On Passion - Spencer Lum (Wed 30 Jan 2013)

Laser Man - Busan / South Korea (Sun 09 Sep 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes insightfully on Passion (*), Purpose (*) and Belief (*):

The trick isn’t finding passion. It’s harnessing it. [..]

Things like passion (*), purpose (*) and belief (*) are great and wonderful things.

But they’re not guides. They are raw fuel.

Unprocessed and unrefined, they won’t take you where you need to go.

Fully utilized, they are unstoppable.

But you can’t just throw more passion at a problem.

The goal isn’t to break through walls. It’s to go around them.

Passion fuels progress. But progress fuels passion. [..]

Find a way to do what you do the best you can do it, and be sure to make yourself useful (*).

via The problem with passion (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

Spencer (*) at his passionate best. Onwards and forward.

On Change and Moving Forward - Kirk Tuck (Wed 30 Jan 2013)

Floorboard Cross Section - Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
Kirk Tuck (*) talks On Change (*):

The thread that should run through everything though should be to honestly have fun with your work.

You don't have to love everything but you sure have to like the process.

But to fall back in love with the process you have to yield to the idea that everything changes.

It's always tough to stomach that change must include me...

via (*) by Kirk Tuck (*).

While Kirk abstracts the above from his working life as a professional photographer, it is a great way to understand the change proces, discontinuities in your life and whether you upto going with it or wallowing around in self pity for what once was (hope that makes sense).

On Solitude and Purpose - Manuscript Found in ACCRA / Paulo Coelho (Wed 23 Jan 2013)

Solitude. - 201 Castlereagh St / Sydney (Wed 23 Jan 2013)
Paulo Coelho (*) writes On Solitude (*):

[..] when we are still and silent and able to accept solitude as a blessing.

And in that moment, Its light illumines everything around us and helps us to see that we are necessary, and that our presence on Earth makes a huge difference to Its work.

via On Solitude (*) by Paulo Coehlo (*).

On Passion and Commitment - What Would You Do If ... - Patrick McHugh (Wed 23 Jan 2013)

Red Sofa - Jennings St / Alexandria (Mon 07 Jan 2013)

Patrick McHugh (*) writes:

[..] do what interests you.

Do not focus on the outcome.

Regardless of the outcome your passion and commitment will have its own rewards.

via What Would You Do If ... (*).

Do you feel useful? - Manuscript Found in ACCRA - Paulo Coehlo (Fri 25 Jan 2013)

Where are you go[in]g? - Erskineville (Fri 17 Jan 2013)
From the Manuscript Found in ACCRA (*):

Don’t try to be useful. Try to be yourself: that is enough, and that makes all the difference.

via Do you feel useful? (*) by Paulo Coelho (*).

This advice is exactly right. Whenever I have gone back to being myself (after pretending to be something I wasn't or what I thought others thought I should be), that is when things work out for the best, and just not for me.

Viva La Vida - ColdPlay - Letterman Live (Tue 20 Sep 2011)

Viva La Vida - Coldplay - Live on Letterman [Youtube (*)]
Heard this song on the car radio the day after Lance Armstrong's confession to the world via Oprah.

When I heard the lyrics I could not help but think of Lance. So many analogies.

Like Lance, the song is part of me and my life experiences. It is too hard to write about here now and I will save it for another day.

Here are the lyrics. Enjoy ...

Viva La Vida Lyrics

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

via (*) by (*).

What's it for? - On Purpose and Change - Seth Godin (Tue 15 Jan 2013)

What's it for? - Dibbs Lane / Alexandria (Mon 14 Jan 2013)
Seth Godin (*) writes On Purpose (*):

Being clear about what we're doing and why is the first step in doing it better.

If you're not happy about the honest answer to this question, make substantial changes until you are.

via What's it for? (*) by Seth Godin (*).

On Technique - Free Speed - Kirk Tuck (Tue 22 Jan 2013)

Pacific Dragons - Masters Men - Five Islands Regatta (Sun 11 Nov 2012)
Kirk Tuck (*) writes On Technique (*):

With good application of good technique you'll go faster, go further and expend less energy. Seems like a good idea.

via Free Speed (*).

Kirk is not just a professional photographer and writer on photography. He keeps himself fit swimming and is just as informative writing about swimming as he is about photography. Here he is at his definitive best.

An inspirational piece of writing and one I will come back to a few more times on the road to Szeged 2013 (*). Thanks for sharing Kirk.

On Complex Heros - J. Tolkien

Bike - Ryogoku / Tokyo (Fri 21 Sep 2012)
Roger Colby (*) abstracts the following from J. R. R. Tolkien’s 5 tips for creating complex heroes (*):

1. Complex heroes. must suffer.


2. Complex heroes are rewarded for their suffering.


3. Complex heroes fail.


4. Complex heroes have fatal flaws.


5. Complex heroes are ordinary people.

via explore (*).

More Faces #3 - Teramachi Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

More Faces #3 - Teramachi Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
A little out of focus, but I like the result.

Orange Lantern #4 - Joanne and Betty - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Orange Lantern #4 - Joanne and Betty - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
As you can see, I was quite taken by the Orange Lanterns (*).

