Never have I seen
A tree or lake
That could not take
My breath away
Beautiful light on the Newcastle foreshore last Sunday afternoon. I was heading to the ocean baths to shoot the sunset and stopped quickly to shoot this scene on the way. The light was amazing… I was definitely lucky to be in the right place at the right time!
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
Last weekend was the second edition of Lake Macquarie’s Float Your Boat event. It was a lot of fun and seems to be getting bigger and better each year!
For the first night I went along with my photo group to Marmong Point Marina for the start of the event and then on to the Toronto foreshore to capture the boats in action, and then on the second night I caught them near where I live in Belmont.
The photos were challenging as shooting moving objects at night is quite difficult but they came out well overall. I think I learnt a lot from shooting the event last year and it really helped me this time. I’m very happy with them.
Both nights were a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to next year’s event. I hope you enjoy the photos!
Photos © CJ Levinson 2018
I am like a tree
The wind blows me to and fro
But still I stand tall
I spotted this tree on the Newcastle foreshore while shooting the sunset last week. I thought the way it was leaning was interesting and I really liked the way it framed the scene and the dying light.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2018
As the sun sets
On another day
I find myself
Thinking of you
Beautiful sunset from earlier this evening. The sky had clouded over during the afternoon and I didn’t think we were going to get much of a sunset at first but for a few minutes the sky opened up and turned this gorgeous purple and pink. Glad I stuck around to catch it.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
Lights, sirens,
Cars, music, skyscrapers,
Laughter:
This is Sydney to me
I’ve been in Sydney for the last couple of days. The sunsets have been really beautiful and I managed to catch this shot yesterday. Simple but I like how it came out.
After 5 years in Newcastle, a part of me still misses Sydney. My friends. The culture, social life. So much of my life has been here that it will probably always feel like home to me.
I don’t miss it as much as I used to though. I guess I’ve moved on but then Sydney has moved on as well. A lot of my favourite places, the cafes and shops and bookstores and galleries I used to go to are gone now or rebranded. Sydney is changing. Which is both good and a little sad but it makes moving on a little easier.
This view never seems to change much though. I used to walk past this spot, near Queen’s Park, on my way to school twenty five years ago and the view still looks much the same now as it did back then. I wonder if it still will in another twenty five?
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
Sometimes I wish
I was a child again,
Seeing magic
With new eyes
I was out shopping earlier and passed some of the Southern Cross Garrison outside The Empire Coffee Co at Charlestown Square.
One of the cafe’s lovely staff took the photo with me in it and the stormtroopers were kind enough to pose for a quick snap afterwards too.
It was was great fun seeing them there and fantastic seeing so many kids going up and chatting and taking photos. Definitely brought a big smile to my face.
Happy Star Wars Day!
Photos and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
Purple skies
Clear water –
Memories of another life
Long ago
I took these photos a couple of weeks ago. I had been planning to arrive for a sunset shoot but I ended up being slightly late and missed it. The dusk was still beautiful though and I think the photos turned out well anyway as the light was so interesting.
It was a bit of a strange photowalk for me as this part of Pinny Beach actually adjoins Caves Beach, the suburb in Lake Macquarie where my mother and I stayed with my grandparents after we had to leave Sydney following my father’s suicide attempt.
It was actually almost exactly five years to the day that we left Sydney when I took these photos and going back was a bit surreal. Caves Beach is a beautiful, peaceful place but it was not a happy time and I still see echoes of our experiences there when I walk around, particularly of our early days there and my grandparents’ dementia.
In retrospect I probably should have picked a different day and week to go but I’m glad these photos came out of it at least. Photography has been one thing that has really helped me to process and heal during these last five years… it’s very cathartic and I’m glad that I could capture the beauty there that day. Five years ago I probably wouldn’t have been able to recognise it and I guess that shows how far I’ve come.
Photos and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
Sky of red and gold
How your beauty reminds me
Of the one I love
Beautiful sunset from earlier this evening. I was out doing some shopping and just happened to be outside as the sun started to set and managed to get this. Sometimes timing is everything.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2018
Nobody knows the world is ending
Nobody knows we’re all alone
Nobody knows how we got here
Nobody knows the way back home
Nobody knows the pain you live with
Nobody knows the masks you wear
Nobody knows the promises you’ve broken
Nobody knows the scars you bear
Did you think love would save you?
Did you think everything would just work out?
Don’t you know life’s not like that?
Don’t you know what it was all about?
Nobody knows if Jesus is coming
Nobody knows if God is dead
Nobody knows the clock is ticking
Nobody knows the end is up ahead
Nobody knows what it has cost you
Nobody knows the lies you tell
Nobody knows how hard it is to keep going
Nobody knows how far you fell
Did you think you would find forgiveness?
Did you think you would explain it all away?
Don’t you know some things can’t be forgiven?
Don’t you know there’s nothing you can say?
Nobody knows the war is coming
Nobody knows it’s already too late
Nobody knows the game is over
Nobody knows how to change their fate
Nobody knows the prayers you whisper
Nobody knows the secrets you keep
Nobody knows everything you’ve lost
Nobody knows why you weep
Did you think it was going to be easy?
Did you think you would just start again?
Don’t you know your sins have to be paid for?
Don’t you know there was a price, even then?
Nobody knows how the inmates took over
Nobody knows who’s running the show
Nobody knows who’s going to save us
Nobody knows how the future will go
Nobody knows why I still love you
Nobody knows why I hate you too
Nobody knows why it’s so hard to forgive
Nobody knows what we’ve been through
Nobody knows
No nobody knows
Photo: Self-Portrait in Black and White © CJ Levinson 2016
Poem licenced under Creative Commons