Dolphin Address 27
July 8th 2005
Far away a pepper and salt sea stretches towards a boldly outlined horizon. We wonder about the dolphin's appreciation and Verena guesses it to be practically in the middle.
Waves rushing towards the shore light up in emeralds and a solitary seagull flashes its feather light with an indignant chuckle. There must be a million shades of blue beneath the waves.
The far away mountains across Galway bay rise in fairy tale blue purple profiles. The froth of yesterday's fury is scattered by sweeps of land wind.
This walled in meadow feels like home more then anywhere else. We have sought its refuge from a burning and bewildering Brittany and found peace here to redefine the magic of Irish wonder. And the gods smile down upon us as Dusty has returned to the Boathouse bay.
The very first I saw of her was in the company of children. She had joined in their midst and they were stroking her affectionately. A boy laid down his head upon her in a smile that could have sprung from her own face.
As I had a bad belly day I limited myself to taking pictures with the new camera. It has over 1200 megapixels and when we download the shots on the laptop and go into magnification amazing details show up. The water around the dolphin shows phenomena that directly relate to the streamline of its body and the water repellent ness of its skin texture.
The dorsal fin on the accompanying photo picks up a thin sheet of surface and folds it neatly backwards so eddies won't hinder the flow and the air is tucked in to accommodate swift passage. The camera freeze-frames minutely detailed action and reveals how effortlessly the dolphin's body moves within its sturdy bearings. In the photo album you can find a few more of these intimate observations. Like the one where water is flowing from the body with such a speed and impact that it eats into a rim of surrounding water like a little wall. The skin and shape seem to push water away creating a comparatively deep slit around it. It looks like its handling the water as an organ in its own right, pulling it over as a convenient blanket or shedding it in a swift sweep.
We are flabbergasted by the momentum of the blink of the camera's eye. These takes are directed and supported firmly and passionately by Verena's power of observation and her profound understanding of digital processing. These clicks in time take many an hour of elaborating before we can properly portray the treasures they captured. This website has thrived for quite some time now on Verena's input, starting with enhanced translations of the Dolphin Addresses in German, increasing overall computer support and for over a year contributing many anonymous photo captures of her ever hunting eye. I feel like living in the best of possible worlds opening up to ever greater detail and insight.
Right now we may seem to be caught in a cubical red VW bus shaking in an unrelenting drizzard, but inside the jewels gained by a labor of love are waiting to go on line with the sunshine.
Jan Ploeg, Meadow Fanore, July 8th 2005
print version