Hands and Gestures (1 of 3) - Detail (1 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (1 of 3) - Detail (1 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Yesterday's post (*) about the Eric Kim (*) cue on gestures and hands, reminded me to look at some of my recent, yet easily forgotten, photos, in a different light.

This photo is a detail crop of a nicely framed full size photo I took on the steps of The Met (*).

I really love the lady on the left - her hands and facial expression, they make it for me. It is the center of the photo for me and there are many other compelling elements to explore nice you force yourself from her gaze.

To follow is another detail crop and the original full-size photo from which both were drawn.

I also realised that I had posted (*) about this before through a Joel Meyerowitz (*) quote, which I will repeat here ..

So the idea is to walk and watch what is happening in any crowd and see if there is an interaction.

A gesture or a hug or kiss or goodbye.

Something that is a significant gesture that makes it interesting for people to look at in a photograph.

Eric Kim / Street Photographer - Talk - University of NSW / Sydney (Fri 20 Apr 2012)

Jo and I attended a talk (*) by Eric Kim (*) hosted by the University of NSW Photoclub (*).

Eric is a young (just 24 years old) and enthusiastic street photographer and blogger (been following him for a while now), and a great presenter. The talk was well attended with at least 300-400 people attending and Eric was treated like a Rockstar.

Eric Kim - The Flyer - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
The 2 hour presentation was split into two parts with a brief break where Eric was more than happy to photographed with anyone and by anyone who had a camera, and there were a few.

Part of of talk included a slide show of some his Projects with some background to the photos. I hoped he would present the flyer photo and for me it was about the hands.I waited for him to do the obvious with his hands. When the obvious moment came, I pressed my shutter release and I heard a couple of other shutters open and close at the same time.

Eric explained the importance of watching for expressions, gestures and hand movements to create an engaging photo. This is often reinforced to me when I watch a speech or media conference and you will only hear the voice of the presenter, and when a gesture is made, most often with the hands, the voice is often overwhelmed by the sounds of the assembled media pack shutters, and the strobe-like effect of the flashes.

Eric Kim - The Hands - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
At the end of the talk, the Camera Club's Committee presented Eric with a copy of the Bruce Davidson (*) book titled Subway (*). I flicked through the book after meeting Eric and I would highly recommend it and it is now on my wish list.

Eric Kim - - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
While Jo and I waited to meet with Eric after the talk and book presentation, I grabbed a couple of photos of Eric. The one at end of this post I feel is best as I have captured Eric in a moment where he is not performing for the camera.

In some ways I feel I have captured the part of Eric where he struggles with his new found, and well deserved, celebrity status. As he said in reply to a question towards the end of the talk, he found traveling rewarding and at the same time very challenging, mentioning the impact it had on him physically, mentally and spiritually.

Eric, thanks for the great talk and inspiration you provide to 1000's of people across the world. Your success is well deserved and I wish you all the best as you pursue your dreams.

Geoff, Eric and Jo - Jo shows Eric perfect holdout photo technique with the only holdout photo of the night with Eric - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
Eric Kim - Reflection - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)

On Life Purpose - Hands Clean - Alanis Morissette / Live from Abbey Road (YouTube)

Hands Clean - Alanis Morissette (*) / Live from Abbey Road Live (*) [Youtube (*)]
At the end of the first song Hands Clean (*), Alanis gives this amazing calm and lucid insight into fame and her life purpose. Here it is:

[On] Fame. At this point I would say that it is a planetary value - wealth, fame, power at the cost of everything else.

So I think that value being shared around the planet creates in people this thought that if I am famous, I will be happy.

And what I have come to see is that fame only amplified that which was there already.

So if I was depressed or I if I was insecure or if I was angry or whatever it was it just amplified it.

It made everything bigger and it did not sort of give, give me what it had been sort of purported to be able to give.

And so there was this great disillusionment.

[On Life Purpose] At this point in my life I am clearer that I share music because it is part of my life purpose.

To write it is, the act of writing it is for me and the act of sharing it is so that other people can make it their own - they can derive comfort, inspiration or whatever they want to derive from it.

So it becomes an offering of some kind and because of that I can do it and I can work really hard.

If I were singularly doing it to just be in the public eye for gratuitous reasons, than I would probably last about an hour.

This was recorded sometime in 2008, I am guessing. I saw it late one night on the ABC in February 2009 (*).

It was a rather random viewing and because I knew of Alanis' music, I decided to record her segment of the show on my PVR.

Over the ensuing months I would watch it repeatedly, often in the middle of the night, when Jenny had fallen into a deep sleep. I was mesmerised by Alanis' voice, the musicians that supported her and the live performance. In some ways this video takes me back to those last few months with Jenny and the sense of innocence (*) we all had with what we were about to confront (*).

Alanis' words, reflects the the depth of her experience and her delivery touched me back in 2009, and they touch me even more now because of the memories they evoke three years on, as well as her insights into life purpose, something that I have had to grapple with when you feel you have fulfilled your purpose in life.

