Earthquakes are really scary and Oaxaca has lots of them. Having experienced several, I can only say that one is instantly overwhelmed by the force of Nature and one's inability to exercise any control over the situation.
Here are some remarkable photos sent by a friend of the earthquake in China as it was happening at the famous 100-year-old Church of the Annunciation in Pengzhou, China. Very early morning May 12, photographer Wang went about preparing to shoot wedding pictures for a young couple, this was the test shot before the shoot...
Bricks fall from the building during the earthquake, which turned Wang from a wedding photographer into a journalist. 'Thank God we were only shooting from outside the church!' remarked a helper.
Pengzhou is located in the Sichuan province. It was morning May 12, 2008. And then it happened.... the earth quake! 7.8 on the Richter scale.
The stunned couple huddles together at the church ground during initial tremors.
'I shouted to people, 'Run! Run!'' said photographer Wang Qiang. "The ground shook and we couldn't see anything in the dust.'
As the dust began to clear, the true extent of damage was only beginning to appear...
A cracked facade was all that remained of the 100-year-old Church of the Annunciation after the quake. Most of the church 'collapsed in 10 seconds,' said Wang, who lives in Chengdu , capital of hard-hit Sichuan province.
Soon after the quake, the people at the seminary set out for a nearby village, but residents warned them the route was blocked. 'We could still hear landslides,' Wang wrote in an online account of the disaster. So they stayed overnight in a tent and made it to the village the next day, thanks to help from a truck driver.
A scarf from a wedding dress lies forgotten in front of the seminary. Wang said he thought the catastrophe would strengthen the bonds of the couples who were there that day: 'Having gone through a life-and-death test, they surely will clasp hands and grow old together.'
No one was harmed at the above location.
The here and now... and what and why
Complacency is a trap. At least that’s what I was thinking when I up and left the comfort of a Yankee prep school gig, where I taught music, amongst other things, for 28 years. There was also that life long career as a composer, musician and artist.
First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.
Click on an image to see it larger.
For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.
First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.
Click on an image to see it larger.
For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.
Santo Domingo
The hereafter re me
- Christopher Stowens
- Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Musician, photographer, videographer, reporter, ex-officio teacher, now attempting to be a world traveler
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