The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga - Live on Howard Stern (youtube)

The Edge of Glory (*) - Lady Gaga (*) - Live on Howard Stern (youtube)
Lady Gaga tells Howard Stern the song is about:

knowing in your heart that you may never reach that glorious moment until you die so live life on the edge

Elsewhere she says:

The song's about your last moment on earth, the moment of truth; the edge of glory is that moment right before you leave the earth

The Edge Of Glory Lyrics

There ain't no reason you and me should be alone
Tonight, yeah baby
Tonight, yeah baby
I got a reason that you're who should take me home tonight

I need a man that thinks it's right when it's so wrong
Tonight, yeah baby
Tonight, yeah baby
Right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight

It's hard to feel the rush
To push the dangerous
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you
Where we can both fall over in love

I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment of truth
Out on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you

Another shot before we kiss the other side
Tonight, yeah baby
Tonight, yeah baby
I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight
Alright, alright
Pull on your shades 'cause I'll be dancing in the flames
Tonight, yeah baby
Tonight, yeah baby
It doesn't hurt 'cause everybody knows my name tonight
Alright, alright

It's hard to feel the rush
To push the dangerous
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you
Where we can both fall over in love

I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment of truth
Out on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you

I'm on the edge with you

I'm on the edge with you

I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment of truth
Out on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
The edge
I'm on the edge of glory
And I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you

Closer to the Edge by 30 seconds to Mars (youtube)

Closer to the Edge by 30 seconds to Mars (youtube)

I will never forget
I will never regret
I will live my life

Closer to the Edge by 30 seconds to Mars


My philosophy in life is ..
'Don't regret anything you do,
because in the end, it makes you who you are.'

Wise words from a young girl at the beginning of Closer to the Edge Video

'Don't regret anything you do .. - Closer to the Edge by 30 seconds to Mars

Now that I am commuting 35-45 minutes each day to and from Kirrawee to Alexandria, I am getting to hear a lot more songs on the radio. I have heard this song a few times over the last year or so and have always liked it. A few times I have tried to remember a few words from the lyrics, but have not been able to track it down until Friday, when I heard on the way to work.

Having seen Tree of Life (more here and here) yesterday afternoon. I was stunned by the movie and how it seemed to capture many of my thoughts on the loss of my brother Tim, and how he coped (or struggled his whole life really) with the loss of our Father when he was just 18 years old (yet another story for another day). The following lyrics to me have some connection with the Movie and my feelings from it - they intertwine.

Closer to the Edge

I don't remember one moment, I tried to forget
I lost myself, is it better not said?
Now I'm closer to the edge

If it's a thousand to one and a million to two
Time to go down in flames and I'm taking you
Closer to the edge

No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again

(No, no, no, no)

Can you imagine a time when the truth ran free
The birth of a sun and the death of a dream
Closer to the edge

This never ending story
Hateful with pride and fate
We all fall short of glory, lost in ourselves

No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again

(No, no, no, no)

I will never forget
I will never regret
I will live my life

No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again

Closer to the edge
Closer to the edge

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

One Stroke by Drew Ginn (29 Apr 2008)

Gondala/One Stroke - Venice - Sep 2009 (picasa)
One Stroke by Drew Ginn (29 Apr 2008):

[..] So what is it to be engaged fully in that one stroke?

After the fact it is difficult to isolate the experience of one stroke from the others. It is challenging to gain clarity on exactly one stroke because it happens in a flow of many more. [..] the dilemma is not just identifying the one, but ensuring it is pure and uncontaminated by the past one’s and future one’s.

The joy of performing the one stroke and immersing in it is challenged by the accumulated nature of the cyclic or repeated experiences. [..]

[W]hat is it to be fully engaged in one stroke[?] Knife-edge comes to mind. [..] the sense of being on a knife-edge is a great description. Less so from the perspective of balance or even match up, it has an essence that finds a cord within that is about effort, ease, maintenance and fatigue.

In fact to see it clearer I notice that the one, perfect one that I see is one of edgy contrast.

It is in a position of precarious, pointedness with a subtle oscillation between more than one element and more then one stroke including the past, present and future.

