Be Yourself - Francesca Gino (Fri 13 Feb 2020)

Francesca Gino on being Yourself:

when we cater (for and to others), we intentionally minimize our own interests and preferences in favor of those of others. And when we try hard to hide what we’re doing and who we really are from the person we are trying to impress, it’s cognitively and emotionally draining, which, in turn, can undermine our performance. Second, since we can’t know the preferences and expectations of the target with certainty, no matter how much research we’ve done on them, it heightens our anxiety and make us both feel and come across as phony. All this hurts our performance in the meeting.

via Research: It Pays to Be Yourself by Francesca Gino.

Going back to what I loved doing so much for almost 10 years. These little fragments of text and thoughts (and my photos) reveal so much about the world and what interests me. I love clicking the links that search through the past posts and seeing what comes back. It's like casting a fishing line into an ocean of posts and waiting with anticipation to see what the cast catches. In the end these will be the fragments and traces of what will remain after I am long gone. Some proof that I existed on this world for the privileged time I've had on this planet, my home for a short while.

Words - The Story of Telling (Mon 12 Sep 2016)

words - I Won't Make Art - Chippendale (Mon 12 Sep 2016)

The Story of Telling on Words:

Our words communicate much more than the messages we want people to hear. How we use them shapes our thoughts and character—it shows people what we value and conveys the truth about who we are. Our every word has the power to provoke or reassure, draw people in or push them away. We get to choose how well and how wisely we use them.

via The Weight Of Our Words by The Story of Telling.

On Love and Loss - Joel Meyerowitz (Fri 20 Jun 2015)

Jenny and Geoff - St George Private Hospital (Fri 20 Jun 2009)

Joel Meyerowitz on Love and Loss:

All is being lost and yet there is nothing to do but love and care for them while watching the decline.

via All is being lost (Fri 26 Jun 2015) by Joel Meyerowitz.

Some might say I am stuck in past. But I don't really care about those thoughts. It's too hard to be anything other than who I was. These are my memories and they all I have now.

The power of photography to remember. They are all about the past from the very moment they are taken. So maybe all I am now is just a photography of love, loss and a life that was well lived.

Knowing you, knowing me - Urbanbites / King Street / Newtown (Sun 29 Nov 2015)

Knowing you, knowing me - Urbanbites / King Street / Newtown (Sun 29 Nov 2015)

Up early for a big day. Decide to go get a coffee, but the local coffee shops wont be open until 8am, so decide to go up to the coffee shop you lived in for the first six months after Jenny's passing. It was frequented many times in the subsequent years and many fond memories with family, friends and mostly, myself, in my thoughts that the place nurtured. If I could write, I could write a book about the place and what I felt and experienced there. Many of the early blog posts implicitly encapsulate this, so I am glad to have made the effort.

It is over 12 months since I have been here and when I arrived just after 7 this morning, I sat and noticed the small changes that a prolonged separation facilitates and makes so obvious. I noticed the staff. Many were the same, which says a lot for the place which becomes incredibly busy later in the day and night.

I am served by a young waiter I know by face. He has been here for as long as I can remember. We don't know each others names but we know each enough to know each other even after 12 months of not seeing or even thinking each other.

You are touched when he remembers to ask before I can say what he is just about to say "large flat white?". "Thanks, that would be perfect" I said, "you remembered". He smiled and then proceeded on his way to make sure my coffee arrived to please me as best he could.

This is the second time in a week you have experienced something like this. And you wonder how and why?

You've walked through life trying your hardest not to be noticed, for that is where a shy person finds refuge and comfort. However, it's moments like this that make you realise that you do exist and in some ways touch people. Maybe it is because you touch people by just being there in the corner, trying your hardest to not be noticed ...

"Knowing you, knowing me" as the ABBA Classic goes ..

On Anxiety and Growth - Reframing your Thoughts - Patrick McHugh (Sun02 Aug 2015)

Water - La Perouse (Mon 22 Jul 2002)

Patrick McHugh on Anxiety and Growth:

Some can be paralyzed by their feelings. Is the key to look at every situation that produces anxiety for us as an opportunity to grow?

Reframing ones feelings is often the best way I have found to help me deal with issues of anxiety and thus can be a great coaching tool.

via Checking in from the Airport by Patrick McHugh.

