End of the earth – Photo hunt
August 20, 2012
How about photo assignement this month ? Here is one proposed by Karen at http://karmardav.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/photo-hunt-inspiration-and-early-announcement/
The deadline is August 31st and the theme is about the place(s) that would represent the “End of the earth” for you. Karen explains all about it in her blog (see above link, please).
Looking through some of my recent and older pictures, I found some images that I thought would show you my vision of the end of the earth.
A hamlet up in the Swiss Alps. About 15 people live there all year round. Both sides of the mountain slopes seem to close in front of the small village. On a foggy day the chalets look isolated, almost lost in the forest. To me it does look like the end of the earth. When the sun is out though the high mountains all around offer you a different sight: a quiet little village from where you could start hiking to the mountain pastures.
On a brighter side, here is a man doing paragliding; it looks as if he is heading to the end of the earth… A view that made me dizzy and envious of the infinite space that lay all around him and that is so difficult to imagine.
Sunset on the large lake, beauty, light, peace, isolation. It seemed that one could not go further and that the horizon of the lake would be the end of the earth.
Austral mountains and forests stretching out to the horizon. No visible village nor town nearby. No hikers to be seen around. The only sounds were the calls of the noisy cockatoes. A sure feeling of being at the end of the earth.
As for the “extreme” type of picture I felt like adding to Karen’s photo hunt, I chose this one. I took it a few years ago as I was walking along a mountain trail. Two boys were cycling and they stopped in front of a trail going down the slope. So steep that I would have hesitated to walk down there myself. I barely had time to ask : “Are you sure you…” and down they went !
Isathreadsoflife's Blog 
Such beautiful photography! It is almost surreal : )
so gorgeous. I imagine the air to be very clean and fresh
there. Those boys are brave to go flying down that trail. Were they riding along an edge?
Thanks Marie 🙂 Yes, the air is clean and fresh. You could go from F55 early in the morning to F80 in the afternoon. Those boys were riding along the trail that borders a small irrigation canal. On their right, it was pretty safe because the narrow path is flat but on the left ! Hardly any fence but a slope so steep it makes you dizzy just to look down.
Have a lovely week, dear Marie.
That first photo is quite magical !
Thanks Sybil, glad you enjoyed this first picture. I often walk to this hamlet when I am in this area and always enjoy it.
I am very taken with the foggy village. The 15 year-round residents must feel inundated during the summer. It probably takes them all winter to recover from the shock of all the summer visitors. I knew the boys would take the terrifying path. Rob the Firefighter would have, too. I have no idea how either one of us survived his adolescence. We are stronger than we know.
I thought of those boys’ moms too as they cycled down the steep path. Sometimes it is good we do not know all about our kids’ “excursions” ! True, many more people walk along the irrigation canal (called “bisse” over here) during the Summer. They do not stay in the little village though but hike further up. A few years ago a young couple opened a B&B, visitors love the place and panorama. I must think of sharing some pictures. Thanks for visiting the area, Gerry.
We get so much fog in San Francisco and it really does feel like the end of the earth whenever I see the land and the bay dissolve into fog.
On the other hand seeing the horizon at the edge of a tranquil body of water is also very compelling. Both beautiful images.
Nice to read you, Sherri Lynn, I appreciate your comments. Fog has this effect of bringing magic around a landscape, everything seems calmer, edges are softened and all that comes out of the fog takes a new dimension.
That first picture caught my heart. It reminded me of reading Heidi at age 8 and loving it so much that I visited Switzerland for the summer at age 18. It seems one of the most beautiful countries on earth. You found some perfect photos to share for Karma’s photo hunt.
Thanks a lot Kathy, I am happy these pictures reminded you of your visit in my country. This mountainous area changed a lot over the years, of course. Such villages as this one still exist though and they are protected by the competent authorities. Chalets may be restored inside for more comfort but the exterior must remain the same. These villages are part of our cultural heritage and we like to maintain them.
Gorgeous pictures, Isa. You live in a gorgeous place. I’m so glad you decided to participate in the photo hunt! Great idea for the “extreme” picture too!
Thanks Karma, I am happy you enjoyed those shots although not all of them are from Switzerland: the lake is in Texas and the forest in Australia. The paraglider was right over my head during my recent vacation though 😉
Perfect! A great selection that speak for the title of the post. I admire the extremes depicted in your pictures. How thrilling! How our imagination paints the end of the earth for us. Is there really an end? Aaaah!
Hi sonali.If there is an end of the earth ? Aaaah! that is the question. Our imagination works on that, right ? Thanks a lot for your comments, always nice to read you.
That first photo makes me gasp. A place of fairy tales and story.
