Doing - Iterations / Jeffery Saddoris (Sun 24 Jun 2018)

abstract - Greenfield Park / Sydney (Sun 10 Jun 2018)

Jeffery Saddoris on Doing:

We need to rethink the word perfect and replace it with purposeful or deliberate - purposeful practice - deliberate practice. Perfect suggests there are no mistakes and it is in the mistakes that provide the opportunity to learn. Practicing deliberately on the other hand means looking beyond simply going through the motions of a particular task or skill, and instead breaking it down into where and more importantly why we are not getting the results we want or expect.

In the same way watching is the flip side of doing, failure is the catalyst to practice. Failure shows us where the holes are - whether that is a hole in a swing, a hole in our game or a hole in our thinking. But it does not happen in a vacuum and it is not binary. Failure is the evidence of doing. And failure just like success is an opportunity for reflection in order to fine tune where to direct our next efforts. When we embrace the missteps we are given the opportunity to see what worked and what did not work in the doing and as a result we can build a more purposeful or deliberate practice moving forward.

via The catalyst to practice (listen to from here) by Jeffery Saddoris.

Art - The Story of Telling (Fri 18 Aug 2017)

Abstract - Glebe (Sun 30 Jul 2017)

The Story of Telling on Art:

Art allows us to be remembered for our humanity and make meaning part of our [life].

via The Art Of Customer Loyalty by The Story of Telling.

how you look at it - Chris Martin / Andrew Stafford (Sat 10 Dec 2016)

Abstract - Double Bay (Tue 29 Nov 2016)

Chris Martin on how you look at it:

Everything in life is how you look at it, isn't it? It's about trying to see the value and beauty of everybody, and the joy of togetherness, but at the same time the accepting of differences of opinion

via Coldplay's Chris Martin: why things have never been better by Andrew Stafford.

Vision and Happiness - Giovanni Sollima / Nick Galvin (Sat 02 Jul 2016)

abstract - Wilson Street / Newtown (Fri 01 Jul 2016)

Giovanni Sollima on Vision:

Everyone should do this. When you play you need a vision of something. It can be human, it can be a tree, it can be abstract, it can be happiness ...

via Giovanni Sollima breaks rules with the ACO by Nick Galvin.

On Observation - Yogi Berri

Abstract - Uni Of Sydney (Thu 17 Sep 2015)

Mike Peters on Observation:

You can observe a lot by just watching

via The future is not what it used to be. by Mike Peters.

Such a simple and true observation.

Did not even notice the face in the background when I made this photo. Only later did I observe it. Reminds me of this Poster I took on the T Station at Harvard in Boston in 2011.

On the Verge of Success and Failure - Garry Winogrand / Mason Resnick / Trent Parke / Spencer Lum

Eros - Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain / Piccadilly Circus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Garry Winogrand on Art, Success and Failure:

the most successful art is almost on the verge of failure

via Coffee and Workprints: A Workshop With Garry Winogrand by Mason Resnick.

A favourite quote, from the many I've collected here over the years. I like it because it is so true in Art and Photography, but also Paddling and Life.

I am reminded of it every now and then in my own life, through my photography and paddling experiences. And today was one of those days ...

The Sun rose over the City skyline as we did our Thursday morning high intensity session in two, six person outrigger canoes. We do short interval efforts (level 4, level 4+) over repeat efforts of 8, 4, 2 and 1 minute. It's at a pace and intensity that can be maintained for these short time periods which is a bit higher than our race pace intensity (level 3) which we maintain for much longer periods.

We are pushing ourselves at Level 4 and the rhythm in the canoe is often not quite as nice as it would be at level 3 or 2. Our effort and technique is on the edge, on "the verge of failure or breaking down".

As I reflect over a 10 year paddling career, I have found that the best Training Sessions and Races have been the ones where everything is just a little out of control and uncomfortable. It's like a being on a knife edge or the edge of a precipices. It's that boundary between the known and unknown, good and bad, success and failure, and courage and fear (thanks Kayleene). And ultimately, the fault line between our past and future (thanks for that one Chantel).