On Going Back - The Passage of Time - Joel Meyerowitz (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

200 Year Timeline (photo.net) - Circular Quay / Sydney (Wed 16 Jul 2003) Sunset in the Sails - Circular Quay / Sydney (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

Joel Meyerowitz on Photography:

it's the going back that counts.

via Ordinary Places by Joel Meyerowitz.

I would have to say Circular Quay is not an ordinary place, based on the throng of tourists and locals down at the Quay yesterday.

It was a magnificent sun soaked winters day afternoon, with thousands of people enjoying the light, space and atmosphere of the nautical gateway to the City, at the footsteps of the Sydney Opera House.

We were in town for a Birthday Lunch for Janice who we lost in April . The lunch at Customs House was spectacular, not only for the view and food, but the company of Janice's immediate family. Janice would have loved it. And that we were all there together, remembering her.

Afterwards, we strolled around the Quay, through The Rocks, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and back. As we strolled past the Bounty, I was reminded of my 2003 photo above (along with my photo.net post made back then) and made a similar photo as the sunset.

Looking at the scene yesterday and the photos now, what surprised me was that after 12 years, how similar the two scenes were. At the macro level, the Bounty and the Opera House, appear identical, but I am sure when I look closely, there will be micro changes representing maintenance and technological progress that 12 years brings.

With these two photos, also comes the change in my "vision", my cameras (Canon IXUS S100 then and Canon S120 now, and a few in between) and words. As they say, "same same, but different". The difference probably being my experience in photography and life. In many ways, the camara is now an extension of my hand, I know what it sees and it knows what I feel through the resulting photos it exposes and brings to my life and this world. I am constantly and pleasantly surprised by the power of photography and what it reveals to me.

The two photos represent a passage of time in themselves and my implied meaning assigned to the Jul 2003 photo, along with my words at photo.net back then. Together now, the two photos above, represent the passage of 12 years of time in my own life where everything has changed so much.

So pleased we went back and I now have these photos and memories. Without the photos, the motivation to make them and assigning some connection to them, these memories and thoughts would most likley be lost.

As always, thanks Joel Meyerowitz. I never know where a thought and a few well chosen words will take me.

Jo, Patricia, Fabian, David, Pam, Gavin and Geoff - Customs House Forecourt / Circular Quay (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

On Giving it a Crack - Nathan Haas / Cycling Central (Sat 18 Jul 2015)

Descent - Ultimo (Mon 20 Jul 2015)

Nathan Haas on Competing:

I was feeling terrible so I thought sometimes when you feel terrible, everyone must, so I thought I’d give it a crack and see where they were,

I was away for a little bit, but then they started working so it was unfortunate. They were on good days too.

via Haas shows class but can't hold on by Cycling Central.

You have to keep these kind of thoughts in your head when competing. So if you are feeling tired (or terrible as Nathan puts it), you have to remember those you are competing against, will most likely be feeling the same. This then is your big chance to give it a crack and test yourself and the others out. One day it will work for you. He added that while he was disappointed, he confidently felt his first win at the TdF will be even an sweeter experience. Love the attitude and confidence. Go Nathan.

On Humility - Notes to Inspire (Thu 02 Jul 2015)

Trees splashed across a Water Canvas - Canberra (Sun 05 Aug 2002)

Notes to Inspire on Humility:

When we feel humiliated the best reaction is humility.

via Archive: Notes to Inspire by Notes to Inspire.

Good advice for someone who has spent his whole life feeling guilty about being alive, about his good fortune in life, to have felt the things he has felt, to have been to the places he has been, to have seen what he has seen - to have experienced life the way he has and hopes to have. Maybe these thoughts of guilt show a humility that I had not recognised in myself and that I should not feel guilty about that (guilt - it's an endless loop, you see :-)). It just might show a humbleness and a clarity of purpose on a life being well lived.

Not sure where these words came from and again they might appear a little self-indulgent for a so-called humble person. I love it when a few well crafted words, like those above by Notes to Inspire, take you on a small journey to a place you didn't even know a few minutes earlier. Thanks Notes to Inspire, I appreciate your daily emails and Words of Wisdom.