The elements involve self, team-mates, equipment, water, movement, harmony, mismatch, load, flow, hardness, relaxation, sequences, positions, focuses, emphasis, location, energy, strain, surge, comparison, connection, separation, isolation, effort, ease, understanding, knowledge, risk, exposure, confidence, doubt, poise, purpose, clarity, mistakes, errors, forgiveness, acceptance, love, joy, fear, ambiguity, tension, dynamics, leverage, struggle, difference, compliments, coaching, thoughts, distractions, intentions, actions, results, exchange, change, habits, confusion, satisfaction, uncertainty [..]

One stroke is so hard to describe, I know it when I feel it and some times I know it when I see it. Maybe the one is not perfect but we make it so because we like the idea of it being better than it really was.

The experience of rowing fascinates me because it has so many things it relates too. What I do know is that when I am engaged things change. The world looks and feels different and it gives me hope. Giving in to it, but not letting it get the better of you is critical. That may sound strange but there is something about being part of the boat, the movement, the other person, and the surroundings that makes so much sense of everything. [..]

Accessing the moment is not just about rowing, but I find it palatable to articular the action of rowing in a way that means something. One stroke at a time is a cliché and like one shot at a time it has meaning if you connect with it in some way. [..]

One stroke then is like every other stroke and they in turn they are like the days of life we live. It is just an experience how I choose to judge it or them is my choice. Years ago I watch a video the Searle Brothers made about their 1992 Olympic Games success in the coxed pair. In the video Greg spoke of a simple activity they did which involved calling out better or worse as a measure for each stroke they rowed. The idea I guess was to have more, better strokes and as such you develop accountability and improvement.

One stroke means different things and the reasons are varied. What enables full engagement in one stroke or in the moment is also varied. [..] One stroke unfolds and expands. Its meaning is huge and the vastness of experience is inspiring. Being at one in one is the art to rowing I suppose which really isn’t anything new, but repeated. So you see, like me, a cliché can mean so much which it does. [..]

Another Favourite Blog Post from Drew Ginn. A truly amazing description of rowing[/paddling] and as is usual with Drew's writings I can relate to in many ways.

I always find the strokes from the start to transition are the easiest to remember. Darren calls them the "glory strokes" and in many ways they set the boat up for the rest of the effort. Get it right and you are on the way. Get it wrong and you are on the back foot trying to recover. Can also remember some lift calls in various efforts over the years.

Love the description of 'Knife-Edge' and 'Edgy Contrast'. I often feel that when the effort is such that things seem to be edgy, that is where we need to be. Always wary of that that perfect feeling.

Icarus - Paste Up - Newtown/Redfern (Dec 2010)

Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
This Paste-Up has been there for quite a while - it has virtually fallen apart. I have photographed it quite a few times over the last few months and there is another one in a small park off Little Eveleigh Street (see below). You can see the Green Bone Head I featured here recently (02 Dec 2010).

Each time I pass it, something has gone missing (i.e. various parts of her body) or there have been various additions via the caring use of coloured textas. She is now careful adorned with earrings and some more than necessary shoes.

I have had a lot fun watching and photographing this poster.

It has made me think about what may have inspired its creator to design this piece. For me, when I first saw it (it was the one in Little Eveleigh Street, which I pass it on the way to the gym), I instantly thought of Icarus of Greek Mythology fame. Icarus attempted to escape Crete using wings, made of feathers and wax, his craftsman father had made for him. Icarus did not heed his father's warnings to not fly too close to the sun or sea, and as a result of the wax melting from flying too close to the Sun, he plummetted to his death into the Icarian Sea.

The Myth has inspired many derivative works in all fields of the Arts, including a Poem by W. H. Auden, titled Musée des Beaux Arts (poem), which is named after the museum in Brussels that houses the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

For some reason the Poem and Painting have made me think a lot about what has happened over the last year and a half. Hard to explain but there is something there, particularly the painting where one can barely make out the legs of Icarus just after his impact with the water.

Life goes on ...

[Thank you to LottieP for technical advice on Icarus, the Poem and Painting. The shoes are for you LottieP.]

Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Shoes - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Paste Up - Little Eveleigh Street / Redfern (Dec 2010)
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Musée des Beaux Arts (poem)
by W. H. Auden (1938).

About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters; how well, they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone by ThePoetryPost (06 Apr 2010)

Tree - Tompkins Square Park - Alphabet City / New York (Wed 17 Aug 2011)

Tree - Tompkins Square Park - Alphabet City / New York (Wed 17 Aug 2011)
Stumbled across this blog - NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography (*) - recently and added it to me Google Reader.

