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

The Pilgrimage – The Ord River Marathon

The Pilgrimage – The Ord River Marathon

"How we came to be on a dragon boat paddling down the Ord River in the Kimberleys, is a bit of a long story."

These were Michelle Hanton’s, now famous, words at the start of the Ord Marathon in the 2004 June Long Weekend Australian Story Episode, In the Pink. This episode told the Dragons Abreast Story in Australia and it covered all aspects of living life with breast cancer. It helped raise the awareness and benefits of Dragons Abreast Australia, and the number of new Dragons Abreast clubs and paddlers grew quickly across Australia. For the Ord Marathon Organisers, the Kununarra Dragon Boat Club, the show also exposed their great event to Australia and the World.

Joanne and Jo Stanton at the Start (Jo was the Marathon Registrar and also helped with the coordination of the Flowers for the Lily Lake Flowers on the Water Ceremony) - Sun 13 Jun 2010
Geoff, Lindsay Gassman and Joanne - Lindsay lead a great team that not only organised, but also paddled the Marathon - Lily Lake/Kununarra - Sun 13 Jun 2010
The Ord River Marathon is 55km Dragon Boat paddle down the Ord River from the Lake Arygle Dam Wall to the Lily Lake in Kununarra. The paddlers weave their way along the Ord River through one the oldest landscapes in the world. Anyone who has travelled the Ord will tell you about the beautiful dominant colours of the orange weathered gorges, the unique green vegetation and the blue sky that comes with the beginning of the "dry season".

Jenny's Paddle - Colours of the Ord: The Orange, Blues and Greens - Ord River - Sun 13 Jun 2010
For all who have paddled the Ord River Marathon, I am sure there "is a bit of a long story" and for many in the Dragons Abreast Community, the Ord River Marathon has become a kind of "pilgrimage" and a must do at some stage in their paddling career.

Fast forwarding six years to the 2010 June Long Weekend, Joanne and I would find ourselves undertaking the Ord River Marathon as part of the Penrith based Pendragons Dragons Abreast Team – "The Spirit of Friendship".

For Jenny, Joanne and myself the Ord River Marathon was something we always wanted to do. Jenny and I had travelled across the Kimberley’s in May 2001 (Jenny and Joanne had only just started dragon boat paddling) and we spent a few days in Kununarra, which included travelling down the Ord River, along the same course of the Ord River Marathon, on the "Triple J" Tour Boat (the main support boat for the Marathon, as we would find out this year).

Jenny on the Trip J Tour Boat - Ord River - 19 May 2001
So in 2004 when Jenny had co-featured in the Australian Story Episode with Michelle and various others, the Ord River was very familiar and the Ord Marathon was an event we set as a goal. Indeed for me, it was one of the reasons I started paddling.

In the Pink - Australian Story - Mon 14 Jun 2004
In the Pink - Australian Story - Mon 14 Jun 2004
Every time the opportunity presented itself to paddle the Ord River Marathon, we were always busy on some other paddling campaign and we would always say, hopefully next time. Unfortunately, Jenny passed away on the 30 June 2009.

When Joanne and I were invited by the Pendragons Dragons Abreast Team to paddle the Ord Marathon with them on Sunday of the June Long Weekend this year, we felt very privileged and a great sense of honour. Like many DA clubs, the Australian Story Episode was the catalyst for the creation of their club and the reason a number of their members started paddling.

The Spirit of Friendship - Morning Tea Break at end of the first leg - Ord River - Sun 13 Jun 2010
There were many special moments for all of us who paddled that day and we all felt a great sense of pride in completing the 4 legs of the Marathon in good time, having started at 7:30am and finishing around 4:30pm.

Morning Tea Break at the end of the First Leg - Ord River - Sun 13 Jun 2010
Joanne has used Jenny’s paddle since Jenny’s passing and for the 3rd and longest flatwater leg (15km) of the Marathon, each of the paddlers in our boat paddled with Jenny’s paddle for approximately 1 km – this seemed to help make this our strongest leg.

As we entered the Lily Lake all the Dragon Boats came together so that we would finish together. A few meters from the finish, in front of a large crowd, all six Dragon Boats rafted up and the two Dragons Abreast Crews spread some flowers across the Lily Lake, and Joanne and I scattered some of Jenny’s Ashes.

Jenny - Remembering Jenny - Ivanhoe Village Caravan Resort/Kununarra - Sun 13 Jun 2010
Congratulations to everyone who paddled their dream and added another memorable page to their life story. Also a huge thank you for everyone involved in running this great event and to the Pendragons Dragons Abreast 'Spirit of Friendship' Team for giving us the opportunity to paddle this event in Jenny’s Honour and Memory.

[Note: This article was originally published in the July 2010 Issue of Dragons Abreast Australia's Magazine In the Loop (pdf)]

The Spirit of Friendship - Back (l-r) Geoff Eldridge, Louise Blockley, Debbie Roberts, Lynne Barrass, Barb Williams, Joy Mutimer, Jan Giles, John Caldwell, Jan Caldwell, Front (l-r) Joanne Peterson, Rita Redden, Gillian Brown, Sharon Mathieson, Julie Willis - Lily Lake/Kununarra - Sun 13 Jun 2010
Joanne and Geoff - Kununarra - Sun 13 Jun 2010
Jenny overlooking Kununarra - Lookout/Kununarra - 16 May 2001

2010 Ord River Marathon - The Pilgrimage

Joanne and I paddled the 2010 Ord River Marathon on Sun 13 Jun 2010. Michelle asked me to write a little story about our experience, and it was published today in the Dragons Abreast Australia July 2010 Issue of In the Loop (pdf). Here it is ..

