Visual Peace of Mind
Fun With Cameras XXXIV
I struggled with squeezing photographic playtime into my days since the last Fun With Cameras. When I finally succeeded, the day was long, the commute to the chosen location was exhausting, and my first impressions upon arrival were disappointing. I started walking toward the one glimmer of hope anyway, expecting to bid goodbye sooner than planned.
But the walk around an artificial lake and up an equally artificial mound delivered what I had hoped it would: visual peace of mind.
A chance situation a few weeks back made me pick the lake Phoenix-See in the south of the city of Dortmund as a location for a photo walk.
The lake and surrounding infrastructure sit on a 100 hectares (247 acres) area that once hosted a steelworks enterprise called Phoenix East.
It was transformed during the last 20 years. The steelworks are gone. An upscale neighborhood with residential complexes, restaurants, cafés, and other businesses was designed to complement the natural ecosystem.
If you’re interested in exploring the past: this website includes a visualization that lets you slide a map of the area from 1966 to 2022.
A trip to Phoenix-See takes me about 90–120 minutes, depending on train connections. Construction goodness pushed me toward the latter, comprising two walking sections, two trains, one lengthy stop-over, and an uncomfortably frequented underground train. That ordeal sucked energy and motivation.
The light was still harsh when I arrived. Being there for the decent evening light would push the return trip deep into the night. I deemed that unnecessary for this occasion.
At least, the temperatures had dropped from the uncomfortable heights of the weeks before.
The posh modern architecture struck me immediately. So did the busy flow of people at the lakefront. Neither helped me switch on my visual brain.
I was thinking about withdrawing. But I could see a hint of hope on the horizon and pressed on.
The longer I walked around the calm waters of the lake, the calmer I became, and the more I wanted to recover my camera from the pack on my back.
Phoenix-See is a peaceful area today. Aside from the lake and its standing water ecosystem, the river Emscher and its running water ecosystem have been integrated into the recreational area. There’s also a small creek and a castle in the hinterland. Aside from a nature refuge that hands plants and animals a chance to flourish, humanity has built a place to enjoy activities like family picnics, walking, running, or cycling.
I reached the calmer outskirts near Kaiserberg after a relaxed 20-minute walk. The mound was constructed from the soil that was taken out for the lake. Once I had reached the summit, I found decent views.
The busyness at the lakefront was gone. The calmness of an elevated view from a distance replaced it. The wide openness of land and water down at the lake was visually boring. The various nooks and crannies around the mound interested me more.
I decided to spend a few minutes exploring the location’s potential. I didn’t expect any spectacular pictures. But I wanted to play a bit.
I selected a few results and placed them throughout this post. To me, they represent mental and visual recovery. I felt relaxed and at ease, happy to have made the trip, when I stashed away the camera and took the first bite off a banana I had brought with me as fuel.
On my way to the underground, I started to feel the effects of the peace of mind I had reached. It made me think about potential future trips. There’s still a castle, a harbor, and the architecture to explore. And I would like to revisit the lakefront at a different, less busy time. Maybe one day I can return for a cycling photography trip; it sure would make a decent first metric century.
I hope you found some interest in today’s Fun With Cameras. I will share a What I’m Reading post with positive news on Thursday. And next week, I plan to continue the series of posts on my time in Ghana and creative writing.