It sparked my interest because of the photography content and the interesting stories about the 5 boroughs of New York, particularly the Lower East side of Manhattan which I spent a bit of time exploring on the recent trip to New York.

This story - Street corner and ode to Bob Arihood. Alphabet City. East Village, New York City. (*) - popped up today on my Reader. Its a story of the Lower East side area known as Alphabet City where the north to south running avenues of Manhattan are named by the letters of the alphabet, not the more well known numbered avenues a bit further to the west.

The post was sparked by the passing of a local identity and photographer by the name of Bob Arihood (*). I read the post with interest and it brought back some recent memories for me ...

During the recent trip to New York (*) I spent a couple of days exploring parts of New York I had not even heard of before. One place was Alphabet City on the Lower East. Decided I would explore these areas by wandering around at random after looking at my well used crumpled A4-size Map of Manhattan. Looking at the map I saw the area had a number of parks which I thought I would visit and sit in for a while to just observe what the locals were doing,

Started out at Washington Square Park (*) and then moved quickly onto Union Square Park (*). Both were full of local market stalls and I quickly passed them by as they were crowded with the tourists.

Thought I would try my luck at the next park, Stuyvesant Park (*), a bit further to the east and hopefully away from the tourist crowds. Found it easily and it was what I hoped it would be - a small park for the locals of the Lower East side. There were many seats and tables in the shade provided by the many leafy trees that filled the small and inviting Park.

As it was quite hot, I decided to sit for a while and just observe the going ons in the park. Indeed it was a park for the locals and time quickly passed and I nodded off for a while into a dreamy sleep.

When I woke I sat a while longer and then moved onto the next park - Tompkins Square Park (*). This park was bigger and busier, and there was an eclectic mix of people there. I can remember dog owners walking their little friends (actually one was probably the biggest dog I had ever seen), street people, joggers, people walking home after a days work and others just like me sitting in the park. I can still hear a small band singing religious pop songs on the edge of the park near the Flea Market Cafe (*).

As I look at Bob's (*) photos (*) (*) I can remember the time and I can sense and feel the place. His photo from 27 July 2011 (*) put a smile on my face, particularly when I read the comment - Joe gets photographed a lot these days (*).

For me, his photos give me a strong connection of place and being there, even if it was just for part of an afternoon. At the same time Bob's photos motivate me and give me a strong desire to return to New York for an extended period of time and just do what I did that day back Wed 17 Aug 2011 (*).

Bob seemed like great guy and his passing is no doubt moving time for those that knew him. He leaves a legacy which I (and many others) will no doubt explore further both online and hopefully in person when I next go to New York.

The Lucky Ones

This is a work in progress. It has been in my head for a long time now, but it has been hard to write. Hopefully, it will make sense. I expect to modify it a bit over the next few weeks, but at least it is a start.

A few months before Jenny died, I read Lance Armstrong's book entitled "Its not about the bike". Jenny had been given a copy by a long time friend, Mena, not long after the book was first published here in Australia (sometime around 2002/3 I am guessing). She read the book quickly and I know she got a lot from the pages. For some reason I did not read the book until early May 2009.

Geoff, Jenny, Mena, Steve and Joanne - Natation DB Titles - Kawana / Qld - Sat 25 Apr 2009 (picasa)

I bought my own copy so that I could read the book that meant so much to Jenny. I think I was motivated by the fact the Jenny was progressing to the final stages of her Cancer (at least that is reluctantly what I quietly started to think - she had just been diagnosed with multiple tumors in her liver on the 11 Mar 2009 - not a very promising situation). I thought I might find something in the pages to understand her and our situation.

I read the book, intermittently over a few weeks, at my local coffee shop before work and on the train to work. There was lots of the book that resonated with me, particularly his encounters with cancer. One part in particular struck a chord with me. It was about a half through, where he writes about what he felt during chemotherapy following neurosurgery to remove a beign brain tumor.

What is stronger, fear or hope? It's an interesting question, and perhaps even an important one. Initially, I was very fearful and without much hope, but as I sat there and absorbed the full extent of my illness, I refused to let the fear completely blot out my optimism. Something told me that fear should never fully rule the heart, and I decided not to be afraid.