The Pilgrimage - In the Loop - July 2010 - Page 1 (read/picasa)
The above photo of Jenny is from our May 2001 Trip down the Ord River on the "Triple J" Tour Boat.

Also, in the same issue of In the Loop, a great story from the Mackay Paddlers of their 2010 Ord River Marathon experience ..

Another Perspective - In the Loop - July 2010 - Page 2 (read/picasa)

Annie Leibovitz - Sydney Morning Herald (Nov 2010)

The Annie Leibovitz exhibition Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005 has just opened at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art. Here are three articles that have featured in the Sydney Morning Herald over the last two weeks.

Annie Leibovitz - Spectrum (Cover) / Sydney Morning Herald - 06 Nov 2010
A life in Photography by Robert McFarlane - Spectrum (Page 6) / Sydney Morning Herald - Sat 06 Nov 2010
A life in Photography by Robert McFarlane - Spectrum (Page 7) / Sydney Morning Herald - Sat 06 Nov 2010
Life and death, put into perspective by Joyce Morgan - Sydney Morning Herald - Wed 17 Nov 2010 (Article)
Annie Leibovitz - The Diary - Sydney Morning Herald - 19 Nov 2010
Also see Beyond the flashing bulbs of fame by Andrew Taylor (Sun 14 Nov 2010) ..

Leibovitz's disdain for celebrity is reflected in "Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life 1990-2005", which opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Friday.

Just a third of the exhibition features the high-profile names that have turned Leibovitz into a celebrity. There are more images of family and friends and 40 photos include documentary shots of lives ruined by war in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

MCA's director Liz Ann Macgregor said these were her favourite works: "Two of these unforgettable images achieve their strength by showing what is not there – in the absence of victims, we see only the aftermath of war and the bloodshed left behind."

In contrast, Leibovitz said the intimate shots of her parents on the beach and brother and father posing bare-chested, arms crossed, were her "most important work".

"It tells the best story, and I care about it. You don't get the opportunity to do this kind of work except with people who you love: people who will put up with you."

I have enjoyed seeing the personal side of Leibovitz's work and will definitely go to the exhibition.

Have a copy of Susan Sontag's (Leibovitz's Lover) Monograph On Photography which I bought in Canberra in 2002. It seemed an odd relationship because of Sontag's views on photography. I could empathise with their situation with Sontag's journey with Breast Cancer and I remember following the news of Sontag's final weeks and then reading Sontag's New York Times Obituary.

Like all professional photographers, there is definitely a private side to Leibovitz's Photography and I am sure most photographers like myself want to see the private side.

I look forward to viewing the exhibition. I saw the exhibition's book a few years ago. What I really look forward to, though, is the Landscape Photograph work which will feature in future book titled Pilgrimage.

Favourite Photos - Fowey Cornwall UK 2009 - Bookends of Fowey

Bookends of Fowey - Blue - Fowey / Cornwall (UK) - 09 Sep 2009 (picasa)
One my favourite photos from the trip to Europe in Aug/Sep 2009. Just a really simple photo that uses colour. I could not get my camera out fast enough when I saw the dog and it's blue vest with the blue walls of the Bookends of Fowey Bookshop.

Colour photographs have often been derided by the artists of the photographic community. A real photographer sees and shoots in black and white and the greyscales between (with a quick search I found this excellent blog post - Color Vs. Black and White by Do do doo Art Critique - yes there is more to it all than you think).

To me this photo shows the beauty and simplicity of colour photography. I also like the green fern pots in the top right and the image conforms to an old saying of my Grandmother - 'blue and green can't been without some white in between'

I love using my camera when traveling. After a few days you start to see as your camera would. You are the one who pushes the shutter. Scenes come and go - decisions are made in an instant or sometimes over a longer period - some situations and scenes you miss and some will be captured. Your eye is trained from all your past experiences using a camera as well as the knowledge you have gained from viewing other people's photos and paintings, as well as your readings on all things about photography. After a while you develop your own style and your eye is trained for the present moment to capture a photo using your photographic vision. The photo then becomes part of your future - this post being just one part of it for this particular photograph.

The theme of the past, present and future has come up a few times in the last 4 days. One from a quote from a photographer Nan Goldin from a TV Series titled The Genius Of Photography (better details here). A quote from Nan Goldin's experiences follows:

'As the memory of her sister started to become hazy, Goldin began to take pictures to preserve the present, and thus her fading memories of the past. She photographed her friends so she would never lose the memory of them, as had happened with her sister. Her photographs were her way of documenting their lives, and, in turn, her own.'

The other is from a blog post by Paul Coelho announcing the completion of his new book to be titled The Aleph (the title being inspired by a short story of the same name by Jorge Borges - English translation here). Paul Coelho writes about the book:

'Why did I take so long to write about this pilgrimage? Because it took me three full years to understand it. It is not a travel guide. Of course I describe what does it mean such a long trip in a train, but the main goal is the long trip to my soul, past, present and future.'

Definitely look forward to reading it when it is published here next year.

[Today - Saint Patrick's Day is my 30th Anniversary of employment. Like most anniversaries, I guess it is a day of reflecting on the past, present and future. I have been with the same company all that time - though it's name has changed 4 or 5 time and has become significantly smaller (gone from 13,000 to around 800 employee's). Obviously seen a lot of changes. I have learnt a lot and look forward to getting back to work in a week and a half, after a 3 month break.]