retrospective of 2015
Moments captured in 2015.
Heritage of Scotland
Scotland is a country blessed with beautiful nature and a rich historical past. It is the country of philosophers like Adam Smith or poets like Roberts Burns and Sir Walter Scott. The writer of Ivanhoe was an intensely romantic person and made the history and traditions of Scotland famous again at a moment in time when they ran the risk of being forgotten. The kilt and the pipes became known once more, and even English kings, not always kind to their neighbors in the north, began to wear the traditional Scottish garments. Sir Walter Scott was so in love with his motherland that he built a romantic castle as a residence in the Borderlands. The architectural style is a mixture of different historical periods. It became the prototype for similar houses around Great Britain and the world in the 19th century.
Pictures of Britain
Memories from a Journey to the Island. Shot in Chester, Bath, Salisbury and Bristol in July of 2019.
The Sniper Tower
The Sniper Tower is an abandoned high-rise building in the war-torn city of Mostar in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The eerie site is officially closed down but is still used as a graffiti art space. During the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995, it was used by Croatian snipers to target the nearby square, also hitting and killing many civilians. Today, there is peace, luckily, but Mostar is still divided between Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks, the sniper tower marking the border of the two parts of the city and standing as a visible reminder and as a warning.
The City of Thousand Windows: Berati
Berati is situated in southern Albania and is well known for its history and architecture. Founded in the 9th century, it has always been a hotspot for different religions; up until today, Christians and Muslims live peacefully in the town. Though famous, Berati is mainly for its stone buildings, situated close to each other on a hillside facing the river Ishull. Visually striking are the large windows on these houses, so Berati also got the name “The City of Thousand Windows.”
Greek Series: Mykonos and Delos
This post is part of the so-called “Greek Series,” consisting of photographs I shot while backpacking Greece in September 2013. You’ll find a basic introduction to the series here, and the last post featuring Mykonos can be accessed here.
Mykonos is part of the Cyclad Islands. Today, it is a populous island, living primarily on tourism. It is well known for its beaches and nightlife. In ancient times, though, Delos’s much smaller sister island was much more critical than Mykonos. It was a sacral island and a place of worship mainly for the gods Apollon and Artemis. After its decline, Delos was primarily forgotten and rediscovered only in modern times by archeologists from France. Today, it is a museum and can be visited easily from Mykonos by ferry. Pictures 2, 3, 4, and 5 (the well-known lion statues) and 6 are from Delos, while the others are shot on Mykonos.
Michael Hoffman Photography 