I wanted to live, but whether I would or not was a mystery, and in the midst of confronting that fact, even at that moment, I was beginning to sense that to stare into the heart of such a fearful mystery wasn't a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless education. Once you have been that scared, you know more about your frailty than most people, and I think that changes a man. I was brought low, and there was nothing to take refuge in but the philosophical: this disease would force me to ask more of myself as person than I ever had before, and to seek out a different ethic.

A couple of days earlier, I had received an e-mail from a military guy stationed in Asia. He was a fellow cancer patient, and he wanted to tell me something.

"You don't know it yet," he wrote, "but we're the lucky ones."

I'd said aloud, "This guy's a nut."

What on earth could he mean?

When I read this, I stored it away in my mind, eagerly awaiting Lance's own answer to this question - lucky .. What on earth could he mean?. It would come quietly on the last page of the book.

"You don't know it yet, but we're the lucky ones," my fellow cancer patient had written.

I will always carry the lesson of cancer with me, and feel that I'm a member of the cancer community. I believe I have an obligation to make something better out of my life than before, and to help my fellow human beings who are dealing with the disease. It's a community of shared experience. Anyone who has heard the words You have cancer and thought, "Oh, my God, I'm going to die," is a member of it. If you've ever belonged, you never leave.

Jenny had often indicated that she felt lucky (I think in both aspects - that of surviving an aggressive cancer and oddly enough, having had had cancer). She said this in the Australian Story Episode, "In the Pink":

'I don't understand how things work out, and why things work out the way they do. I feel like I've been lucky. I don't understand how cancer works, I don't know why I've been blessed the way I have been.'

Jenny - Australian Story - "In the Pink - Kirrawee - May 2004 (picasa)

and in her Talks:

'I feel I am so lucky and have a wonderful life. I have had some great opportunities through breast cancer to meet some very inspiring people. Geoff and Jo have been a constant source of support for me. Breast cancer has totally changed my life but for the best.'

Relay for Life 2007 - Jenny - Survivor Representative - Sylvania Waters - Sat 28 Apr 2007 (picasa)

The Rainbow Connection - Phil, John, Marj, Jenny, Liz, Noel - Phil passed away shortly after this photo was taken - he often spoke to Jenny about how luck seemed to play a big part in how things worked out, but sometimes you make you own luck - Rely for Life 2003 - Sylvania Waters - Sat 31 May 2003 - (picasa)

As Jenny's International Dragon Boating Career started, she came to the attention of the Media and in the first Newspaper Article she featured in, she was even compared to Lance Armstrong:

Don Iverson, Director of the Health and Productivity Research Center at the University of Wollongong, said that Ms Petterson could be compared to Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France after fighting testicular cancer.

'It's almost superhuman,' he said.

Cancer wont slow rowing champion - Sydney Sun Herald - 2 May 2004

She was a little embarrassed by the comparison, but Jo and I were very proud of Jenny and her achievements in her treatment, her sport and her life as breast cancer survivor.

Geoff, Jenny, Grace, Lynn, Betty, Thomas, Grant, Joanne and David - Relay for Life 2007 - Jenny - Survivor Representative - Sylvania Waters - Sat 28 Apr 2007 (picasa)


After Jenny's passing, I had an encounter in the Intensive Care Unit where Jenny left us. Joanne and I had gone back to thank the staff at the St George Hospital and to pickup some scans that had been lost in Jenny's move from the Level 1 to ICU. We spoke to the head ICU nurses (they were between shifts) and we knew both of them from Jenny's time in ICU (and I was well known to them as I had fainted in ICU on Jenny's second day in ICU after the neurosurgery). We talked a little and I mentioned that Jenny did consider herself lucky to have had cancer - as she said herself - it had changed her life for the better. One the nurses questioned this statement and she made me feel a little uneasy for saying what I had said. She could not believe anyone with cancer could consider themselves lucky. Maybe, she had seen too much of the cold harsh reality of cancer in that ICU. Maybe she was right. It did not seem too lucky now that Jenny was gone?

This conversation stuck in my mind for a long time, and I started to question many things. It was not until I came across the following blog post by Doug Miller that I found some peace. Here was a man who had recently been diagnosed with Cancer. He was articulate and in many ways his post offers so much more than Lance's writings on Cancer and Luck. This is probably the most moving piece of writing I have read in my life. I don't have cancer, but I have lived a shared life with it and it's consequences. I can truly emphasise. Here it is. My heart is with you Doug ..

