Water Colour Powder Cloud

Happy belated International Woman's Day all ladies reading this blog. Let me just start by saying THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY BEST FUN PHOTO SHOOTS I'VE EVER DONE! Indre, once again that same multi-talent Indre Winterrain who knits all my hats, scarfs and headbands, helped me out with some photo games when I was still living in my little North Sea island Helgoland. She's helped me in cold winter days or cold summer evenings by supplying all her body and willingness just to get those shots. Wonderful woman with wonderful power ♥

I ordered some holi festival color powder last minute online and off we went. Sunset twilight at the Helgoland beach back in July 2015 and Indre in the cold carried by the sea. I overall love the result and am so looking forward for more of that kind! but my favourites are not with the powder in the air in funny split-of-a-second-shapes but rather the 'left overs' on my models skin, the mixture of different colour 'stains' all over her body and face. Joy oh joy!

A rather short text post this time! Some of the smoke bomb shoots still in preparation and to come soon.

Leaving Helgoland

Maren came to visit me back in October last year. We explored the autumn sun of Helgoland, checked if the seals were still chilling on the beach. I kept on testing out my new Fuji x-t1, trying to catch the rays before they settle down for the winter, much photographing against the sun. Back at home, between tea sessions, a little cold that I caught, veggie english breakfasts and birdy visitors we also made some photos of Maren which I published already few posts back. Also, I sat down for a few self portraits with my slightly sick face.

Now, every day the sun stays up for a few more minutes. Yet I will be leaving Helgoland by the end of this January for good. On the day I leave I will have spent sixteen months of my life living on a 1,8 square kilometres piece of land, 50 km away from the next mainland shore. Building up new friendships, diving into daily office work life, changing my personality a bit, fulfilling one of my fundamental dreams - to live at the seaside, to live in the middle of the North sea - a few of the things I’ve done at the time of my stay.

Truth is - this island actually is a magical place. Here, I understood a lot not only about myself, but the dear old Universe, you call it. I was raising questions and I got a few answers, very simply while doing every day things, walking from A to B and observing some amazing everyday 6 am sunrises. Then I forgot the answers. In good moods I remembered them again. Helgoland comes from ‘holy land’ and you start feeling different once set foot over here. The longer you stay, the stronger the impact.

Will I miss the constantly fresh healthy air? Yes. Will I miss the quiet mornings with seagulls calling to begin the day? Also, the evenings with the noise of strong wind blowing along my windows as the biggest noise that the street here can offer? Yes. The lighthouse beams scanning my bedroom from one corner to another at night time? So romantic - yes. Will I miss short ways from house to work to beach to shop to anywhere? And everyone saying hello to you all the time because it’s just those 1300 people living on the island and you sort of know two thirds of them? Yes. Will I miss tax free internet shopping? Hell yeah! Sauna spa with a view to the stormy waves while you’re sitting all sweaty salty in all lavender mint orange pine tree - you name it - scent in the air? Well, guess the answer.. The ocean view everywhere? Oh, my ocean, my daily moon arisings over the ocean. Yes. My dear friend Nadja, her I will miss a lot, too.

Even though, I’m not sad to leave. The reasons are more complex and private then the need to write them down over here. There are things I won’t be missing at all, nonetheless I leave the option wide open to come back here again and spend some later years of my life over here.

Even though I’m risking much by leaving, much needed stability, regular income, this safety feeling on this island in general, even though - I’m embracing all new whats there to come and encounter me soon. Or rather even - I am going to take and hug nicely all what’s been calling and waiting for some time already.

The Girl who was a Fox

one good side about living on an island far far away is that friends want to eventually come and see it and see me. Helgoland seems to be an island where 'no one has ever been but was always curious to come and check it out'. as i am here right now, some adventurous friends dare it and take a weekend or more off for a short discovery trip. when i get visits here, they mostly are intense and very cozy, i show around the island, tell stories about baby seals, show the ocean horizon all around this tiny little island. we bond on this island much more, more intense than while i was still living on the mainland, where on weekends eventually you come together for a party or a dinner, but rarely experience a face to face time over a few days. then i bring them back to the boat and wave good bye. Maren came to visit me last weekend. she is a girl fox and she writes beautiful songs. i first met her outside of a café in Bochum where she was knitting a big fluffy Iceland style pullover, as she had spent lots of time living in Iceland. the second time i saw her in a sweater with a fox picture. i immediately had to show her my fox earrings i was wearing those days. on the last day of her Helgoland visit the sun was tickling my bedroom wall. we got inspired and played around for the sake of beauty.