This recording takes me back to those nights before Jenny's passing where I would watch this video safe in the comfort that she was in the next room, breathing and still with us.

Tonight, I have captured this part of my life here - I tried to add it to my blog back in early 2010, but it was too hard back then. For some reason it seems right to add it now, though I have not been able to fully explain here why. I just think it is amazing.

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 (*).

Hands and Gestures (2 of 3) - Detail (2 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (2 of 3) - Detail (2 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Not quite as compelling as the earlier photo detail (*), though it does demonstrate a lot going on with the hands and even a kiss.

The full-sized photo to follow.

Hands and Gestures (2 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Hands and Gestures (2 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
And the tables to my right.

Hall Of Fame - The Script feat. Will.I.Am (YouTube)

Hall Of Fame (*) - The Script (*) feat. Will.I.Am (*) - [Youtube (*)]
Hall Of Fame (feat. Will.I.Am)

Yeah, You could be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the king kong banging on your chest

You could beat the world
You could beat the war
You could talk to God, go banging on his door

You can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself

Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

You could go the distance
You could run the mile
You could walk straight through hell with a smile

You could be the hero
You could get the gold
Breaking all the records that thought never could be broke

Do it for your people
Do it for your pride
How you ever gonna know if you never even try?

Do it for your country
Do it for your name
Cause there's gonna be a day

When you're standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

Be a champion, Be a champion, Be a champion, Be a champion

On the walls of the hall of fame

Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers

Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions
Be truth seekers

Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers

Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions

Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

(You can be a champion)
You could be the greatest
You can be the best
(You can be a champion)
You can be the king kong banging on your chest

(You can be a champion)
You could beat the world
You could beat the war
(You can be a champion)
You could talk to God, go banging on his door

(You can be a champion)
You can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock
(You can be a champion)
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks

(You can be a champion)
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
(You can be a champion)
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself

Standing in the hall of fame

Thanks Lisa - another great song (*). Remember it all starts with Belief (*) and all "the other stuff" (*) just looks after itself.

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.

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 (*).

Hands and Gestures (3 of 3) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (3 of 3) - The Full Frame Photo - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Note to self - get a little bit closer in scenes like this.

Hands and Gestures (1 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Hands and Gestures (1 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
On the table to my left.

On Beauty and Photography - Davey Maclean aka Shot by Shooter / Glass Magazine (Tue 14 Nov 2012)

Mother, Son and Frog - Markets / Shanghai (Wed 20 Oct 2004)
Davey Mclean (*) aka Shot by Shooter (*) in Glass Magazine (*)

[On Beauty] I often photograph people who have a kind of fragile beauty [..]

[On Photography] I don't think that my photographs mean anything, they are just what someone sees in them – I think photography only has meaning when someone looks at it. They’re just snapshots.

I was able to give her a copy of an A4 print on my return to Shanghai a few weeks later. She was very excited.

Detail #1 - Mother and Son - Markets / Shanghai (Wed 20 Oct 2004)
Detail #2 (Hands) - The Frog - Markets / Shanghai (Wed 20 Oct 2004)

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 - Garry Winogrand and People Photography - Blake Andrews (Tue 12 Mar 2013)

Hands - Park Street / Sydney (Tue 12 Mar 2013)
Blake Andrews (*) writes about Garry Winogrand (*):

I think Winogrand's attraction to photographing people was psychological. He liked to play with figures as compositional figures, but more importantly he liked to get inside their heads. Many of his photos are like X-Ray visions. They burrow right into the thoughts of the characters. It's not easy to make photos like that without bogging down in sentimentality, without the thoughts becoming the primary subject. I see a lot of portraits nowadays concerned with that penetration, but they often leave the rest of life behind. Winogrand somehow combined X-Rays with surface level reality in a way that I think is rare. I know I can't do it.

via More thoughts on Winogrand (*) by Blake Andrews (*).

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sun 23 Dec 2012)

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Left Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Right Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012)
Note to self. A personal guide for the Campaign and beyond ..

A few photos and words from my heart following the 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Camp in Canberra from 21-23 Dec 2012.

Congratulations to all that put themselves forward for selection for the 2013 Auroras Senior B Dragon Boat Squad which will participate at the World Dragon Boat Championships in Szeged, Hungary in late July 2013.

Putting yourself up for selection and having dreams, hopes and goals is always a risky business as they can all be dashed in a moment.

For those whose journey for this campaign ended at the selection camp, you have my admiration and respect. My heart goes out to you, but I also know that there are future opportunities and with a plan, determination and perseverance you can achieve everything you want out of paddling and life. We have a number of role models in this regard and I encourage you to follow their lead. The camp will have given you perspective and a path forward to realising all your dreams and goals. It's a decision you make and it is all in your hands.

For those successful in selection, I congratulate you and I feel your elation in the trust the coaches have given us to represent Australia as the 2013 Auroras Senior B World Championship Dragon Boat Squad.

I thank those from the 2011 Auroras Squad (*) who have come back to give it another go. Your experience will be invaluable as we all learnt so much about ourselves, the importance of teamwork and what it is to compete on the world stage against the best the world has to offer.

