Street Photography - Joel Meyerowitz / Tintin Törncrantz (Thu 09 Jun 2016)

arms and hands - White Rabbit Gallery / Chippendale (Sun 29 Jun 2016)

Joel Meyerowitz on Street Photography:

[street photography is] an arms-length contact with somebody

via Spain : Miss Maier by Tintin Törncrantz by Tintin Törncrantz.

On Ideas - Breaking Smart (Fri 13 Nov 2015)

Untitled - Alexandria (Wed 14 May 2014)

Breaking Smart on Ideas:

Ideas that occur at the beginning or end of a project are usually worthless. Ideas that occur in the middle of a project are priceless

via How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change a Person? by Breaking Smart.

Too much time on my hands today. Catching up a little on some interesting posts over the last few weeks.

On the Joy of Paddling - Honolulu (Sun 10 Sep 2011)

a little lift - gotta work for it!! - Geoff, Jo, David, Betty (that would be my amazing Mum in Seat 4), .. - Waikiki Beach / Honolulu (Sun 10 Sep 2011)

now enjoy the reward of the effort - Geoff, Jo, David, Betty (that would be my amazing Mum in Seat 4), .. - Waikiki Beach / Honolulu (Sun 10 Sep 2011)

Paddling has changed my life. It has given me so much Joy. It has given me purpose and goals through the good and tough times.

Going back to Hawaii just now for the biggest paddling challenge for an Outrigger Paddler. Thanks to all who have supported and encouraged us to get to this Moment (yes it's just there now ready for us to firmly grasp with both hands). It takes much effort by many people. It can be hard, uncomfortable and difficult but that's why you do it.

Hoping we might be able to catch a few runners just like we did here off the beach in Sep 2011, and minimise the mistakes as we do the 66 km crossing with 110 crews from all over the world. See you on the other side, all going well ..

For a Moment, Forever .. To be an Aurora - eljeiffel (Wed 19 Aug 2015)

A Moment - Before, During and After - Racice / Czech Republic (Sat 29 Aug 2009)

For a Moment .. You think, you dream, you are inspired and you decide to go for the Team. You plan, you flex, you push, you pull, you metal, you shuffle, you kettle, you stand and paddle, and jump a few hurdles, and suddenly, you've made the Team, the first stage of a dream. You smile for a while, but you know it is only the first mile. You train, you strain, you pain, you drain, you gain, you laugh, you try, you cry, you learn, you create capacity and experiences, and build motion, connections and emotions for a Moment that seems so far off. You desire, you aspire, you perspire, time transpires and suddenly the Moment is there just in front of you, just there waiting for you to decide and respond as only you know how to. May you seize this Moment just ahead. It is just there .. waiting .. yes, just there. Where? It's there, just there, you know it. Grasp it with both hands. Fight for the inches, they are hard to find but they are there. And given an inch, take a mile, no mercy. What lies ahead is a mystery and shortly it will be history, to become your few threads in the rich tapestry that became before you. Be in and saviour this Moment, it is there waiting for you to move into and through, just like a door, to shape you and to become your memories with friends for a lifetime. Forever. As Jenny would say, "Don't Wonder 'What If?'". Go Australia!! Go the Auroras!!

Birds of Tokyo, "Lanterns": Stripped Down (Live)

Outrigger Canoe Paddling Technique (OC6)

Top Hand Over Bottom / Top Hands Down Together

A couple of good calls I make as an outrigger steerer to refocus the crew on technique and timing is:

Top Hand Over Bottom And Top Hands Down Together

Visualise this photo when one or both of these calls are made and you will know what is being asked for - A part of the quality in the stroke and crew blending.

Timing should come mostly from feel and a good visual cue is to synchronise your top hand driving down at the same time as those in front of you. Also helps keep the head up to maximise the breathing efficiency.

Top hand over bottom can help get your paddle side shoulder out and extended along the side of the canoe, soemthing we have been focusing on lately.

On Suffering, Sorrow and a Way Forward - Cheryl Strayed / Marie Popova (Tue 15 Jun 2015)

Hands - St George Private Hospital (Sun 28 Jun 2009)

Cheryl Strayed on Suffering, Sorrow and a Way Forward:

we all suffer and we all need to find light in that darkness, strength in that weakness. [..]

you can have a happier life if you think positively in the face of profound sorrow. [..]