Thanks for your visit and comment, Alice. I am sure this little village has a lot of stories to tell about those times long gone.
You captured the challenge perfectly. I am with Kathy – the first photo said it all for me and I could actually imagine being one of the 15!
Thank you Tammy, I appreciate your comment. I am not far away from this little village today, the sun shines brightly over the mountains all around and I imagine that my picture today would be totally different.
[…] want to thank Isa for inspiring me to make this post. Her contribution to the Karma’s Assignment “End of the earth” […]
Thanks a lot for mentioning my blog, Truels. I am glad you posted your own contribution, great photos you chose from your African journey indeed !
These photos are fine, Isa, my favorite is the first one, this little village in the mountains surrounded by fog – right up near the end of the earth…. In fact you inspired me by this post to participate in Karen’s assignment 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks again Truels, I did not expect this photo taken on a very dull and grey day would attract such attention… until Karen suggested this photo hunt.
Wonderful photos, all of them. The last one is, beside being a very good photo, also quite provoking for a mother´s nerves. I´m glad to know it is an old photo and not a directly transmission. 🙂
Hello and thank you, dear Birgit. Your comment made me smile. Looking at this picture from a mother’s point of view was quite a shock. I had time to take this picture because I thought the boys were just making a pause before cycling further on the same track we were on. Little did I know,…
I forgot to mention the surprising road sign at the right, it looks like a bus will arrive every minute. You should save this photo for a competition, it is a winner. Looking at such a good photo, reminds me of telling you about this post, where Tracy explains something about how to protect photos against being copied. http://milkayphoto.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/identity-crisis/
Thanks again Birgitte. The yellow road sign just mentions the places where this small trail leads to. Sometimes the walking time is added. I have read Tracy’s post about photos being copied and stolen. How sad and frustrating ! It happened to me on flickr too. Sometimes it is discouraging to post any photo at all. I have tried to follow Tracy’s advices to protect one’s own photos but without success. I will try again. Thanks for your appreciation and help.
Oh I loved them all! Especially that first one, and the kids on bikes.
Thank you Dawn, lovely to read your enthusiastic comments. Quite an experience to meet those two fearless kids on bikes. “Fearless” has got a funny idiom in French, literal translation : “They were not cold in the eyes” 😉
[…] Isa’s Threads of Life shows us some beautiful Swiss Alps and a variety of other locations. I love the para-glider “sailing away to end of the earth” as well as her take on an extreme, showing the fearlessness of youth. […]
Thanks a lot for inviting us to the photo hunt, Karen. I enjoyed it a lot ! The theme was interpreted in so many different ways by the participants, I loved visiting their blogs.
My favourite is the first one – I find the Swiss countryside fascinating and endlessly beautiful. All approrpiate choices. Nice job.
Thanks Lynne. Have you been to my country ? You are right, it is small but with so many different landscapes from one area to the other. I come from the alpine area, mountains, lakes, forests, narrow valleys and winding roads, small picturesque towns. Hot in Summer, lots of snow in Winter. I know I am fortunate to live in a lovely and peaceful area. I am grateful too.
Yes, I have made visits to your beautiful country. We were in Zurich this time last year and went up to Jungfrau on the train – stunning views of little villages hanging from steep hillsides. Then it was a train south towards Rome.
A few years ago we saw the area around Rolle, canton Vaud on the lake. My great grandmother went to school in this area in the late 1800s.
And MANY years ago I came down from Schaffhausen to Zurich and then east in the area of Watwill. I remember the iconic cow bells clanging in the pasture where we camped.
Every time, Switzerland delighted me.
The Swiss chalets on the mountainside are magical, tucked away in their own private little enclosure and I also love the boys on their bikes, with those snow covered mountains, they really are extreme! Don’t we live in the most beautiful and diverse world? 🙂
Hello Joanne and thank you for your visit and words. Yes, we are fortunate to live in such a beautiful environment. Every day I feel grateful for it and try being conscious of it as I look out of my windows or walk in nature.
Thank you Lynne for your happy descriptions of some parts of my country. Next time you plan to visit it again, I would love to introduce you to the canton of Valais. You may have travelled through it on your way to Roma. A long valley between mountains, bordered by vineyards, orchards and small villages on steep hillsides.Our small California 🙂
Rolle and the vineyards area is now on the Unesco World Heritage list. Here is a view to remind you of your journey :
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1243
The cow bells… I love their sound too.
Have a pleasant day wherever you are.
These are really beautiful, Isa. I think my heart would have stopped to see those boys on the cycles go over the edge on the steep trail!
Hi Robin ! Thanks for visiting and leaving such nice comments. My heart did almost stopped too as I saw those boys cycling down the steep mud track ! I tried not to imagine my own two boys doing the same thing…