Doug Miller - Colorado Trail San Juan Mountains - 1994 - A Single Path - (blog)

The Lucky Ones by Doug Miller (Wed 23 Sep 2009)

[..] a friend [..] pointed me to Lance Armstrong's book entitled "Its not about the bike" I picked up a copy and quickly read through it. I liked it.

It had a bit much detail focusing on cycling, but that was an aspect of the man that could obviously not be separated from the larger reality of his battle with cancer.

There were portions though that left my mind spinning. Armstrong's description of his diagnosis and the roller coaster of emotions that ensued was painfully raw and hit the mark with a clarity and similarity I could not deny. I myself am walking those darkened and fearful paths as I write these very words.

Out of all the pages a couple simple statements that he made resonated with me in a powerful way.

Armstrong tells of a letter that he received. It was from a man he had never met before. He himself had battled cancer. He wrote Armstrong to acknowledge his support and positive thoughts. As he finished the letter he made a strange statement that confused Armstrong. He wrote, "you probably do not understand this right now, but we are the lucky ones".

What? How is anyone with cancer lucky? It is devastating. It not only has the potential to steal your life, but also has the destructive potential to steal your Hope. Those words are haunting. Lucky? We are the lucky ones. This brotherhood of suffering is somehow lucky..........blessed?

It is diametrically opposed to any sort of sane thinking that those outside of this brotherhood would agree with. It actually is an almost dangerous statement. As if you say it as you are waking off a cliff without a safety net. A statement such as that redefines everything. Life. Death. And even Hope.

But as I walk this path, and simultaneously encounter life in all its beauty and harshness, I find myself agreeing. "We are the lucky ones". I am lucky. I say those words with a part of me screaming, "how dare you, how can you say that". But it is true. The perspective that cancer gives to life is unbelievable. It has the power to refine you. Your thoughts. Your direction. Your focus.

It is as if you look at life for the first time. Everything is different. Nothing is the same. Everything is turned on edge, revealing a freshness and an urgency that is not seen outside of cancer. If this clarity does exist in our normal lives, it is missed. Overshadowed by the busyness of life. By worthless and empty pursuits.

Another quote from Armstrong's book was this: "Cancer is not about dying, it is about living" What a statement.

Most would argue against it. But those that walk this path find it to be true. Life after diagnosis becomes "alive". It becomes real. It is as if you can grasp it with your own hands, breath it in, consume it.

Oh if I could have had this view earlier in life. I knew that it existed. I sensed it. I chased it. Through the mountains. Through relationships. In the woods and fields of my youth. It was a whisper in the words of poets. And a reflection on the horizon as the sun slipped out of view. But i did not catch it until cancer became my reference. My reality.

We who are members of this brotherhood and sisterhood of suffering are the lucky ones, because now we can truly live. And Love. And Hope. And I dare to say Dream. They are painful dreams, haunted with the shadows of uncertainty, but they are vivid dreams. Passionate dreams. Dreams that leave your heart aching, your soul longing. We are released from the fear of death. Our finite lives are bared.

We come face to face with our mortality and realize that life is looking back at us. Raw and uncertain. But ALIVE none the less. There were days before cancer that I despaired. At times despising my life. But now I am hungry to live. I long to live. Whether that time be long or short, I hold tight to life and all of its glorious agony.

Posted by Doug Miller at 9:11 PM

Mark Cohen - Street Photography (YouTube)

Mark Cohen - Street Photography [Youtube (*)]
A bit of a preamble to this but it is worth the wait in order to see his working method on the street and the ensuing interview of which there are many great quotes On Photography (*). I have scribbled a few down here:

[..] They are snapshots and they are made in a very simple way. But the thing they see when they continue to look at the pictures, they start to see the closeness is one of the things they see. Some one is making pictures that are really close on the street and its that kind of taking the camera so close to the subject and making pictures and not in a studio way. in a flow of life on the street or field kind of way. And they see that closeness and that is the thing that gives the pictures there uniqueness and their agressive sort of character.

When you make an exhibit of this work, you walk around in a room filled with it and you see all these strange pictures. You know there is a certain excitement to it, There is a certain quality in that room about an artists mind, and an artists work that comes from the pictures and touches the viewer in some way. That's why it works. I don't know why exactly it works. A lot of physcological reasons, sexual reasons. A lot of things are going on in those pictures.

