Friday, August 22, 2008
Car Yard Series
This was a photo series I put together in a photo class at uni, it explores the human traces left behind in a car yard. I focused on the traces that contrast with the polished presentation of the showroom - the smiley face on the white board, oil stains on the pavement and the wilting pot plants relegated to the empty car park.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Nostalgia/Mi Querido Mexico
I spent last year living/studying/traveling in Mexico, and while I love Australia, Mexico also has a good chunk of my heart. I'm not quite sure what it is, but the people, the culture and the music mystified me and I really miss it. Lo extrano tanto.
At the moment I've been listening to some Mexican and Latin American music by Manu Chao and a little band from Mexico called Sonex who I saw perform live in a sweaty little bar in Xalapa - I dare say it was the BEST gig I have ever seen, lightshows and musical genius will never compare to being completely passionate in the music you are performing and passionate about your culture, your stories and your history. I can't help but be transported back to specific times and places in Mexico when I hear certain songs.
Since I'm on this little nostalgia kick, I thought I would post a photo from Mexico, and then looking back over them all, I decided that I cannot narrow it down to less than six (and that is being brutal about my choices).
This was the first photo I remember taking both in Mexico and on my then-new Film SLR camera. I wasn't even sure how to use it properly, i remember barely checking the exposure or the focus and just clicking away, afraid of missing an opportunity. This photo is so typically Mexican, I mean its got a bunch of donkeys in it for crying out loud!
This was the first photo I printed in my first photography class, it was pretty exciting. I'm obsessed with lines and perspective. It's of a hostel we stayed in called La Giraffa Hostel, it had bed bugs.
One of the first photos I took again, this is a Mexican sink. I never quite found out what the stick broom thing is for, but its where we washed our clothes by hand (only the ones you were afraid the laundromat might shrink).
This is one of my favourites, it's the cobblestone road to Xico (Hee-Co), a small town outside of Xalapa where there are some beautiful waterfalls. I remember my legs were eaten alive by bugs and the bites scarred for months, we were driven back to town by an eleven-year-old.
This was taken in another nearby small town called Jalcomulco, where there are people who can turn into animals - they're called Nahuales. We spent the day drinking beer and I kissed a boy while we were sitting on rocks in the middle of a river - which was romantic except for the old man bathing a donkey nearby.
This graffiti was on the side of a little Mexican bar, a Cantina on a little island surrounded by Carribbean waters. Only Mexican men really drank there, and the graffiti says "With my solitude, I will die". I think this photo works better in colour (i have a colour copy, the wall is white with red and yellow lines) but this graffiti really affected me when I first read it, and still does.
So I'm done with the nostalgia, for now.
In other news, I'm starting a new job soon at a certain Government Funded Media Agency doing transcription for radio and television. Just thought you might like to know that your tax payer dollars are going to a good cause i.e. me.
At the moment I've been listening to some Mexican and Latin American music by Manu Chao and a little band from Mexico called Sonex who I saw perform live in a sweaty little bar in Xalapa - I dare say it was the BEST gig I have ever seen, lightshows and musical genius will never compare to being completely passionate in the music you are performing and passionate about your culture, your stories and your history. I can't help but be transported back to specific times and places in Mexico when I hear certain songs.
Since I'm on this little nostalgia kick, I thought I would post a photo from Mexico, and then looking back over them all, I decided that I cannot narrow it down to less than six (and that is being brutal about my choices).
This was the first photo I remember taking both in Mexico and on my then-new Film SLR camera. I wasn't even sure how to use it properly, i remember barely checking the exposure or the focus and just clicking away, afraid of missing an opportunity. This photo is so typically Mexican, I mean its got a bunch of donkeys in it for crying out loud!
This was the first photo I printed in my first photography class, it was pretty exciting. I'm obsessed with lines and perspective. It's of a hostel we stayed in called La Giraffa Hostel, it had bed bugs.
One of the first photos I took again, this is a Mexican sink. I never quite found out what the stick broom thing is for, but its where we washed our clothes by hand (only the ones you were afraid the laundromat might shrink).
This is one of my favourites, it's the cobblestone road to Xico (Hee-Co), a small town outside of Xalapa where there are some beautiful waterfalls. I remember my legs were eaten alive by bugs and the bites scarred for months, we were driven back to town by an eleven-year-old.
This was taken in another nearby small town called Jalcomulco, where there are people who can turn into animals - they're called Nahuales. We spent the day drinking beer and I kissed a boy while we were sitting on rocks in the middle of a river - which was romantic except for the old man bathing a donkey nearby.