It can be stressful and can feel like a feisty prickly relationship. A disonnance. And often questions and self-doubts rise to the surface.

When you are on the edge, you are pushing yourself to the limit of your abilities and beyond. And, with that comes the risk that you push too far and fail, or you just find that easy comfort zone and also fail through a lost effort and opportunity.

Disappointment may come with the failure, but if you reflect and abstract a learning, then you are more experienced and capable for the next effort. And often, as Trent Parke succinctly notes:

mistakes and accidents usually lead to the best discoveries.

You are learning, broadening your experiences and creating the future opportunity for "successful art", if you keep caring and trying.

I love that feeling of "being on the edge of failure". Instead of fighting it, try to find it and some comfort in the uncomfort, and in the knowledge that this is, as Spencer Lum astutely notes:

where all the good stuff happens

As Jenny said, Give it a try, step outside of your comfort zone. You might be surprised where it can take you ...

Don't wonder 'What if?' - Jenny P

On Havoc - Tim Winton / The Monthly (Sat 23 May 2015)

Abstract - Western Australia (Thu 16 Apr 2015)

Tim Winton on Havoc:

Afterwards, despite the happy outcome, you are, of course, a f'ing mess. What you have been, all through your moment of extremity, is a casual-sounding robot. The state you’ve been in is probably nothing short of hysterical. Maybe that’s who you are.

Havoc: A life in accidents by Tim Winton.

On Photography and Commitment - StreetShooter (Fri 15 May 2015)

Abstract - Fremantle (Sun 19 May 2015)

StreetShooter on Commitment:

There is no one way to do anything in life. There is no path to take to get you to the magic garden. It’s inside you and always was. It’s up to you to fight and say,

I am me and good or bad, these are my photos. I love them because they are me and I am them and they do not exist without me and I don’t want to exist without them.

That means that you have committed to your work and committed to make a signature that you recognize.

Via Living With Street Talk … Living With Yourself by StreetShooter.

Nothing Really Matters - Eileen Cady / Footprints on the Path

Words of Wisdom from Janice's Fridge Door - Ashfield (Sun 15 Mar 2015)

.. "nothing really matters" .. by Eileen Cady

Dwell not in the past,
Use it to illustrate a point;
then leave it behind.
nothing
really
matters
except what you do now
In this instant of time.

From this moment onward
you can be entirely different person
filled with love and understanding,
ready with an outstretched hand,
uplifted and positive
in every thought and deed.

Eileen Caddy / Footprints on the Path

Recently had an experience that has forced me to reflect on life more than I normally would.

I recently had to abstract my experience down to a txt message, so someone could appreciate and understand what I went through during and after this experience. Here it is:

I saw the generosity, concern and empathy of complete strangers. I saw first hand the diversity, strength and professionalism of our Rescue Services - I'm in awe of them. I saw the importance of life and how fragile our connection is with it.

I'm proud of my decisions and my actions that day, I think it helped save someones life.

Due to circumstance and/or privacy laws, it is not possible to thank all those people who helped that day, so I say it here - THANK YOU.

An experience like that makes you reflect a lot and in some ways it was life changing - a spiritual experience actually.

I have dwelt on this for far too long and it has had a bigger impact (both negative and positive, oddly enough) on me than I could ever imagined.

It is now time to acknowledge that it did happen for the first and last time here. And it is also now time to leave it behind. Let it go!!!

And so that is that.

Coffs Harbour Bound : Heading Home - Kurnell / Kamay Botany Bay National Park (Mon 16 Mar 2015)

On Abstraction - Vivek Haldar (Tue 20 May 2014)

Untitled - Hampstead Heath / London (Sun 18 Aug 2013)
Vivek Haldar (*) writes On Absrtaction (*):

It is telling that one of the central activities in programming is abstraction. Abstraction is nothing but taking a jumble of intricate detail, putting it in a tightly sealed box, and then poking very small, well-defined holes in the box to interact with that jumble. So clean! So much better!

