Portraiture

I have continued to think about what constitutes a portrait. How much face do you need?

I shot this a few years ago and, although it has no 'art' in it, I find it to be somewhat interesting.

I would like to reshoot it.

That's Nice

This is a thought that has been in my head for quite some time and was rekindled when I saw a particularly ugly old VW Rabbit. A rusted little heap that was once new.

It was once a new ugly little car.

Someone designed that car and thought "That's nice."

Someone gave the go ahead to manufacture that car and after thinking "That's nice."

Someone sold that car thinking "That's nice."

Someone looked at that car thinking "That's nice" and then paid for it.


I should look at my life and, when I see something that I think is nice, I should decide if maybe it is just a pile of rubbish that should be tossed.

Lightness in the Dark

After listening to some debate regarding "karma" I have come to the conclusion that we begin life with a clean slate.

First of all, a disclaimer. There is no god. No reincarnation. Now, if there were gods, if reincarnation was a fact, would those gods not want us to get our lives started on the best possible footing? Why burden us with punishment for past crimes without the definite knowledge that we were carrying that burden? Why punish a baby with a brutal life and death if the consciousness of the past wrongs cannot be present? Would the gods spank us without telling us why?

If we are really good do we get reincarnated as a higher level being such as a rose or a cockroach?

Just because she's cute

Emma is a sweetheart inside. Well, not just inside. She is gentle. Warm. Loving.

Too bad that I am allergic.

Say a little prayer for me

How many times can I look at something before I realize that I want to photograph it? Sometimes I think I am am partially blind.

It is the raggedness and the cheery colours of these Tibetan Prayer Flags that attracted me. They have been hanging for quite some time doing their work.

The photograph does not contain the element that is in most of my favourite photographs (Who knows what that is? Big prizes may be involved here.) but I will live with it.

It was a dark and stormy night.

My inner being seemed to be in a somewhat shaded if not a dark and stormy spot this evening. The reason is not known or even that important. It prompted me to do some night-time shooting.

I have looked at these stairs many times thinking that I should shoot them. It is the angular nature that attracts me. Add to that the dark shadows and they seem to be just what I needed.

I have been thinking . .

I have been thinking about what makes a interesting portrait. I started when I was looking at a young woman with a charming smile (she comes from the most beautiful part of China with the most beautiful people). I was looking at her thinking about how her face would photograph; that is when I started thinking about what makes an interesting portrait.

It is not good looks. It seems to be more about what is in the eyes. That is the point of including this photo of a male of the species. He has the eyes. There is spirit there. Joy.

Maybe, someday, I will photograph that woman. She has adventerous and happy eyes.

Just Visiting

I was wondering if it is good, or even healthy, to feel like a visitor on this planet and not a resident. After all, we are certainly not permanent residents. None of us are permanent structures.

I came to the conclusion that, yes, it is a good and healthy way to think. Be a visitor. Be in awe of what you see. Be amazed at all you see.

Be a courteous visitor.

Leave your room clean when you move on.

Birthday Suit

When it is your birthday, you should have the freedom to walk around in your birthday suit. Just for the day.

Of course, that gives people born in summer an advantage.

Police Line - Do Not Cross

This must have been a very small crime. Not Grande Theft but itsy bitsy petite theft. Dusting the little bit of side-walk for prints must be fun. Call in the CSI crew. They can reconstruct the crime.

She Said Nothing About Knives

His mother said "Don't run with scissors." He, being the dutiful son, is very careful with scissors. She never said a thing about packing huge machetes around on his head while out for a stroll.

He is very obedient.

Swab the deck, me bucko!

Skulls and a checker-baord floor. It seems like, somehow, an incongruity. Not just the stark differnce between the brightly coloured (and darkly illustrated) wall and the black and white floor but the floor seems ready for a game of checkers. Maybe that wouldmake a good motif for my bachelor pad.

Anyway, I like the mop-handle nearly poking through the eye of the skull. The hazards of housework.

44x44

They have been used and so this stack of pallets is not quite a tabula rasa. The only reason I say that is that I said I would used the phrase "tabula rasa" in a blog.

It has been done.

New and Old

This photo is a combination of the New and the Old.

The New is a digital camera. CMOS sensor instead of film. It gets rid of those nasty smelly darkrooms which cause rashes and will probably slowly kill you.