It is not some kind of exact analytical science going on here, its right on the edge of meaninglessness, but its in there and that is what makes it so fascinating.

It feels awkward for me to try to talk about my work, frequently. Once in a while I do it. I do a slide show and I describe how I take the pictures. Describe how I think they fit into things socially and formally, in the context of photography in America. Different kind of things.

You usually don't think about that kind of stuff. You dont think about that. You think about when you are taking pictures the most important thing is to get 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. [..]

A copy of Grim Street (*) is on the way.

Learning ..

Hidden in one of Drew Ginn's recent Blog Posts is this little piece on pushing yourself, motivation, challenges and learning - something I have done a lot of over the last 8-9 months. Thought I would pull it out here so that I can remember this great little piece of writing. Here it is:

[..] I learned to ride my rhythm, to find my own groove and to sit on the knife edge with fatigue, discomfort and sweat surrounding, penetrating and leaving me. At no stage was it intense like a rowing race or a super burst of effort. It was an experience in sustaining a level of force which body and mind was saying, 'BACK OFF'.

Like some sinister and shadowy creator holding an emotional gun to my head. Tempting as it might have been I had committed to the 7 days and on the last to having a great ride with heaps of challenge.

You could say I learned what I have learned before and now I have been reminded of it again.

Stretching and challenging is healthy. It requires us to keep pushing and to keep seeking motivation for why we would continue on. Why I asked my self on more than one occasion during the 7 days. Even as I spent the day at back home yesterday I was still asking why.

Placing your self in a challenging situation forces the questions to be asked.

I did this by going to Tassie to train with a good friend.

To train in a way which would force the questions to come thick and fast and they did and with each and every moment which one appeared I toiled and churned it around to cultivate and see what I would learn about self, others and the World I am in.

Again I say why? To learn is the only answer which I could find. To Learn, but why? It gives life.

Maybe. It brings clarity. Not always. It energises, YES, but it can also be draining.

Why then would I do any of this? Why would you? To be challenged is something which for sometime now I have said is a reason for my motivation. Maybe challenge is not enough.

Challenge without the acknowledgment of the learning required and needed is only one side of the coin. What happens if every time we toss it and it only ever landed on the challenge side.

We might assume that is all there is. Every stage, moment, event, session, day, hour and minute if challenged we might eventually find little else but a sense of seeking something which never ends.

Flipping the coin, the moment, experience and our perception can bring light to the other side or even sides. Maybe less a coin and more a cube it is with multiple sides and perspectives. A cube like RUBIX which starts out perfect with all colours separated on each side.

Then with everyday the play, the games, and events acting to jumble the cube until we finally realise it is rearranged.

How we feel about that becomes essential and what we do with it becomes simple a challenge. From this rearranged state we might begin to work to find the form or the essence of this box or cube. Learning to work with it in what ever state jumble or un-jumbled becomes important I think. Living with and learning from it. The challenge of it, the frustration and the joy.

So there it is I have gone away for 7 days of challenge which was more about learning than anything else.

Orange Bike - Toulouse - Fri 25 Sep 2009

Under Pressure - Annie Lennox and David Bowie - Wembley Stadium (Mon 20 Apr 1992)

Under Pressure - Annie Lennox and David Bowie - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert - Wembley Stadium (Mon 20 Apr 1992 - youtube)
Thought about this song last night when we talked about the "Wandering Mind" and "Pressure" during racing at our Outrigger Catch Up Dinner. Hopefully will find some time to put up some good links/quotes that I have on the topic.

Have to admit I have always had a bit of a school boy crush on Annie Lennox from her days in the late 70's band, The Tourists. In this tribute performance she looks remarkably like Natalie Portman in her role as Nina in Black Swan.

Under Pressure - Lyrics

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on street

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets

Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
People on streets - people on streets

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn

Why - why - why
Love

Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love
Cos love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the light
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

Under Pressure - The "Beautiful and Amazing" Annie Lennox and David Bowie - Wembley Stadium (20 April 1992)

Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage - Letterman (Tue 08 Nov 2011) / New York Times (Sun 30 Oct 2011)

Water - Niagara Falls / Canada (Thu 01 Sep 2011)
Niagara Falls - Ontario / Canada (Thu 01 Sep 2011
Niagara Falls (Detail #1) - Ontario / Canada (Thu 01 Sep 2011)
Niagara Falls (Detail #2) - Ontario / Canada (Thu 01 Sep 2011)
We spent Thu 01 Sep 2011 (*) at Niagara Falls (*). When we were planning the trip back in early June 2011, I was not that keen on spending a day at the Falls. However, when Jo showed me the photos (*) of her trip there with Jenny back in 1987, I felt we had to go. I guess another kind of Pilgrimage (*).

