… (for my friend Diana), originally uploaded by tatyveli.

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As most of you know I am away from home, and have a very hard time keeping up with all that I have to do here, and my online business is suffering from it too.

But to get down to the story, and the why of this title…Yesterday night, about 24 hours ago, I found through StumbleUpon.com (where from much traffic is going to my Crystal skulls blog) that someone has STOLEN the following photo of two of my crystal skulls… To be more exact, from Elie together with Jolly Zee.

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I know it’s happening to about everyone placing their photos online without taking as precaution an ugly watermark in the middle of the photo, so that it cannot be cut off without ruining the photo completely.
Even while my partner Willem cautioned me I did not want to ruin the beauty I was capturing with the cameras and decided to take the risk, thinking the people will be honest and appreciative enough to link back to the site of mine that they found the photo on at the least. And even better, if they contact me and ask permission first and, before doing it. I will most certainly consent it as the photos are online already. But to steal, to not even link back to where the photo was found is downright STEALING. This is totally obnoxious and unacceptable behavior and I will definitely fight it.

I wrote the guy last night and gave him 24 hours the time to either link back to where he took my photo from, or take the photo off his blog ASAP. No reply until now whatsoever, and I decided to write about it on Totally Useless, and to write a review on his blog on Stumble Upon too. And if he does not as I am asking I will take it higher up.

Who knows how many of my photographs have been “stolen” until now online. In any case, if any of you have used any of my photos without linking back to where you found them posted - I’ll find you sooner or later, and will act exactly in the same manner as I am doing right now. And hopefully people will use their mind in a better way than this guy did, or I will be forced to start using an ugly watermark somewhere in the middle of my photographs from there on. So friends of mine, enjoy my photos without watermarks while I am still in the mood to leave these as they are.

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Wishing you a great week ahead, and would appreciate your thoughts in regards. Talk to you soon

This video shocked me so much that I had to share it with you on Totally Useless.com.
Think about your daily commute and compare it if you can with what seems to be normal in Japan…
And the most important part of it all - be sure to choose other means of traveling while in Japan

Than I’d like to ask if you know the name of this wonderful flower? Is it maybe some type of an orchid? I shot it a few weeks ago in an orchid garden, and the same goes for the photo of the “angry orchids”, the name of which I also do not know.

Best to: View Large and On Black

Best to: View Large and On Black

Wishing you a great week ahead and talk to you soon

dice bokeh - paradox…, originally uploaded by tatyveli.

Time flies quicker than we imagine it would, and while I was planning to let you all know that I will be away for an undetermined period of time - I did not tell you so. The photo above is a weird paradox really. No post processing was used and I was amazed about the mask on one of the dice and the weird forms the bokeh made on it. The title is about this photo.

I am away from home, and in another country, and I don’t know for how long I will remain here but it could be for months. This doesn’t mean the end of my blog, and I will definitely keep posting as often as I can. Here are some resent photos that were meant for Mother’s day and am sorry that I wasn’t able to post these in time, and as many things lately - the old cliche - better late than never…

Wishing you a great weekend and talk to you soon.

frozen in time…, originally uploaded by tatyveli.

Freeze for a moment if you please and think about the lack of human rights in so many countries around the world.
Posting a few of my newest photos for the Bloggers Unite for Human Rights - today - 15th of may 2008.

My heart goes to all the innocents that are imprisoned, and to all the hungry and devastated by natural disasters, such as in Burma recently. May their situation change for the better and ASAP. And how is it possible that 2 million people’s lives are endangered because of the refusal of the junta to open up to a full-scale relief effort? Wake up world!

The photos above are an experiment that I was planning to do for quite some time. I decided to place some flowers in colored water and freeze these in. Under a certain angle the sun light hit the ice in such a way that a shine and rainbow colors came up from within and surrounded the daisy. Check the few leaves of the daisy pointing towards heaven like fingers … ( I like that ) It reminds me that there are certain powers that could change events even when we tend to loose hope…