A Few Random Photos to Finish off 2012

Pretty much have a camera with all the time. The little Canon S95 fits easily into my right trouser/jean pocket. Here are just a fraction of the photos I have taken over the last couple of months since arriving home from Japan in late September. When i look at them, I can see it is about colour, light and composition and maybe a little bit of it reflects my sense of humour. It's always a lot of fun. Here they are ..


Thanks 2012 - you have been good to me.

On Colour - Daido Moriyama (Aug 2012)

Green and Yellow - Tokyo (Sep 2012)
Daido Moriyama (*)f talks On Colour (*):

Sometimes I take a picture of just a colour

Simply because I like the colour.

via Daido Moriyama: The Mighty Power of Photography (*) by Ringo Tang (*).

On Effortlessness - Neil Finn / Spectrum (Sat 29 Dec 2012)

Set it up - State Titles / SIRC / Penrith (Sun 18 Mar 2012)
Neil Finn (*) reveals the truth On Effortlessness (*):

When something looks effortless, like it always existed, like it rolled out of you like a river, then you have done a good job.

But what makes that up is painful small, incremental steps, craft, skulduggery, anything that gets you over the line.

via Culture: Neil Finn - On writing music for The Hobbit. (*) by Tim Elliott (*).

I know exactly what he means. All my life I have been told that I made this or that look effortless - it's actually happened a few times in the last week. Always taken it as a compliment, though sometimes I wish I could have shown how much goes on behind the scenes - to show how much I was trying.

Thanks Neil and Tim for giving some perspective and clarity on the issue of effortlessness.

A great quote and a fantastic little snippet for my 1201st post. Will keep them coming. It might look effortless to post these little pieces of wisdom (*) here, but just as Tim says, there is a lot going on to make it happen (BTW, I don't try too hard to find subject matter, it just seems to find me). I have a lot of fun doing it and it is worth the effort[lessness] (*).

Triaris Bello Ocisis - Jebensstrasse / Berlin (Wed 10 Aug 2005)

Triaris Bello Ocisis - Jebensstrasse / Berlin (Wed 10 Aug 2005)
Triaris Bello Ocisis (Detail) - Jebensstrasse / Berlin (Wed 10 Aug 2005)

Daido Moriyama: The Mighty Power - nowness.com (Wed 12 Dec 2012)

Daido Moriyama: The Mighty Power on Nowness.com (Wed 12 Dec 2012)
Amazing. I have the transcript of his words and will post here soon.

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sun 23 Dec 2012)

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Left Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Right Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012)
Note to self. A personal guide for the Campaign and beyond ..

A few photos and words from my heart following the 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Camp in Canberra from 21-23 Dec 2012.

Congratulations to all that put themselves forward for selection for the 2013 Auroras Senior B Dragon Boat Squad which will participate at the World Dragon Boat Championships in Szeged, Hungary in late July 2013.

Putting yourself up for selection and having dreams, hopes and goals is always a risky business as they can all be dashed in a moment.

For those whose journey for this campaign ended at the selection camp, you have my admiration and respect. My heart goes out to you, but I also know that there are future opportunities and with a plan, determination and perseverance you can achieve everything you want out of paddling and life. We have a number of role models in this regard and I encourage you to follow their lead. The camp will have given you perspective and a path forward to realising all your dreams and goals. It's a decision you make and it is all in your hands.

For those successful in selection, I congratulate you and I feel your elation in the trust the coaches have given us to represent Australia as the 2013 Auroras Senior B World Championship Dragon Boat Squad.

I thank those from the 2011 Auroras Squad (*) who have come back to give it another go. Your experience will be invaluable as we all learnt so much about ourselves, the importance of teamwork and what it is to compete on the world stage against the best the world has to offer.

The competition is intense and goals are achieved through your commitment to the training programme; trust in yourself, your team mates, managers and coaches.

Having done a few campaigns now, my advice is to savior every moment of the campaign. There can be feelings of elation, disappointment and every emotion in between. That is the nature of paddling at this level and I have learnt it is how we handle and respond to these emotions, that will mould who we are and who we will become. You have to an awareness of yourself and those around you - to be emotionally strong not only for yourself, but more importantly for the team, since our sport is the true essence of team work.

There are few words that stick in my mind from all my experiences in paddling and life. They are Trust, Belief and Risk.

Trust - Trust yourselves, your team mates, your managers and coaches. Remember the first time you stood in dragon boat in the standup paddle drill at the selection camp. Serge and Blair would not have asked us to do this if they thought we could not do it. They trusted us, as we trusted them. I saw no hesitation from either side. This is the kind of trust we need to find, particularly when we are uncertain. We just need to go with it and it will happen.

Belief (*) - You have to believe in yourself, and your supporters in paddling and in life. Most importantly you have to believe in the campaign, the process, your team mates, managers and coaches. I find this quote (*) gives me perspective, understanding and strength:

If you believe, you are stronger and the light will shine on you.

Risk - by getting to this point, we have all proved we are not averse to taking a risk or two. At this level, the stakes and emotions are heightened. There are risks all round as we step into the unknown to compete against the best in the world. We have control of many things and this is our focus, but there are others things which we don't, for as you see, I have learnt there is an underlying randomness to it all. This is where adaptability comes in, as we respond in a measured and considered way to the random events that are tossed our way and that which we may confront. Take nothing for granted, success is not attained easily. Often, time and persistence is required.

Finally, be prepared to let go of everything you know and to start from zero (*). It would take me a long time to learn this one and it only came to me in Busan (*) at the 2012 Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Sep 2012. Ask Paul Langley as we learnt this together in the Mixed 10's (*). I became the paddler and person I always wanted to be on that hot sunny day in Busan.

We have an amazing blend of enthusiasm, hardened experience and raw newness at this level. Focus on what you can control, trust and believe and the rest will look after itself. I feel privileged to share this experience with you and look forward to what lays ahead.

2013 Auroras Grand Masters Selection Squad Camp - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sat 23 Dec 2012)