Orange Lantern #3 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Orange Lantern #3 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Orange Lantern #2 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Orange Lantern #2 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Street Art Portraits - Barr St / Camperdown (Sat 15 Dec 2012)

Street Art Portraits - Barr St / Camperdown (Sat 14 Dec 2012)

Orange Lantern #1 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Orange Lantern #1 - Hanami-koji Street / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
Like the placement of her feet on the circular manhole edge - did not notice this until just now. The Beauty of Photography. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Sofa - Dibbs Lane / Alexandria (Mon 24 Dec 2012)

Sofa - Dibbs Lane / Alexandria (Mon 24 Dec 2012)

On Being Human, Photo Creation, Chaos and Understanding - Spencer Lum (Tue 08 Jan 2013)

Taking Human Pictures (*) - Erskineville Road / Erskineville (Mon 31 Dec 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On being Human (*) and Photo Creation (*):

Human pictures aren’t pictures of people.

They’re pictures that mean something to people.

And there are as many ways to create them as there are pictures to take.

to which he expands On Chaos (*) and On Understanding (*):

Take this crazy, complex, overgrown world of ours, distill it down to something, and you’ve done exactly what you’re supposed to do.

You’ve restructured a systemic chaos more complex than we’ll ever know into terms we, as humans, can understand.

via Taking Human Pictures (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

On the Beauty of Photography - Spencer Lum (Mon 07 Jan 2012)

Green / CAMO - Alexandria (Mon 16 Dec 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On the Beauty of Photography (*):

The question isn’t what looks good.

The question is what fits.

Are you building something?

Are you filtering through what works and what doesn’t and packing your pictures with connotation?

Or just showing what’s there?

In the simplest terms, get rid of the bad and keep the good.

You can spend a lifetime deciding on just what that means.

And that’s the beauty of photography.

The key is just to keep making those decisions.

via Say what you mean and mean what you say (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

Always making decisions here. It's part of the attraction of doing what happens here. I look back over the four years of photos here and sometimes I shake my head at what I see. I look at it and say to myself, it was the right decision (or maybe the only decision) to make at the time. In some ways it makes me realise how much I have done and learnt. So while I might shake my head, there are no regrets.

On Faliure, Success and Not Showing Up - Aline Smithson (Dec 2012)

Yoshi Jones (*) [1] - Bucknell St / Newtown (Mon 31 Dec 2012)
Aline Smithson (*) writes On Failure (*) and On Success (*):

It’s OK to fail.

You learn more from failure, than from success.

It becomes a time to take stock and reassess.

Success is fleeting anyway...it’s all about being true to yourself and making the best work possible.

And often, your best work rises from the ashes of failure, when you change directions.

where she adds:

It’s OK not to show up [..] to every opportunity.

via it’s ok to step back from the roar of the crowd (*) by Aline Smithson (*).

[1] Always something interesting on the side wall of Yoshi Jones (*). Have a few others here that I will link up with the Yoshi Jones Label (*), in my own time of course.

The View - Malua Bay (Sun 09 Sep 2001)

The View - Malua Bay (Sun 09 Sep 2001)
The view from the back of my Grandparents house at Malua Bay (*). I wrote a little about it here (*).

Spent many a childhood January School Holiday there. It was a long day (10-11 hours) trip from Tamworth to Malua. The three of us would sit in the back seat, with me in the middle to keep the peace.

We could get to the beach (between the two headlands) walking along the cliff line. Also, we could walk down the cliff just to the left of where this photo was taken. This is the view we would get on the way down ..

The View (detail) - Malua Bay (Sun 09 Sep 2001)

Flowers - Manuka / Canberra (Nov 2002)

Flowers - Manuka / Canberra (Nov 2002)
Some flower photos from Tim's backyard garden. The light was soft and even, and the mighty IXUS did another great job. The bokeh in macro mode is very nice for such a small and early generation digital camera. A few more photos follow ..

Blooming (Colour) - Alexandria (Fri 30 Nov 2012)

Blooming (Colour) - Alexandria (Fri 30 Nov 2012)
A colour version of previous black and white conversion (*).

Believe - Trust Your Instincts - York St / Sydney (Thu 03 Jan 2013)

Believe - Trust Your Instincts - York St / Sydney (Thu 03 Jan 2013)

Scubidu - Pisa / Italy (Thu 11 Aug 2005)

Scubidu - Pisa / Italy (Thu 11 Aug 2005)
One of those moments when it all comes together and it is staring you right in the face. It happens every now and then.

On Photography - Diligence and Balance - Kirk Tuck (Tue 01 Jan 2013)

Street Art Portrait #1 - Phillip St / Enmore (Sat 15 Dec 2014)
Kirk Tuck (*) writes On Photography (*):

[..] you have to be diligent. There has to be a balance.

Thank God we invented photography.

It gives us a ready and reliable excuse to push away from our desks, easy chairs, dining room tables and couches in order to head outside and get some creative thinking and seeing done.

A photography secret for living longer and happier lives.

via Good light is what you miss if you spend too much time indoors (*).

Street Art Portrait #2 - Phillip St / Enmore (Sat 15 Dec 2014)

On Risk and Failure - Quentin Tarantino (Wed 19 Dec 2012)

It's a Little Bit Scary - Glebe (Sat 24 Nov 2012)
Quentin Tarantino (*) talks On Risk (*) and Failure (*):

I’ve always been pushing that envelope.

I want to risk hitting my head on the ceiling of my talent.

I want to really test it out and say: O.K., you’re not that good. You just reached the level here.

I don’t ever want to fail, but I want to risk failure every time out of the gate.

via Quentin’s World (*) by Charles McGrath (*).

A thought to start the year.