This is the place, just behind the fountain, where the history of the Dog Days took place. But read on before I show you the actual picture.
Hello Steemians
this is now the fourth Behind the Photo Contest of @nelyp and @johan.norberg. I have decided to participate for the first time. I discovered this great contest at the DAILY QUALITY CONTENT REWARDS of @appreciator.
As I could see from the rules, the contest is for amateur and professional photographers, but also for beginners like me. So don't expect me to tell you anything about autofocus, exposure time, aperture and focal length. I can't even make an impression on you with a great camera, because I take my pictures with a cheap China smartphone of the brand Ulefone.
To put you in the right mood now, I will go a little further into my actual picture explanation. I will also show you several pictures of the place of the events so that you can get to know the surroundings better.
At the end of the street you can see the Marienplatz with the street cafés.
Do you know these names for something where you always ask yourself why they are called that way. One of these words was for me the German word HUNDSTAGE (Dog Days). Because I saw the movie Dog Day Afternoon (1975) with Al Pacino, I know that this expression also exists in English. So I assume that we are talking about the same thing with DOG DAYS.
Dog Days are the hottest days of summer in the northern hemisphere. Somehow this name is said to come from the star Sirius, but I won't go into that here. Summer has always had hot days, but I think there are more of them and they are hotter than before. Maybe it's my age, because I can't stand the heat anymore. No, I will not tell you anything about global warming.
The Marienplatz with the Four Seasons Fountain is the centre of the town of Weilheim.
It was the summer of 2018 when I was able to take these two photos by chance. They were really real snapshots like you can't take them twice. The last days were already so hot, but this day on 25 July broke all records. The thermometer must have been close to 40° C. The sun was burning, there was no wind and the heat was accumulating.
In the pedestrian zone and at the Marienplatz of Weilheim you did not see anybody running fast, they all crept around rather like walking zombies. The street cafés were full and everyone was sitting in front of an ice cream or a cool drink. I had made myself comfortable on a bench and watched the people sitting in front of the café.
It was not exciting, I was hot and I didn't feel like taking even one step. Do you know that when you have such an empty look, just look, but the brain doesn't take anything. That's how I felt, it was just hot. Not even the cigarettes tasted good to me and the sweat formed a wet film on my skin.
But suddenly a scene happened that brought back my concentration. In a shop right next to the street cafe the door was wide open because of the heat when a dog came out of the shop. The dog slowly came out of the shop, did not look to the right or left, but dropped to the floor in slow motion just behind the door. That he was not unconscious was obvious, but he looked exhausted.
There he lay now and did not move.
After a short time he turned on his back, apparently the asphalt was getting too hot for him. He stretched up all his legs and lay there like dead.
He was not bothered by the guests of the cafe or the passers-by who passed him. Some onlookers even gathered briefly and watched the dog up close. What was this dog thinking at that moment. Apparently he was so exhausted from the heat that he didn't care.
Unfortunately the spectacle did not last more than 5 minutes, then his master came out of the shop. The dog got up and stood on his wobbly feet, but not as one is used to from a dog. Usually dogs jump up and are happy with a greeting that their owner is back. Here the dog stood up in slow motion, neither dog nor owner looked at each other. The man walked past his dog, snapped his fingers briefly and the dog slowly trotted behind his master at a distance of 3 meters.
From that moment on, the term DOG DAYS had a meaning for me, and the word now made sense.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and story behind it.
Thanks for your attention and see you soon
@depot69
If you also have something to tell about the background of your photos, then take part in this contest. How everything works you can find here:
@nelyp/behind-the-photo-contest-edition-4