But every abstraction is leaky. Ints carry the baggage of their bit-width. In a perfect world, every int would be a BigInt with unlimited range. But we live in a world where it matters whether ints fit in a hardware register or not. Networks carry the baggage of not being perfect links. In a perfect world, a link between two machines would be an immutable, always-available channel for sending messages between them. But we live in a world where wires break.

via Why technologists want to secede (*) by Vivek Haldar (*).

I like to abstract (*), but it is hard because of the imperfect world Vivek (*) describes and abstracts so well above.

On Gifts and Photography - Jorg Colberg (Fri 28 Feb 2014)

Street Portrait - Harris Street / Ultimo (Mon 24 Feb 2014)
Jorg Colberg (*) writes On Photography (*):

There are gifts (*) everywhere, and you “just” need to be able to spot them, accept (*) them, work with them.

via Review: Emile Hyperion Dubuisson’s Far (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

End of the first week in our new Office. A new stomping ground for my Street Portraits (*). The area is vibrant and I know it well from my time at UTS doing my Postgraduate Degree in Data Processing (what an old fashion term). Love it here already and I could not help but snap this photo of a building site worker out on his lunch hour with a nice balloon in tow.

An aside and thanks: Jorg Colberg (*) is my favourite writer on photography. He is able to abstract the essence of an experience, a book or whatever; and write so clearly and succinctly about it. He always gives you something to think about and I eagerly await his next post. Thanks Jorg.

On Photography - Mark Cohen / Eric Kim Blog (Mon 17 Feb 2014)

Street Portrait - Harris Street / Haymarket (Tue 25 Feb 2014)
Untitled - Dibbs Street / Alexandria (Jan 2014)
Abstract - Pitt Street / Redfern (Fri 21 Feb 2014)
Mark Cohen (*) on Photography (*):

When you feel like you’re making pictures - the most important is to make new pictures. The pictures you already took - you already took those pictures. My main drive is to do something new - to make some new kind of picture.

via 14 Lessons Mark Cohen Has Taught Me About Street Photography (*) by Eric Kim (*).

Abstract - Red, Green, Yellow and Grey - Barcelona (Tue 06 Aug 2013)

Abstract - Red, Green, Yellow and Grey - Barcelona (Tue 06 Aug 2013)
Took me a while to remember what it was. Any guesses?

Abstract Construction - London / Canada (Fri 02 Sep 2011)

Abstract Construction - London / Canada (Fri 02 Sep 2011)
An A3 print is wonderful. The random palette of shapes and textures is what makes it. This small jpg does not do it justice.

Abstract - King St / Newtown (Fri 14 Dec 2012)

Abstract - King St / Newtown (Fri 14 Dec 2012)

Truro Blue - Truro / Cornwall (Sun 06 Sep 2012)

Truro Blue - Truro / Cornwall (Sun 06 Sep 2012)
Seem to have a liking for the colour blue (*) and the abstract (*). I like this very much and it is one of my best - all modesty aside - smiling to myself.

On Remembering - Family Photographs - Colin Pantall (Tue 06 Nov 2012)

Orange - Asakusa Kannon Temple / Tokyo (Fri 21 Sep 2012)

Sometimes photography seems abstract, but then something happens that makes it concrete.
Colin Pantall (Tue 06 Nov 2012)

Sometimes you read an almost random post by someone you don't even know - you it find so pertinent and you are deeply touched and you learn something about life and yourself. Today is one such day ..

Colin Pantall (*) writes (*) on the passing of his Mother-in-Law, Elizabeth, last weekend:

I think it was a relief in some ways that she died, because she wasn't independent and it wasn't the way she wanted to live, but at the same time it was a massive shock. Not because of the death, but because of the passing of an era, the end of a living history. You can keep history alive in various ways, but when the person who witnessed it goes, it does spell the end of a chapter. It doesn't mean we should forget it, but there is still some part of a time that has gone. Things have moved on.

He also talks about how someone is remembered through photographs and our memories.

