There are a number very dangerous websites that are akin to black holes for time, sucking hours and days from the precious moments of life that I have to live. Time that otherwise might have been put to better use. But I guess that depends upon how you define "better". Links are what is dangerous. I can pass hours going from one link to another on Wikipedia, as my ravenous appetite for knowledge ever grows with each link. There are other websites as well that I become lost in the web of cyberspace. Flickr is one that is potentially lethal to my day's to-do list. Its vivid arrays of colours and artistic imagery captivate me. My reason for the visit to the vistas of Flickr is for research. Often when I am conceptualizing a painting I will refer to the natural world to educate myself on how I might represent the creativity within on the canvas without. How does a sunset transition from dusk to dawn, and why is it so captivating? How does a tree grow in the forest amongst the bluebells? How do the curves of a woman's body move, and why are they so alluring? Question of colour, perspective, and shape give preponderance to the artist who finds themselves studying in fascination the world about them. Yet, the richness and beauty of life is rarely so patient to pose for study. The beauty of a sunset quickly fades into the blackness of the night. Spring passes in to summer, and summer into winter, and the bluebells sleep beneath. And the woman? Well... This is where flickr comes in. What once an artist could only study under the restrictions of location and time can now be taken at his pleasure. It is both a blessing and a curse to have such vivid imagery at my finger tips. I'm easily distracted from my topic of study when intriguing images catch my eye. It was by one such distraction that I came upon the idea of the photo essay. The idea was simple. One photo each day to represent your life. Thus, as I embark upon the next year of my life, in one of the most beautiful places in the world, I will write an essay of each day, in photographic detail. I cannot promise that I will post these photos each and everyday, after all, life as a medical student will be taxing upon my time. But I will post each day's photo(s) at regular intervals.
Today is day 1 of 365..
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| View from campus looking to the interior of the island. |
(I am also including some photos from orientation week.)
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| The sunset on my first day in Dominica. (This shot was actually taken while traveling on the road from the airport to the University. My plane touched down shortly before dusk.) |
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| The University is on the beach. |
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| The view from the "Upper Seaside Deck" on campus. I can tell already that this will be one of my primary study locations. |
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| My first rainbow of what I hear will be many. |
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| Ross University now sits on what once was a sugar cane plantation. Here we are viewing some of the machinery that was used to process the sugar. |
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| Drinking coconut milk at the end of the "Indian River", where the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" film shot a scene where Jack and Crew paddle up the river to see the witch. |
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| Roseau, the capital city of The Common Wealth of Dominica |
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| Tegeber Falls. The rain prevented us from going to the pools at the base of the falls. There are many waterfalls in Dominica. |
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| Scott's Head. The Caribbean Sea is the always calm body of water on the left, and the Atlantic Ocean is the often turbulent body of water on the right. |
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| Protect the Bay: Scott's Head. |
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| Loan Boat. Scott's Head. |
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| Lookout point from Scott's Head. |
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| 'What? I'm not allowed to swim in that?' We have been forbidden to swim in the Atlantic Ocean, due to the strong, unpredictable rip-tides. |
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| The Caribbean Sea, on the other hand, is very calm, and we are encouraged to enjoy it. Thankfully the University is boarded by the Caribbean Sea. Shortly after this shot I put the camera away and tried out snorkeling for the first time. It was well worth the tiny jelly fish sting I received. |