On Photography and Intention – StreetShooter (Mon 06 May 2015)

Heart - Ultimo (Fri 20 Mar 2015)

StreetShooter writes on Photography and Intent:

Here’s some things I discovered and figured out. I am not claiming to be the inventor or Doctor of Photography. I am just a guy that’s made photography a very important of my existence and these are things I try to live by.

There are 3 facets to photography. Eye, Heart and Mind. The Important thing is INTENT. Try to visualize a Pie. In the center is INTENT. Equally at three points are Eye, Heart and Mind. There are 3 parts because Intent is why you do things and not how you do things. The other 3 are how you do things.

All parts are the sum of one and effect each other at different times.

via Streetshooter … Thoughts and Findings … Defining and Finding “Intent” by StreetShooter.

A Moment - Doug Miller (Fri 28 Aug 2009)

Gulf of St Vincent - Blue Sky, Blue Ocean - South Australia (Fri 01 May 2015)

Doug Miller on a Moment and Eternity:

One of the most difficult parts of walking the early stages of cancer seems to be the waves of feelings, emotions, guilt, etc. that you feel. It is the strangest feeling. One moment you are having a normal conversation or doing simple daily tasks and SUDDENLY......WHAM you get hit by a wave of thoughts. [..]

But at times this weight lifts. And for a moment there is a lightness of being. At times as you face your mortality there are moments where the importance rests solely in a single moment. The blueness of the sky, a breeze, the warmth of the sun, a laugh with a friend, the touch of a hand, these moments sometimes sharpen the focus of life. And at once time stands still pausing in the simplicity and perfection of that moment. Maybe that is how eternity feels.

via Waves by Doug Miller.

The Warrior of Photography and Light - SheetShooter (Wed 29 Apr 2015)

Photographer - Alexandria (Sun 26 Apr 2015)

StreetShooter on Photography:

we must be warriors in life. As photographers we must do our work without fear of acceptance or rejection by others or by ourselves. We do our work because we must. We don’t define our work, it defines us. It makes us who we are and shows us the way to become who and what we strive to be. [..]

you come in alone and you go out alone. It’s your camera and your life. Make photos for you and if others like them along the way and maybe buy them or collect them, wonderful, but if that’s why you made them. That’s a waste of love and life

via Philly Streets … More thoughts and Findings … Olympus Pen EP-5 by StreetShooter.

The Give and Take Miralce of Life and Photography - StreetShooter (Thu 23 Apr 2015)

Street Shooter - "[son] Mummy. What is he taking a photo of? [Mum] Go take a look when he is gone." - Fremantle (Sun 19 Apr 2015)

StreetShooter on Photography and Life:

all the sudden it occurred to me that everything in the universe has the ability to teach and to learn. So even on the streets making photos the energy you receive is equal to the energy you send. So your intent is to make photos but ya know, you aren’t in it alone. [..] If life is a give and take miracle then it stands to reason that photography is also. So that means that we think we are the origin of our work but that’s not true. We are not alone in life.

Our photographs and I am only talking about photography, are a collaboration between life and ourselves. We hope for and strive to find a synergism with the street and make the photos that represent that synergism. We can not rightfully state that we are the Origin of our work. [..]

If you are like every reader that ever was or ever will be on this blog [streetshoot.net], then you are aware that you don’t take any photographs, you collaborate wit Mother Light and The Street and you make your photos.

Tomorrow is another day and if I wake and am healthy, I’m hitting the streets. I hear tell Life is out there and I’m gonna look for it.

via Philly Street … Thoughts With … Olympus Pen EP-5 by StreetShooter.

On Photographic Projects - Trent Parke (Wed 27 Aug 2014)

Untitled - Milan Station (Aug 2005)
Untitled - Milan Station (Thu 28 Aug 2014)
Trent Parke (*) writes On Projects (*):

Most of my projects last for years. I don’t feel I can achieve anything worth saying in a few weeks in a place. I have always been interested in why I am drawn to something and why I eventually push the camera button. Most of it comes from memory, the subconscious and events I experienced growing up.

via An interview with Trent Parke - Try Hard Magazine (*) by Try Hard Magazine (*).

Both stops in Milan (*) were short (about an hour) and these were quick shots taken with baggage in hand, explaining the wonkiness of each photo. I always remembered the 2005 photo and see it often amongst my favourite photos (*) on Picasa.