On Photography, he writes:

things are also preserved and the family album does this admirably. It's a shorthand of memory, of history, of an edited and at times idealised past, where certain things are hidden and certain things taken away - sometimes in retrospect. Even so, we still look at it quite objectively as something quite factual.

However, complementing the photos (if they were made and are available), there are the memories to draw upon and the cues (*) that inspire them:

But Elizabeth didn't have those old photos, so I wonder how she will be remembered. Just as words are sometimes better than photographs, so is food. I remember her Slovenian cooking, her gingerbread, her puddings, her cakes and so does my wife.

I have learnt that it is important to remember and in some ways this has become my life purpose (*). As Colin reminds us, there are photos as well as our memories - what we remember.

eljeiffel (*) for me is all these elements of remembering, remembering not only Jenny (*) and those that have gone before us, but my own legacy (*) - the scratches and fractures (even if it is just a couple of photographs of the colours orange and blue, and the hidden memories they evoked in me) I will leave on this world when I am gone.

Blue - Asakusa Kannon Temple / Tokyo (Fri 21 Sep 2012)

The most Successful Art is almost on the Verge of Failure - Garry Winogrand (Aug 1976)

Olympic Welcome Home Parade #1 and #2- George St / Sydney (Mon 20 Aug 2012)
In Coffee and Workprints: A Workshop With Garry Winogrand (*), Mason Resnick writes about some photographic advice given to him by Garry Winogrand (*):

[..] treat editing photographs as "an adventure in seeing" and to enjoy the whole process.

[..] tension between the form and content of a photograph makes it succeed.

[..] the most successful art is almost on the verge of failure.

I think all these points can be applied to all aspects of life. Photography gives photographers a great chance to experience life and to abstract what they observe and learn.

Particularly like the last point. I know from my own paddling experiences that our best efforts have verged on the edge of failure. You are in, then you are out. Things are breaking down and coming back together again - and so it goes all way the way through the set or race. My GPS has told me this time and time again in our training sessions. The sets that feel the worst are often better than the ones with that perfect feeling. Something I have known for a long time. It is hard to talk to others about this counter intuitiative observation of performance. This quote might come in handy.

Olympic Welcome Home Parade #3 - George St / Sydney (Mon 20 Aug 2012)

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.

Follow Your Own Path - David Brooks / NYT (Wed 27 Jun 2012)

"Black Abstraction" Abstraction - Georgia O'Keefe - The Met / New York (Mon 15 Aug 2012)
David Brooks makes some interesting observations (*) about growing up, locality and following your own path:

Don't try to be everyman. Don't pretend you're a member of every community you visit. Don't try to be citizens of some artificial globalized community. Go deeper into your own tradition. Call more upon the geography of your own past. Be distinct and credible. People will come.

On Black Abstraction (*) - I had known of Georgia O'Keefe through her relationship with Alfred_Stieglitz (*) (I have a book on his life, but can't remember it's title or where it is now). When I walked into the Gallery Hall with her paintings, I knew I would spend some time there. There were many colourful paintings of abstract views of flowers, desert scenes and buffalo skulls. Black Abstraction caught my gaze and I just stood in front of it and thought of many things. Maybe I thought the dark painting reflected how I felt after recent experiences.

Becoming a little abstract and self absorbed (as i do this time of the year). The path through the painting represented my journey since Jenny left us and I had become stuck (*) in this place (I had known this for some time). The little bright white dot gave me hope that there was something still inside me and all it would take was a small sign to get me on my way again. Funnily enough, it would come two days later on a Subway Train. It was such a tiny gesture (*) by a complete stranger.

Maybe the importance to me of such a tiny and simple gesture, indicated how low I had sunk in my journey in life without Jenny there beside me. I don't know really, like most things. Anyway I did like the painting and I am glad this post gave me the opportunity to put the photo here and to research it's background a little more.

To finish, I love this quote by Georgia O'Keefe on Abstraction:

Abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can only clarify in paint.

Maybe I could say the same thing except apply it to photography, as my words seem totally inadequate to describe where I have been, what I have felt and where I think I am heading.