After a little searching on wikitravel (*), we decided that we could catch a bus out from and back to Toronto (*) and not do the guided tour thing with a travel company, which included a stop at a winery. Figured by doing a local bus trip, we could do our own thing at our own pace.

On our arrival at the Falls we were mesmerised by the flowing water and spent a good hour there, just looking at the water roll over the edge. These photos and its details (exposed by cropping) capture a little of what we looked at for so long.

Watched Letterman last night and saw Annie Leibovitiz (*) being interviewed. Much of the interview touched on her new book Pilgrimage (*) which I knew was in the works (*). Was pleasantly surprised to see the Niagara Falls featured in the book as well as being the cover photo (see below).

David Letterman - Annie Leibovits - Tue 08 Nov 2011 (*)
Finally, from the New York Times (Sun 30 Oct 2011), Dominique Browning writes (*)..

So Ms. Leibovitz planned a trip to Niagara Falls. Nothing went right. They were late getting on the road; their hotel room was given away; when they finally found a place to sleep, their room had a view of a cement wall. Ms. Leibovitz, fielding calls from lawyers as she approached the falls, couldn’t take them in. “I didn’t quite get it.” But she noticed that her girls were mesmerized. She went to where they were standing, and grew still. “I was stunned by the beauty of the water (*),” she says. The picture she took that morning became the cover of the book.

Further on she talks about the creative process, about how to sustain it..

"Talent is something anyone can have. It can go away. It needs to be nurtured, taken care of. The best thing about getting older is that you kind of know what you are doing — if you stick with something. It doesn’t get easier. But you get stronger. Pilgrimage (*) is an exercise in taking care of what I do. My books are my way of being able to express myself completely."

Pilgrimage - Cover - Annie Leibovitz

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)
I took this photo 10 years to the minute (Blogger's time is 19 hours behind Sydney time). It was the first photo that I took with my little IXUS that I thought was more than just a record of an event or a place (and BTW there is nothing the matter with that).

It was a Sunday, the last day of a long weekend (Australia Day was Friday). Jenny and I decided to do a Sunday afternoon drive down into the Royal National Park and end up at Stanwell Top to watch the hang gliders and to have an ice cream.

Along the way we stopped to look at various features and land marks, mainly the coast line.

For some reason I randomly pulled up into a small dirt parking area along the road in a forested area of the Park. I was drawn to the large Gum Trees at the edge of the parking area and noticed the sap oozing from the bark.

Looking at the photos I took that day, most were of the trees from a distance. The above photo was the only one I took up close to the trees. I set the camera to macro mode and I am pretty sure I would have held the camera about 15 to 20 cm from the side of the tree. I remember getting back to Sylvania and looking through the photos from that day and this was the one that caught my eye. It was beyond anything I had captured up til then.

Around the same time I found photo.net and this was one of the first photo's I submitted to my portfolio. Amazingly, I received a number of critiques which were very helpful and they helped guide me along my photographic journey, particularly this one:

this is a great piece. My only complaint is it's on digital. It would make a wonderful Ilfochrome if it were on film -- gallery quality.
Matthew Kees (22 Sep 2001).

In many ways the photo and the positive feedback I received help me explore photography in a way I had never expected when I first bought the little camera a few months earlier.

I have tagged many of the photos I have taken with the little IXUS, here. Many have become my Favourite Photo's, which I have randomly rambled about on this blog over the last year or so.

Makes me wonder where the last 10 years have gone.

Finally, if I have added up correctly this should be my 300th post.

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)

Stuck in a Moment performed by The Edge and Bono - Letterman (Fri 18 Jul 2011)

Why Letterman was so good. In all the zaniness, there were incredibly touching, revealing interviews and live performances, this being just one ..

There are plenty of moments in life and most we move through as we should. Some we miss and let it pass us by. And there are those where we can get stuck. Inspired and written about the sad and tragic loss of a good friend ..