In 2005 (*) were heading north to Interlarken (*) from Genoa (*) and Jenny was with us. This time we heading to Bologna (*) from Zurich (*).

The Canon Pro1 (*) I used in 2005 has always been my favourite camera and the sensor gave beautiful textured and coloured images [see here (*)]. It was definitely a quirky camera, but my favourite.

It stopped working in January 2009 on our last Main Range (*) walk with Jenny. An omen of sorts I should think. It's last few images were ghostly white with faint silhouette's of Jenny and Joanne at the Summit (*) of Mt K.

I have said it few times here over the years, when I have talked about past photos, I think I saw my photos better back then. I was less knowledgeable and more naive. In some ways it has helped me understand what Bono (*) was trying to say in front of large crowd of fans at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge (*) looking into Manhattan (*) when he said (*) it was about:

a time in our lives when we did not know how powerful it was not to know.

Finally, as Trent's quote from above mentions, I think these two photos are about memory (*) and the subconscious (*). They are also about change - even though nothing really looks that different about the roofs, nine years have passed and so much has changed. Maybe that's what I was trying to say here (*) about change (*) before we departed.

So, I am happy to have these two photo, the opportunity to make them and these random thoughts here now.

Be Audacious - Ravenna 2014

Home (*) - Blackwattle Bay / Sydney (Sun 24 Aug 2014)
Creature of habit, but I like this routine. Always go to Blackwattle Bay on the last Sunday before we leave to compete. I walk, take a few photos (*), read, think and reflect. And this time I wrote something, so here it is ..

I’ve been thinking lately about how every year seems to be different. It's natural. With time, things do change and I thought that this was the only reason things appeared to change. But you know what, even if everything did stay the same, it is still different, because you are different. You see things differently because you are a year older and all that goes with that, if you are doing something with your life.

With that rather random introduction (but I think there might be something in it), I thank everyone at Pacific Dragons for making Ravenna 2014 (*) happen.

How does such a small club get itself half way across the world to compete against the best clubs in the world?

It takes a thought, a dream, a goal, some intention, commitment and dedication. That's part of what it takes and the Club has lots of this and all the other things needed to be competing at our 4th consecutive World Club Crew Championships. I thank you all.

So with another candle on the cake, and with two sessions to go, I've come to love and appreciate this part of the campaign. I’ve been thinking lately:

• You know you are being coached by the best in the world - I told the boys this at the AB when we met in Feb this year, that alone is a good enough reason to buy in on the campaign.


• You feel fit and you know the effort is paying off – a conversion and gelling process is happening. After 70 or so water sessions, we are doing some really intense sets now. Things you just could not do, even a few months ago – and you thought were pretty good back then


• It’s scary but you love it.


• More so now, it’s not just what you are doing, it’s what you are thinking, what you believe.


• It’s not just to do your best, but to go beyond that and to give it everything.


• It’s not just for you, but for everyone who has loved, supported and helped you to get to this point.

Finally, going back to where it all began for most of us this campaign, I was asked in front of the Group, at the AB, that night back in Feb:

What is it like to be a World Champion?

I did not know what to say (and it was the reason I sent out that Five One Hundreths of Second (*) Post on FB after the meeting). And, I'm not sure that it is even the right question, but I did say something like this:

It's one step at a time. It is great to feel like you are in the game. You can’t expect to win, it’s not your fate or destiny to win and you definitely can’t just hope to win. You have to try. And you have to have confidence and belief in yourself, your support network and your team. [1]

and with that I concluded:

Be Audacious!!! [1]

And, so I am and so I think we all should be ..

Regards .. Geoff

[1] the essence of these thoughts came from a great blog post (*) I had just read at that time by a Canadian Olympic Kayaker, Adam Van Koeverden (*). For me, he is Canada’s Drew Ginn (*), both who are inspirations to me.

On Self Belief - Scott McGory (Wed 23 Jul 2014)

Water - Lac Nere / Haute-Pyrenees (*) / France (Tue 22 Sep 2009)
Scott McGory (*) writes On Self-Belief (*):

The greatest performance (*) enhancer is self-belief (*).

