I’m pretty old, 64 if you care to know. I feel good about my getting older even though there are the usual hints of decrepitude. Nothing serious, just the beginning of aches, pains, problems with the teeth, with the hearing ability, with the vision, the memory. I take it all as part of the parcel of a relatively longish life, as the natural wear and tear.

Here in Mallorca, I like to look at the faces of my Mallorcan neighbours. Many of them are old, older than me, some of them much older. I think I may have stated before that it is my impression that Mallorcan country folk seem to live to a ripe old age. Yesterday, a man died, age 90. Some make it to 95, even 100. I wish I could take – and publish – some of their portraits but I am too reserved, too shy really to ask their permission. And I don’t want to catch them unawares with a long tele-lense and intrude on their dignity. One day, perhaps, I’ll find the courage to ask their permission, if they are still around by then.

In the meantime, I offer you a portrait so to speak of something old that you can also find here on the island: old trees. There are not many things in the world that I would consider as beautiful as the gnarled, knobby and twisted trunks or branches of an old oak tree, an ancient fig tree (see photo) or an olive tree of yore.

I like black and white photography a lot. Sadly, with the onset of digital photography, the B&W shooting process has gone out of reach. B&W is now done in-camera and in pixellated processing, or in Photoshop. I don’t like computer manipulation or retouching but, there is always an exception to the rule. Here is my first ever digital B&W rendering of an originally colour photograph, just for the fun of it.

Don’t forget: the Kings are coming tonight in a town plaça near you, or your local parish church. Enjoy.

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: January 1st, 2012. The time was 14:35:58. The image was manipulated in Lightroom. The camera was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.