the name of the rose

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweer"  (Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare)

Once I wanted to try reading Shakespeare - in English - because everybody seemedto be talking about and referring to his plays, especially Romeo and Juliet, which is said to be the most popular lovestory in the word.
I failed. Neither could I admire the (as I was told9great lanuage nor the beautiful poetry because I couln't even keep up with the story (although I already had a general idea about it)!
When I later found a bilangual edition in the library, I decided to give Shakespeare a second try - to sum it up, I still didn't understand a lot of the English part (and the German translation was terrible to read because of an awful style & language), but at least I somehow made my way through the whoe play.
The quotation above this text is one of the very few things that still lingered in my mind after I finished it.
Names are only names. They don't say anything about the person that bears them. As I remember the context, juliet said this to Romeo (or was it the other way around?). She was saying that his family name didn't matter to her at all because she loved him, as a person, and not as a member of the hated family. That whatever name he would bear could not change anything about is personality and the way she was seeing him.
As the end of the story shows, not everyone is able to think like tha. For the rest of her family, his name mattered a great deal.
What first caught my eye was the picture of the rose, and the truth behind it.
I very much agree as I, for example, do not love roses because of the word but because of what they are - beautiful, wonderfully fragrant flowers.
Even if one likes the word, this likely happens due to the image it creates in one's head. Same way with disapproval. That's why nobody of Julias relatives could accept Romeo and this is also the reason why I always cringe when I'm introduced to a person whose first name awakes bad memories. Luckily this always disappears as soon as I get to know him or her.
A name doesn't make up or pins down anyone - not even a rose.

behind the camera

Making photos is mostly me seeing the world while I'm hidden behind the camera (unless I'm not turning it around to focus myself - but then, I don't see anything anymore.) There's nothing visible of me, merely some emotional influneces, personal preferences in choosing the objects and composing them. Only here, on this picture, it's a slightly bit different...

My best friend and I can only visit each other very rarely. We're close, though, through mails, letters and the telephone. Like in this picture: We're seperated through glass and neither of us could hear the other, but we communicated. And I shot that photo.
Originally I had intended to make one last photo of her before the train took me away again, then I discovered that I was visible as well and that had an astonishing effect. (usually it's quite enerving to have these mirror effects when photographing through glass!)
Now it's not only a picture of her saying goodbye to me, but of the two of us: seperated but together and united on the photo. And I as the photographer am as visible as the object I photograph...

Hej!

Welcome to my blog!
Although its supposed to be writing , I'd like to base it on photos (if I'll ever understand how this works... :) Pictures say so much more than words, and a single photo can transport far more information, memories and feelings than a long text. Because I like it both, making photos and writing texts, I chose to combine it here. Hope you'll enjoy sharing them with me!