A TO Z PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE
Desert Dreams and Daily Dramas at Dawn
A photographic documentary of the letter “D”
“On your journey to your dream, be ready to face oasis and deserts. In both cases, don’t stop.” — Paulo Coelho
In that sense, let’s embrace the deserts we walk through and cherish the oasis in between. While this quote is a metaphorical saying, I can transfer it directly onto my life.
In between months of living in the desert, I move to countries like Germany and Thailand where rain is happening in abundance. I work hard most months of the year to play hard the other months.
It’s all about keeping the balance.
So this is my selection of features from desert life and the wetlands.
Ducks
Ducks aren’t rare birds in Germany and you can see them even on the smallest canals. But they are part of our ecosystem. These pretty creatures often appear alone but sometimes you’ll see them grouping up in larger numbers.
Daffodils and Dahlias
These delicate flowers are blooming in early spring and late fall. Daffodils being one of the first blossoms of the season, I don’t just love them for no reason.
They’re yellow, of course I love them.
And this year, they were blooming in full glory when the last snow decorated them with tiny packages. It was such a joy capturing the beauty of the moment with my camera.
Dahlias on the other hand only start blooming when most other flowers have disappeared already. Their delightful colors brighten up the gardens in late fall.
Damp days
Difficult days are usually the ones with disappearing sunlight. Just after the rains when everything is damp and wet, another ecosystem awakes to decorate the soil with mushrooms displayed in the meadows.
Danger at the dam
On our previous visit to the desert country Namibia, we went on a journey chasing the rain. From dead desert life, we went to dangerous life at the dam.
When it rains in these countries it doesn’t just drop a few inches. It pours down rain. And that’s what causes floods. So always be aware of the danger when nearing a dam. You never know when it will open up.
Dogs
Back to the mountains and pastures. Where street dogs were hiking with us for hours to protect us in the bear country. Dogs in Transylvania were the friendliest stray dogs I had seen up until now.
Daily dramas at dawn
When the night is disappearing and a different day is starting. Dawn. That’s when most dramas will start because we have to get going. Just like the birds taking off at sunrise flying out for another day feeding in the fields.
Desert dreams
And here we are circling back to desert dreams. To the view out of my tent when I wake up in the desert. This is where I started to dream big. And where I lived my dreams.
Believe in yourself and your dreams will come true.
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” — Colin Powell
This was a photo essay in response to JoAnn‘s prompt “Eating Apples and Avocados While Arranging Alligators and Autumn Leaves in Atlanta?”
An A to Z challenge: Finding interesting new ways to enjoy photography. Here are other participants and their photo essay submissions to the letter “D”:
JoAnn Ryan with “Exploring My ‘D’ Photos: Delaware, Disney, Divali lights, Delightful Daisies and Dahlias”
Dr. Preeti Singh with “Decoration, Dog, Doll, Desk, Dahlia”
Sharing Words with “Daisies, Dance, Daughter, Damselfly, Dog”
Rhonda Carrier with “Decorations, a Delightful Doodle Dog, Daddy Dallies, Desserts, Donations, Sundown, and Directions”
And these are my A,B,C stories:
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