He expands

Wiping away those doubts (*) of uncertainty (*), of losing, the fear (*) of getting beaten. Gone - GONE! - are those limiting thoughts (*), replaced by the phrase made famous by the first black president of the United States: 'Yes We Can' (*).

The unstoppable force of self-belief (*) is so often the missing ingredient in an athlete's journey (*) along the road to success (*). [..] The strongest weapon in any sporting endeavor is the mind (*).

via Guest blog: The greatest performance enhancer is... (*) by Scott McGory (*).

On Instinct - Beautiful Day / U2 (Sun 08 May 2014)

A Blank Canvas - Living Room / The Grand Design (*) / Alexandria (Sun 08 Jun 2014)
U2 (*) sing On Instinct (*):

What you don't know you can feel it somehow. [..] Was a beautiful day.

via Beautiful Day (*) by U2 (*). With a fantastic Letterman Live performance here (*)

A wall waiting to be given life. It looks beautiful as it is ..

I think the lyrics above describe what I feel about it and the rest of the place that awaits to be lived in. Still a couple of weeks to go. Not going to rush it, but I know I want to do the craftsmanship and collaboration of the design and build, justice.

Had Julia (*) and Todd (*) over today and lots of good ideas and thoughts discussed. Thanks Julia and Todd. It was a beautiful day ...

On the Challenge of Change - Viktor Frankl via Vernon Gambetta (Sun 27 Apr 2014)

Pacific Dragons - Premier Mixed 2km - 2014 AusDBF Nationals - Kawana (Fri 18 Apr 2014)
Viktor E Frankl (*) writes challenge (*) of unavoidable change (*):

When we are no longer able to change (*) a situation, we are challenged (*) to change ourselves.

via Some Random Thoughts on Sports, Coaching and Life (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

Had to face a few unavoidable changes in my time, and this is a brilliant summary of the only to move forward, even if there a few steps back.

The thing to remember is to keep moving forward (*)

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)

Dr Ray Seidler - Kings Cross Clinic / Sydney (Mon 21 Dec 2009)

Dr Raymond Seidler - Kings Cross Clinic (*) / Sydney (Mon 21 Dec 2009)
Today I was saddened to learn of the unexpected death (*) of Dr Raymond Seidler (*) on Thu 25 Jul 2013. He was 61 years old and always looked 15 years younger, no matter his age.

Ray was my GP for 24 years and was always there for me. I loved the diversity of his practice and patients, and he helped me through some challenging times in my life as well as all the little things that require the hand and advice of a Doctor.

We shared an interest in photography and he always had a few moments to talk about the latest digital camera and for us to view a few of the others photos on his desktop computer on his surgery desk.

His father was a professional photographer and Ray had a glass display cabinet full of old cameras in his surgery.

The camera shown above was his Father's. He picked this camera to show me, as he was touched by the hand written notes, made by his Father, on the inside of the camera case (just below his right hand). The notes related to reminders about exposure correction details, I seem to recall. He was more than happy to pose for this photograph.

He was also an earlier adopter of the latest gadget or technology and was a prolific writer (*) and commentator on a diverse range of issues.

I will miss him as my Doctor and as a person I could trust and confide. My thoughts are with his Family in particular, as well as his Friends and Colleagues.

Thank you Ray.

Why Why? - Chantel Tattoli

Untilted - Barcelona / Spain (Tue 06 Aug 2013)
Expanding on an earlier post (*), Chantel Tattoli (*) writes on the importantance of understanding (*) Why:

Why? Why would someone do that?

Why is the slippery question cultural anthropologists are always trying to get at.

As a rule of thumb, if we do not get why, we probably don’t understand (*) the perspective (*).

The thing to do is try to see yourself in the other peoples’ shoes, because from the perspective of the Other’s shoes, their behavior should make more sense.

This is the golden rule. Even when it’s hard.

I paraphrase the late anthropologist Clifford Geertz To understand, isn’t to forgive (*).

via The Anthropology of the Little Mermaid (*) by Chantel Tattoli (*).

Thanks Chantel, some great thoughts in your words.

If you look, really look, you will always find something you weren't expecting. Even if you can't figure why, you might just be a bit more understanding.
Untilted (Detail) - Barcelona / Spain (Tue 06 Aug 2013)