The Old is a pin-hole. No lens is used and a pin-hole is used in its place. Quite an ancient technique used for thousands of years. It was of course used in the Camera Obscura which were darkened rooms using small holes to project the image of what was outside the room.

Of course it would have been easier to open the door and look at the scene directly.

And I could have removed the pinhole and mounted the lens.

Layers

The petals opened
to reveal the
sweetness within

Stripe

Have you ever thought about the purpose of a simple thing like a stripe running diagonally alonga wall? Why isit there? Who sat looking at the ugly little concrete building thinking "What that wall needs is a green stripe." And not just any stripe but one that disappears into the ground. Is it pointing to some buried treasure?

Whatever . . .

It attracted my eye. Maybe that was the only purpose.

Tracking the Past

Technological development can be a wonderful thing but when do you stop? Railroads have used the same basic design for many many years. A couple of centuries.

You might not think it but because steel on steel produces much less friction than rubber on pavement, a railroad is much more efficient than transportation by truck. Even with the number of derailments incurred by the evil empire, it is a safer way to transport commodities. It makes our roads safer.

Almost makes a guy proud to work for those bastards.

Almost.

Harley

I love the colour. The hair and the jacket go together nicely.

Rest Stop

People in this city are so considerate. There I was out for a walk and feeling kind of tired and there appeared before my eyes a very nice resting spot. It was so comfortable and the weather was warm. Perfect.

Across the street someone had set up a large screen tv. Unfortunately it was tuned to the weather channel and the remote was nowhere to be seen.

I moved on.

Too Disturbing

I went for a walk downtown and revisited a spot where I shot the aftermath of violence. The splash of blood. It is being slowy washed away. Then saw other evidece of recent human behaviour so . . . I decided that it is time for a simple flower picture.

I guess I wimped out.

Stacked

I love the look of posters that have ben layered and have aged to a beautiful patina of textures. More than that, really. It is more complex. It a history of music in this city.

What does it take?

What does it take to go careening down a mountain on a bicycle? The wild abandonment of youth? Courage? Just a desire to have fun at high speeds?

I get jealous, sometimes, that other people have the fun doing things that I would like to have but lack the hoo-haws to do.

Why is that?

Tuff

I saw this message laying in a back alley and wondered "Who the hell is Tuff Hedeman?" So I cheched on the old internet. He is some Texas cowboy which leads to the question "How did his words make to this city?"

Also, "What makes him quotable?" It is not a particularly notable quote.

Private

This alley is not a good place to leave one's car so the danger of unauthourized parking is diminished.

I like the look of the old wood and the shadowcutting through which brings me to my favourite things in photographs. I am a diagonal guy. I like diagonal lines.

Just a bit of trivia about my little mind.

High Wire Act

Spider webs have been spun on the long unused wires that cross the Grand Trunk Railway bridge.

CSI Prince George

I should have tacked this onto the last post. A black and white image to go with the colour.

I like the splash of light on the plastic tape.

Over and out.

Rorschach Death

Seeing the signs of violence is always very disturbing. Well, at least I find them to be disturbing. How do people find it within themselves to harm another person. Or animal. I have killed insects in my time but I find that to be troubling. What would I do when faced with a life or death situation.

I know I am a hypocrite. I eat meat and can divorce myself from the fact that they were alive. I, in my way, contributed to the deaths of those animals.

This is disjointed but I am a trifle disjointed today.

A Hat by Any Other Name . . .

People wear strange things on their heads but some of them just seem so right. Fred's white cowboy hat just suits him. Maybe it is part of his "image" or maybe it is part of what is inside of him. Who can tell?

I hate wearing hats. Not a hat guy.

Changing the World

What does it take to change the world? Years of experience? Access to a personal fortune? Two legs?

None of the above? Can you change the world by failing? Yes.

Terry Fox attempted to run across Canada on one leg and failed. (http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/home/default.asp?s=1) He ended his run on September 1st 1980 when the cancer that claimed his right leg returned. He died a year later on June 28th 1981, one month short of his 23rd birthday.

Terry changed the world even though he failed in his attempt to cross the country. He changed the world and not just his part of the planet. Every year there are more than 50 countries with their own "Terry Fox Run."

If only we could all use someone like Terry as inspiration and do something positive.