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] (*).

What do you give when there's nothing left to give? - Drew Ginn (Sun 15 Jul 2012)

Directional Sign - Nathan Road / Kowloon / Hong Kong (Sat 07 Jul 2012)
Drew Ginn (*) gives some insights in Training Update: IN the ThiCk of iT (*)

So when I have thought 'No More' I have simply asked, why?

and he adds (*):

With this I have also opened my eyes wider, opened my mind, and opened my body up to experience what needs to happen to improve.

And there is more (*):

With 'no more' comes 'knowing more' and its only through getting stuck that we can appreciate getting un-stuck.

We must hit a wall to know whats its like to pass or over come one.

We must be without an answer or solution to realise what its like when we can find a way.

Being in the thick of it is critical to success as its in the times of stress, loss, thickness and heaviness that we can learning, realise and appreciate another state, way or experience.

Typical Drew at his abstract and convoluted best. A great read which takes a few times to digest.

On Failure - Some Notes on Photographic Intent - Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (01 Mar 2012)

Mont-Royal Red - Mont-Royal / Montreal (Thu 18 Aug 2011)
Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (*) writes (*):

Failure is the sound of a thousand wasted efforts screaming in unison. [..]

So the goal [..] should be to use those things that inspire us as a framework for exploration, so we can learn the process behind them.

Shots aren’t preordained.

They are happy accidents, lead by intention, and founded on a combination of preparation and discovery.

In other words, photography isn’t seeing the big picture.

It’s knowing how to stumble from one adjustment to the next, eliminating choices along the way, while focusing on others, until we find that one thing that says just what we want. [..]

Success is the sound of a single action made of a thousand efforts.