mirror and there is that nagging realization that only a fundamental change of course can avoid the view of yet another roller coaster year ahead.

For now I'm going to push the cruise control button, lean back and find joy in the few rays of sunlight that make it over the horizon and through the clouds. I have to have faith that at some point I'll be ready to exit the traffic flow and enjoy the change of speed, the sound of tires on rough tarmac and an unknown but clear view through the windshield. 

Entre deux rives

By Vincent Baldensperger

Entre deux rives, un passage, une petite dune au-dessus de l’eau que l’on parcours chaque matin, chaque jour, dans un sens ou dans l’autre sans s’y arrêter, jamais. Prendre ce temps de l’observation, se poser au sommet, c’est y découvrir au fur et à mesure des habitués, des surpris, des gênés, des heureux, des sérieux, des désolés, des fâchés, des gentils, des pas gentils, des souriants, des amusés, des farceurs, des timides, des pressés, des décidés, des nonchalants, des sans-soucis, des inquiets, des embarrassés, des enthousiasmés, des amoureux…

Poker Night

By Patrick La Roque

Inevitably, there’s playing—cards or water guns, a board game of some sort. This time tradition won the draw and out came the brushed metal suitcase. Serious stuff.

I stood on the sidelines, lurking—the eternal bystander. I watched as individuals fought for supremacy. One family, two nations.
If only the world were so simple.

Copenhagen Light

BY JONAS DYHR RASK

I don’t really want to write too many words in todays story. I’m tired. Tired of words. Tired of broken promises. Tired.
Copenhagen was great. Observing it yet again was great. Capturing it was great.

Copenhagen Lights

shot using a pre-production GFX50R - GF63mm and Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM

The People of Shibuya

BY KEVIN MULLINS

I’m just back from a whirlwind trip to Japan.

It’s the third time I’ve been to the Land of the Rising Sun and each time I’m amazed a little more by its quirkiness and sense of achievement.

Everything that happens in Japan, happens for a reason and it’s a beutiful thing to witness actually.

Whilst I couldn’t live in the hussle of Tokyo, there are many aspects of Japanese society that we could all learn from.

Here are a few shots from a period of time I spent at the pretty famous Shibuya crossing.

I only took my X100F on this trip, and I feel it was the perfect companion. Small, light, discreet and having not really used this camera much in 2018 it was a cathartic experience to get up close and personal with the people of Shibuya.

100 Years And Still As Stupid

By Derek Clark

The war to end all wars. Obviously, that was just a suggestion and not something to be taken too seriously, because it’s fair to say there have been a few wars since the first world war ended exactly a century ago on November 11th, 1918. I looked at the Google Machine to see how many wars there have been in the last hundred years, but it’s nearly impossible to get an accurate number. The number of deaths due to war in the 20th and 21st century is also hard to work out, but between 118 and 187 million, give or take.

It’s hard to figure us humans out as a species. We watch movies (for fun) that are mostly about killing each other. Lone gunmen shooting crowds of people are becoming the norm and each time it happens there’s an outrage (for a very short time at least), but we don’t bat an eye when thousands die every day on the other side of the world.

I went to the Remembrance Day parade in Glasgow on Sunday. It was busier than previous years obviously, due to the 100 anniversary of the end of WW1. It’s an emotional experience and an important event. I have so much respect for the men and women in the forces, but not so much for the powers that be, who send them to foreign soil based often on reasons far removed from those of World War II, but more to do with power or money.

We commemorate. But we don’t seem to learn.

Tokyo Mannequin

BY BERT STEPHANI

I’ve just spent 4 jet-lagged days in Japan, followed by 2 hours in a bus, 3 hours at the airport and 13 hours in an airplane seat that was designed for garden gnomes. My mind is still somewhere over Siberia so I’ll just put up the few pictures from the trip that I’ve managed to edit on the plane and I’ll follow up with more soon.