This graffiti was on the side of a little Mexican bar, a Cantina on a little island surrounded by Carribbean waters. Only Mexican men really drank there, and the graffiti says "With my solitude, I will die". I think this photo works better in colour (i have a colour copy, the wall is white with red and yellow lines) but this graffiti really affected me when I first read it, and still does.
So I'm done with the nostalgia, for now.
In other news, I'm starting a new job soon at a certain Government Funded Media Agency doing transcription for radio and television. Just thought you might like to know that your tax payer dollars are going to a good cause i.e. me.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Read this book if you want to know nothing about everything.
The Psychic Soviet - Ian F. Svenonius
This little pink book fits perfectly in my hand bag and the chapters are short enough to read on train or bus trips or when your waiting around.
Its funny, and full of crack conspiracy theories about everything from the fall of the former soviet union to vampirism and rock and roll.
Things I learned from the Psychic Soviet:
1. We take more antidepressants due to an imbalance in psychological geopolitics after the fall of the soviet union - also known as "post-soviet depression"
2. Bram Stokers Dracula addresses the genetic concerns of Europes upper classes - the quest for genetic purity.
3. All cultures engage in Vampirism by adopting the preferred beverage of the conquered nation i.e. Beer after the fall of Germany in WWII, vodka after Russia and Coffee as we subjugate the third world.
4. Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones and Back in the USSR by the Beatles reflect intra-commie conflict. Sypathy being Maoist and USSR being Soviet based. Also, when asked "can you guess my name" in Sympathy, the name is in fact not "The Devil" but "Historical Materialism".
5. The rock and roll fable of Dylan going electric represented the struggle between market forces and Communist egalitarianism.
6. Lord of the Rings is the woman haters bible - the evil ring that rules them all represents the vagina.
and more
but forgive me if i am a little confused about them
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Night Photos
Bobby and I creeped around "the 'stanes" late one night, freezing our boobies off and playing with my new camera. I love blur, i love low light, i have in the past been my photography teachers worst nightmare. Although he did advise us to steal from the best, know tradition, add yourself. so im stealing from impressionist painters ok.
Cheapskate Olympics - update no.1
Cheapskate Olympics
is a way of making competitive the act of being stingy or miserly or a 'cheapskate'. It involves participants creating new ways to save money or create activities that are enjoyable AND most importantly cheaper than what you are normally used to.
My first Cheapskate Olympics activity - one of my biggest weaknesses is buying myself presents when im not feeling great, another big weakness is books. So i gradually built a wishlist on amazon, got around ten books delivered and then wrapped them in old newspaper (see picture above). So each fortnight i get to unwrap a new book.
- i get a little present every fortnight which will keep me sane whilst trying to save money
- i usually don't get through a book a fortnight, so it will probably last even longer than originally anticipated
- the gift in turn presents me with an activity that does not cost me money - i can relax with a cup of tea and my new book under a blanky
- AND i saved money buying the books off amazon! - i'm all for supporting local bookstores, but my wallet is not. One of the books is Learning to Love you more by Miranda July and Harell M. Fletcher, in a local bookstore it retails at around $50-$55, on amazon it is $13.57 US, with postage to Australia it still cost less than $25! So on that book alone i saved nearly $30. With all the books i bought to last me the next 6 months or more i saved at least $200
i definitely earned some cheapskate stars.
A friend of mine - Kara- has implemented her own first Cheapskate Olympics activity - she bought a box of chai tea from the supermarket and instead of purchasing chai tea every morning before work she makes her own and takes it with her - saving her $4 dollars a day!
gold stars for you lady!
Our efforts shame in comparison to Cara who vowed to not buy anything new in 2008! Check out her facebook group here and see if your up for the challenge.
and why is there a nun in the photo? i saw her for sale at my local vinnies and was strangely compelled to buy her.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Reading tea leaves and trying to find balance in my life
so my tea leaves are trying to tell me something. And i'm really trying.
last night we made plans to all meet in Denmark. See a little bit of europe and the middle east, then take the trans-siberian railway from moscow, through mongolia to china and come home through japan. hopefully it will provide the balance to another year of working for money and not for fun.
It has led me to create the highly competitive 'fun minus money' game, or maybe it should be called 'cheap-skate olympics'. You compete to see who can come up with more activities that are fun and cost very very little. it would work well except i have no one to compete with, competing with myself is not going to work - both parties will agree to give up and that they really deserve those clothes/chocolate/wine/camera.
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