I trust that there’s some intuitive place within me that’s driving me forward.

via The Subterranean River of Emotion: Cheryl Strayed on Writing, the Art of Living with Opposing Truths, and the Three Ancient Motifs in All Great Storytelling by Marie Popova.

I know what these words mean - I have lived and felt them and they are how I have chosen to live my Life. And, it is a choice.

On Photography and Authenticity - Jason Langer / Aline Smithson (Mon 15 Jun 2015)

A Heart of Flowers - Alexandria (Sat 13 Jun 2015)

Jason Langer on Photography and Authenticity:

the truest, most authentic self is only revealed in isolation. For me, the social self is a mask. The photographs collected here are, simply put, a record of my attempt to penetrate the mask and expose some glimmer of the mystery beneath.

via JASON LANGER: TWENTY YEARS by Aline Smithson.

I have also found that the true authentic self is often revealed in those raw moments in your life involving your Heart where something is lost - a relationship through a breakdown or a death. A Tear is often a manifestation of the true authentic self because there is nothing left - no masks, no filters. In those moments of loss, before, during and after, the true authentic self is most often revealed, as it should be. For it not to be, might show great resilience in character and [maybe] a Heart of Stone, but this will only magnify and potentially extend the grieving and bereavement process that should follow any significant loss.

There is a beauty (if you are prepared to look at life this way) to the process, it's rawness and what it reveals in character. It shows you are living and experiencing a meaningful life in all its extremes. I have thought that my photography could - and to some extent it has already (and when I think about it as I write these words, it is the very reason I bought my first small digital camera way back Dec 2000) - pursue this direction. They are often markers and important references in your life as you move forward. I have found great comfort in my photographs.

Hands - Greenwich Hospital (Sun 12 Apr 2015)

On Hope, Healing and the Future - Doug Miller (Sun 11 Oct 2009)

Hands - Janice and Joanne / Ashfield (Sun 15 Mar 2015)
Doug Miller (*) writes On Hope (*):

Hope waits. Ready for us to reach out and grasp its firm hand. [..] There is hope and healing and a future no matter what our circumstances.

via A Message To The Broken (*) by Doug Miller (*).

On Hands - Colin Pantall (Mon 13 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait (*) - Piccadilly Circus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)
Colin Pantall (*) writes on Hands (*) in Photos (*) and Paintings (*):

Hands are so important. But why is that?

via Propaganda, Propaganda, Propaganda (*) by Colin Pantall (*).

Street Portraiture - David McLean / Shot by Shooter (Jul 2014)

Untitled - Piccadilly / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)
David Mclean (*) on Street Portraits (*) [quoting David Mclean (*)]:

They are always different. They are always the same

via David Mclean Street Portraiture - 1883 Magazine (*) by Jay Mitchell (*).

My favourite from the trip so far. Love the hands, the tshirts, the chains and most of all her smile and eyes. Sometimes you just get lucky but you have to in the game - you've got to be trying, but not too hard.

On the Camera - making it happen - eyecurious / Conscientious Redux (Tue 12 Apr 2014)

Horizon Camera (*) - Lomography Store (*) / Barcelona (Mon 05 Aug 2013)
eyecurious (*) writes on the camera (*):

even today, things can still happen (*) by simply taking a camera (*) and going out into the world.

via eyecurious: I just got my hands on two books, Going Home and... (*) by Conscientious Redux (*) / Jorg Colberg (*).

I have a copy of Going Home (*). And I was very interested in the Horizon (*) Panoramic Camera (*) in my early days (*).

On Spontaneity and Luck - Philip-Lorca DiCorcia (Feb 2014)

Street Portrait (Hands) - Atochia / Madrid (Fri 09 Aug 2013)
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia (*) on Spontaneity, Luck (*) in Photography (*:

I am very conscious of taking an image and that does take some of the spontaneity out of it. Where the spontaneity comes back in is that I always leave room for luck (*) - the random occurrence that you can’t make happen. There is always an element of chance.

via Arts Preview: Philip-Lorca Di Corcia, The Hepworth Wakefield to June 1 (*) at the yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk (*).