for Maren's music you can check her page Girl and the Fox or visit her facebook site.

her left arm/shoulder tattoo was made by the Expanded Eye art duo, also to be found on facebook and instagram.

her right lower arm tattoo the leaf was designed by... me! <3 the ones who know me have seen it many times changing on my arm or had been given one, too, with my legendary permanent CD marker. since 2012 random examples one, two, three, four, five are to be found on my old blog. Maren eventually got it inked in Iceland.

ps:

“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world …”

Good Vibes at the Lobster Breeding Station, AWI Helgoland

The Alfred Wegener Institute - AWI - is a biological institute for polar and ocean science (also check their general english page). There are a few stations around Germany and also, proudly to say, there is one on Helgoland! so the other half of the island inhabitants are students from all over the globe, who are somehow not often to be seen anywhere around, but they are young, fresh, full of energy and - at least it's my impression - positively loaded people. A few weeks ago the institute had an open door day and I took the chance to finally look around (and finally see those cheerful people all in one building, magically lowering the average age of the already mentioned inhabitants of the island).when i was in school i had a great biology teacher and she didn't need to do a lot to force me to do any homework for her subject. I was redrawing the human blood systems voluntary of the book into my notebook, spending more hours than needed for a regular homework. for some reason though I never dreamed of a biologist career. event though I think it would have suited my soul quite a lot. Either way, the doors where open and finally one could see those crazy funny creatures in tanks and basins, or their skeletons or drawings. Lobsters and sea spiders in neon colours, all having their own names given by the workers of the station. The Lobster Breeding Station is one tour you can buy tickets for on regular days, and it's booming for it's popularity. Because lobsters are facing difficulties in the raising temperature of the north sea, here scientists grow the lobsters to a certain size and once in a year they let them out into the wild to continue on grow in their natural habitat in there. Here are some quick and very positive impressions of a place that is worth coming back to.

That's Valentine, the Hugh Hefner of the Lobster Breeding Station. He's here to get laid with as many female lobsters as possible. As it is a breeding station... remember.

This above - one of my favourite photos i had taken.

All this warehouse style space full of water and life - good energy, good vibe, good colour for the day and more. It reminded me of some good.

Photography Adventure #3: Meadow Magic

From my left way up to the dark sky and down on my right I see the borders of our galaxy. The milky way all blooming in an August nights gloom. I live my dream - I live at the sea. Not only at the sea - I live IN the sea. Helgoland isn’t set at the water, it is far away in the north sea and contains out of sea shores as it is such a tiny piece of land. Often I make a late night run or walk around the island just to remember where I am and what my personal paradise feels like. while letting some music on my earphones give the rhythm to my steps, with my hips I start invisibly dancing. The beauty and whole sense of living here is to have the treasure just seconds away from the home door. It is above fantastic to be able to reach the beach and escape to the meditation zone within minutes.

When I go out past sunset it is like going to my very own personal Church. Here is where in my mind I pray in positive vibrations rather than thoughts, and above all I sense gratefulness. Here I sense - God remembers what I crave for, and I don’t really need to think in sentences. Stars replace candles, last bits of the setting sun replace all the golden framed imagery and the the smell of salted waves seals the whole deal of sacredness.

My Church feels more like a safety zone that way. I remember my own dreams and my real me doesn’t have to hide anymore neither fit in some kind of shapes.

The lighthouse scans the sky in ever same steps reminding us of how far away we actually are. The windmills in the far north join my earphone music with their collectively blinking red lights.

When I start heading home I am clean and free again. Super free, filled with air and freedom for the eye in such a tiny closed pinch of land miles and miles away from mainland. No real place to escape, and yet feeling more free and connected than ever.

How ever life goes on and no matter how much longer I stay here, this island will always stay the place for me, where I found peace and for a few seconds there decoded the sense of life.

Photos underneath of when Indre Winterrain was visiting and we went out for more photographic adventure.