The Butterfly Hours ~ #01 Contemplation

 
 
 
 
 
"What's a butterfly garden without butterflies?"

Roy Rogers 

Lizzy Sider - "Butterfly"

About a month ago, I decided it was time to visit the Schmetterlinghaus (the Imperial Butterfly House), located in the Burggarten, Vienna. The last time I went was a number of years ago. The Schmetterlinghaus is located a part of a gloriously large greenhouse structure called the Palmenhaus.  This visit was initially to take some photographs.

Once I arrived, the visit, not unlike a caterpillar, metamorphosed into something quite different. It became a butterfly hour of profound contemplation on the beauty of truth in love. Growing up with my Father, I learnt the value of being truthful, as it was so important to his sense of ethics, how he behaved as a parent and a friend.

I realised, what I subconsciously always knew, but like most children failed to recognise, that my Father was one of those rare individuals that handled his family, friends and the wider world without deceit. He dealt with life in complete openness, truth and free from illusionary masks. I now understand this is why we successfully survived as a family unit of three. Father taught my sister and me, the value of truth through the profound love of his family. He showed us that love does not deceive, but deals only in truth when we truly care.

"The Gloves are off!" - Round #01: Abandoned

"You are hurt and worn out"

Ayumi Hamasaki 

Goyte and Fourth Floor Collapse - "Worn Out Blues"

"The Gloves are off!", at least in Gersthof, the area of Vienna where I live. Wandering from my apartment to the local transport junction, has taken an intriguing turn in the last few months. Major trackwork, on the tramlines, has been going on and will continue until the end of September.  I touched on the work in a previous essay, titled "Nuts in May".

The photographic opportunities afforded by this work to shoot some intriguing and offbeat photo studies has been overwhelming. I could be writing on a variety of topics and sharing the better photos for months on this trackwork. The photos above, of work gloves caught my attention on different days and in different places.

Worn-out and abandoned, the pair in the first photo, shot on a rainy day, were left laying on a section of bare tracks undergoing work. For more than a week, I passed this pair, unmoving and undisturbed, exactly how they were first shot. During this time, I contemplated a number of scenarios for their abandonment - the sad, the bad and the ugly. They finally disappeared when the area was cleaned, as the final work, for that section, went ahead and the plinths, between the sections of track, were put back into place.