On Gestures - Jorg Colberg / Conscientious Photography Magazine (Tue 28 Jan 2014)

Untitled - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)
Jorg Colberg (*) writes On Gestures (*) and Photography (*):

Gestures (*), the way people use their hands (*) and facial expressions (*), are very hard to deal with photographically.

One of the complications appears to be that the moment we are made to look at a gesture (*), frozen in a photograph, we have to pay attention to something we usually do not think about.

And then it gets weird very quickly.

via Corinna Sauer: Home Story (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

Untitled - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)

On Photography, Context and Meaning - Jorg Colberg / (Sun 15 Dec 2013)

Untitled - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)
Jorg Colberg (*) writes On Photography (*), Context (*) and Meaning (*):

Photographs need to be seen with context in mind. Many photographs are created with a very specific context in mind [..] But context can also be an anchor that prevents access. [..] [some] speak directly to us; many of them escape their context and talk of the human condition [..] these photographs show what happens when a master photographer sets up her or his camera: The results will stand the test of time and, inevitably, they will want to break out of whatever context they might have found themselves originally in.

via A few thoughts on Lewis Hine (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

Hands (Detail) - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)

Street Portrait #1 - Sagrada Familia / Barcelona (Thu 08 Aug 2013)

Street Portrait #1 (Hands) - Sagrada Familia (*) / Barcelona (Thu 08 Aug 2013)
Had to wait an hour to get in to this amazing church. Snapped off a few photos of others waiting to get in. A few more to follow.

Street Portraits (2 of 4) - Barcelona (Mon 05 Aug 2013)

Street Portrait (Hands) - Barcelona (Mon 05 Aug 2013)

Standing on a Corner - George Street / Sydney (Mon 21 Oct 2013)

Standing on a Corner - Street Portrait (Hands) - George Street (*) / Sydney (Mon 21 Oct 2013)
Joel Meyerowitz (*) talks about Street Photography (*):

when people gather on the corner, you never know if something is going to happen.

via Joel Meyerowitz - Street Photography (YouTube) (*) by Joel Meyerowitz (*).

He is right. Every time I stand at a corner, there is always something going on. This is my favourite corner not far from my workplace.The camera is in my pocket so it always comes out around here.

The above quote from the video by Joel Meyerowitz has been quite formative and has helped inspire me to take a lot of photos at this intersection (*) and elsewhere.

Standing on a Corner - George Street (*) / Sydney (Mon 21 Oct 2013)

The Speaker - Speakers Corner / Hyde Park / London (Sun 16 Aug 2013)

The Speaker - Speakers Corner (*) / Hyde Park / London (Sun 18 Aug 2013)
His message did not speak to the throbbing crowd and there was lots of heckling. A stunningly well dressed lady, even threw a small piece of rolled up paper at him. At least no one threw their shoe at him. I felt like I was in a market place somewhere in the Middle East. It was surreal as the sunset creating an amazing backdrop to this vibrant scene. Love tha hands.

Another Love - Tom Odell / Letterman Live (Wed 01 May 2013)

Another Love (*) by Tom O'Dell (*) - YouTube (*) - Letterman Live / NYC (Wed 01 May 2013)
Found it (*) and best of all a Letterman Live version.

Another Love (*) by Tom O'Dell (*)

I wanna take you somewhere so you know I care
But it's so cold and I don't know where
I brought you daffodils in a pretty string
But they won't flower like they did last spring

And I wanna kiss you, make you feel alright
I'm just so tired to share my nights
I wanna cry and I wanna love
But all my tears have been used up

On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up

And if somebody hurts you, I wanna fight
But my hands been broken, one too many times
So I'll use my voice, I'll be so f'ing rude
Words they always win, but I know I'll lose

And I'd sing a song, that'd be just ours
But I sang 'em all to another heart
And I wanna cry I wanna learn to love
But all my tears have been used up

On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up

I wanna sing a song, that'd be just ours
But I sang 'em all to another heart
And I wanna cry, I wanna fall in love
But all my tears have been used up

On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up

All hands - Split / Split (Thu 01 Aug 2013)

All hands - Split / Split (Thu 01 Aug 2013)
She had a beatiful smile and the deckhands could not help themselves. On our return to Split from a ferry day trip to Trogir (*).