"It's just a moment
This time will pass"

Stuck in a Moment (more) performed by The Edge and Bono - Letterman (18 Jul 2011)
Saw this on the TV when I was in New York. It was shown in a repeat episode while the show was on a summer break. Thought to myself at the time I would put it here when I get back. Here it is. The music starts at around the 2m:20s mark. The interview before this is worth listening to BTW.

Stuck in a Moment Lyrics

I'm not afraid
Of anything in this world
There's nothing you can throw at me
That I haven't already heard
I'm just trying to find
A decent melody
A song that I can sing
In my own company

I never thought you were a fool
But darling, look at you. Ooh.
You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight
'Cause tears are going nowhere baby

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

I will not forsake
The colors that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing
I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see

You are such a fool
To worry like you do.. Oh
I know it's tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now
My, oh my

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Oh lord look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you cant get out of it

I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm 'til you discover how deep
I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass

It's just a moment
This time will pass

stay calm and go as hard as possible - Cadel Evans - Sydney Morning Herald (Sat 23 Jul 2011)

"All you have to do is stay calm and go as hard as possible" (*) - Cadel Evans - Sydney Morning Herald (Sat 23 Jul 2011)
From today's Sydney Morning Herald (*), Cadel Evans (*, *) told Rupert Guinness (*) before last nights epic stage:..

All you have to do is stay calm and go as hard as possible from the start to the finish. It's quite simple, [..]

You are only riding a bike from point A to point B, but in terms of technique there is so much in terms of pedalling and breathing, and there are the corners. Just concentrating and riding out beyond your limit is very taxing.

Cadel's pre-stage words were almost prophetic.

Brillant ride by Cadel last night. He had a mechanical (*) and did not panic or get upset (as most of Australia did). He worked out the problem, kept riding until his team car caught up with him. Unlike David Millar from a few years ago, Cadel gently dropped his old bike and quietly mounted his new bike and got on with the job. Inspiration stuff and a lesson to us all.

Cadel, is doing this on his own. No French or Spanish friends in the Peleton like the rest of them.

Love the transformation in your attitude Cadel. All the best for the Time Trial (*) - the Race of Truth (*) - tonight.

Go Cadel - you are on the Edge of Glory (*).


Random Recollections: Reminds me of the poster and a book I bought in Ealling, London back in Sep 2009 (I bought the book just after taking the photo of the Pink Bike - it's a classic book - had not laughed so much in a long time) ..

Keep Calm, Carry On Poster (*)

Stuck in a Moment performnd by The Edge and Bono - Letterman (18 Jul 2011)

Stuck in a Moment (more) performed by The Edge and Bono - Letterman (18 Jul 2011)
Saw this on the TV when I was in New York. It was shown in a repeat episode while the show was on a summer break. Thought to myself at the time I would put it here when I get back. Here it is. The music starts at around the 2m:20s mark. The interview before this is worth listening to BTW.

Stuck in a Moment Lyrics

I'm not afraid
Of anything in this world
There's nothing you can throw at me
That I haven't already heard
I'm just trying to find
A decent melody
A song that I can sing
In my own company

I never thought you were a fool
But darling, look at you. Ooh.
You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight
'Cause tears are going nowhere baby

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

I will not forsake
The colors that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing
I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see

You are such a fool
To worry like you do.. Oh
I know it's tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now
My, oh my

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Oh lord look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you cant get out of it

I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm 'til you discover how deep
I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass

It's just a moment
This time will pass

On Photography - on the edge of meaningless - Mark Cohen (YouTube)

Street Portrait - Jinbocho (*) / Tokyo (Thu 20 Sep 2012)
Mark Cohen (*) On Photography (*):

It is not some kind of exact analytical science going on here.

It's right on the edge of meaningless, but it's in there and that is what makes it so fascinating.

via Mark Cohen - Street Photographer (YouTube) (*).

Definitely one of my favourite photography related quotes (*) so far - something I can empathise with and relate to, which probably says something about me and how I view the world.

Love dares you to .. - King Street / Newtown (Sun 17 Apr 2011)

And love dares you to care for/The people on the edge of the light - King Street / Newtown (Sun 17 Apr 2011)
And love dares you to change our way of/Caring about ourselves - King Street / Newtown (Sun 17 Apr 2011)

Why can't we give love
Cos love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the light
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves [..]

Under Pressure - Queen