Young Me, Old Me

...grabbing a quiet moment at work, i watched a TED video clip that was sent around a while ago.

it is a guy presenting his work, find emotional contact on the internet. there is some lovely stuff.

after the video i thought i would look at his site.

there is loads of stuff on it.

but a photo project (mentioned in the video) sticks out, and is why i am writing this.

the project is Young Me, Now Me

simple idea. get an old photo, and take a new one copying the original.

i've only spent a minute or two on the site (i am at work...) but there are some lovely images.

here are some favs for now:

baby, now mum

brother and sister

the photo project:

http://www.zefrank.com/youngmenowme/

the website:

http://www.zefrank.com/

the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gSSNHO1dDs

i hope you like it.

Walk to work

I have been trying to keep my eyes open for interesting bits and pieces to photograph on my walk to work.

There has been some beauty,

some poignancy,

some oddness,


Recently I have started cycling in again, and now I am in Borough and my route takes me past some of London's wonderful sights:



I hope to keep adding to this image set:

Burry Man

About 20 years ago, whilst I was studying theatre and ancient performance traditions, I found a postcard that really caught my eye and imagination. It shows a rather odd trio: two men in formal dress at a bar, holding up a third man between them, dressed head-to-foot in a green costume, made of some kind of organic matter.
The title on the back of the card said "Burry Man, South Queensferry".

I have carried this card with me as a treasured possession since.

I happened to mention this to my brother-in-law, Steven, a while ago, and he said "Yeah. The Burry Man. He's my mate".
My jaw must have hit the floor.
Turns out, Steven had been one of the Burry Man's two official helpers for the last few years.
Could he arrange for me to meet this Burry Man?
"Aye."

So this August, thanks to Steven and John Nicol (the Burrry Man himself), I traveled up to South Queensferry to witness the procession and take a few photos.
For John, the Burry Man is clearly a great responsibility, but also a burden. 11,000 burrs make the costume into which John would be sewn for over 10 hours, as he walked (unable to lower his arms) miles around the town. After 13 years of taking the role, this would be John's final year.

In the end I took several hundred shots, which I have finally edited down to 35 which I think give a flavor of the day.

Let me know what you think.

View on Flickr

Foggy walk in Richmond Park

With the fog encasing London over the weekend, we went down to Richmond Park to try and find some stags rutting in the gloom.

No deer (except through the car window), but we loved wandering through the white-out landscape, and I found some beautiful water drops suspended on cobwebs and in the grass.

A perfect day.

A photographer's ethos

Chris Packham, of Nature Watch etc., is also a photographer, and he has an Ethos which whilst I don't totally agree with, I do admire.
I like that he clearly thinks and cares passionately about what he is doing.
This is inspiring.
His absolutism, "can reach levels which promote real depression" is not for me.
I will take an easier path, but I think he is a useful guiding light.

http://www.chrispackhamphotos.com/concepts/Ideas.htm

The Internet of Things

I have just started looking at programming physical interfaces, using a technology called Arduino.

Armed with my starter kit (suitable for ages 10 years and up), I have made LED lights blink (and even dim!), motors whir, and a small servo turn back and forth, controlled in my final experiment by a bendy bit a plastic (a flex sensor).
It's great fun, but now I want to make a variety of physical scenes, hook them up to the internet, and allow the world to control them by websites, tweets, Flickr uploads... and on and on my fantasies go.

All this is yet to come but is part of an attempt on my part to get a better understanding (and play with), the Internet of Things.
Simply, this is a term coming into currency that describes how physical objects in our lives are becoming increasingly connected. An example is that (if you have the right equipment), you can program your TV via your phone, whilst you are out. But this is going to be a world of smart devices where communication will go in both directions - your fridge will know when you are low on milk and text you whilst your out, reminding you to get more.

There was an interesting BBC Radio4 talk by Russell Davies on the 21^st September where he discusses his thoughts about this.
He also wrote a blog entry about what he had intended to say.
In his talk Davies quotes Clay Shirky, and it resonates deeply, so I leave you with it here:

"creating something personal, even of moderate quality, has a different kind of appeal than consuming something made by others, even of high quality"

Who or what inspires you?

A colleague recently asked the office "who or what inspires you?".

It really caught me, so i thought i would share my thoughts, and see if you would like to share...

People with a clear view when they approach … anything. Not being constrained by assumptions / precedents / previous attempts (by themselves or others).

These people put us on the moon, imagined software, invented the GUI, gave us passive resistance, said the homeless are worth more, are custodians of ancient wisdom.

Also, Mr Tuckwell, Mr Jones, Bob Godfrey, Philip Larkin, Jerzy Grotowski, and William Shakespeare, without whom I wouldn't have managed my own personal moments of clarity.

And some things...

• an amazing fungus – beautiful structure, amazing differences. Very delicate but the can kill you if you don't respect them.
• trees – these are living organisms. Vast. Majestic.
• clear sky – peace and space to dream / imagine.
  Looking into space gives a useful sense of proportion "all this was made just for me…?!" ;~)
• dew on grass in the morning – begs to be walked on. Makes me want to start walking and leave footprints (I want to leave a mark, if only for a little while).
• making a fire in the evening – has to be without firelighters / petrol etc.
  It's a really simple thing to do, but takes care and focus. Once it is made you have light, warmth, a means to hot food, entertainment (watching the flames, or telling stories).
• singing folksy songs – like the fire, our ancestors did this. It connects us back. It's so easy to keep looking forward and forget hard earned wisdom.
  Also – singing feels great, but for the longest time i didn't feel very good at it. I feel more comfortable singing these tunes – I think they suit my voice better, which inspires me to sing more and pass on stories to my son.

So that's me.

Share you thoughts below.