The competition is intense and goals are achieved through your commitment to the training programme; trust in yourself, your team mates, managers and coaches.

Having done a few campaigns now, my advice is to savior every moment of the campaign. There can be feelings of elation, disappointment and every emotion in between. That is the nature of paddling at this level and I have learnt it is how we handle and respond to these emotions, that will mould who we are and who we will become. You have to an awareness of yourself and those around you - to be emotionally strong not only for yourself, but more importantly for the team, since our sport is the true essence of team work.

There are few words that stick in my mind from all my experiences in paddling and life. They are Trust, Belief and Risk.

Trust - Trust yourselves, your team mates, your managers and coaches. Remember the first time you stood in dragon boat in the standup paddle drill at the selection camp. Serge and Blair would not have asked us to do this if they thought we could not do it. They trusted us, as we trusted them. I saw no hesitation from either side. This is the kind of trust we need to find, particularly when we are uncertain. We just need to go with it and it will happen.

Belief (*) - You have to believe in yourself, and your supporters in paddling and in life. Most importantly you have to believe in the campaign, the process, your team mates, managers and coaches. I find this quote (*) gives me perspective, understanding and strength:

If you believe, you are stronger and the light will shine on you.

Risk - by getting to this point, we have all proved we are not averse to taking a risk or two. At this level, the stakes and emotions are heightened. There are risks all round as we step into the unknown to compete against the best in the world. We have control of many things and this is our focus, but there are others things which we don't, for as you see, I have learnt there is an underlying randomness to it all. This is where adaptability comes in, as we respond in a measured and considered way to the random events that are tossed our way and that which we may confront. Take nothing for granted, success is not attained easily. Often, time and persistence is required.

Finally, be prepared to let go of everything you know and to start from zero (*). It would take me a long time to learn this one and it only came to me in Busan (*) at the 2012 Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Sep 2012. Ask Paul Langley as we learnt this together in the Mixed 10's (*). I became the paddler and person I always wanted to be on that hot sunny day in Busan.

We have an amazing blend of enthusiasm, hardened experience and raw newness at this level. Focus on what you can control, trust and believe and the rest will look after itself. I feel privileged to share this experience with you and look forward to what lays ahead.

2013 Auroras Grand Masters Selection Squad Camp - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sat 23 Dec 2012)

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 (*).

Do You See What I See? - Hunters & Collectors (1988) (youtube)

Do You See What I See? - Hunters & Collectors (1988) (youtube)
The song ends with the lyrics:

Do you remember?
I said do you remember?...

Yes, I remember now. I saw Hunters & Collectors play this song at a Concert in Boston in October 1988. They were the support act for Midnight Oil. I had forgotten about this when I put together yesterdays post (The Forgotten Years). I kept thinking last night, that I had seen Midnight Oil somewhere else. This song made me remember, as I distinctly remember it being performed at the Concert in Boston. Funny how you can remember some things in the end.

Mark Seymour, the bands lead singer, is also a bit of a runner and he ran the same Melbourne Marathon I ran in 1994. He played some songs to a crowd at the finish line after his run. I remember being very impressed with him and his fitness, as I hobbled back to the Hotel Crossley for an afternoon nap.

Found a live version here and the Lyrics follow ..

Do you see what I see Lyrics

I spy your humble home
I see the tea towels fly
In a blinding flash
I see the years go by
Memories twisted around
Somebody's finger
Behind me now
Oh but I still remember

Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?

We go north to the ocean
We drove so far
But last years light is shining hotter than the sun
Looking for someone
In a suburb that I know
But I wasn't round for long
I had somewhere else to go

Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?

I see the safest place around
In that city down below
My hands are empty now
And I waving as I go

You were gone for a little while
It was a fine fine line
Between first and second thoughts
We left them all behind
Now we barely faulter
Now the long drive has begun
North to the ocean
Hotter, hotter than the sun

Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?

Do you remember?
I said do you remember?...

Forgotten Years - Midnight Oil (1990) (youtube)

Forgotten Years - Midnight Oil (1990) (youtube)

Who can remember, we've got to remember


Norm (a few weeks before he suddenly passed away), Jo, Margaret, Geoff and Jenny - Graduation - Masters Degree in Accounting - Town Hall / Sydney (May 1992)
Anzac Day here in Australia. Jo and I have just been for a long paddle in the rain under and around the Anzac Bridge.

Always think of this song on Anzac Day. I remember hearing this back in the early 1990's. Whenever I hear it now, I think of Jenny and Joanne's Father, Norm. I was always invited around to the Petterson Home for lunch on Anzac Day (I would have three Anzac Days with Norm before he passed away suddenly in June 1992) and there would always be Anzac Biscuits with a tea or coffee for afterwards. Joanne has made a batch for today, so the tradition continues.

Norm - Woranora (Wed 22 Dec 2010)

Random Recollection follows: Was lucky enough to hear Midnight Oil play this song live in April 1990. I was the only member of the audience ..

I played hockey for most of my life and back in the late 1980's and early 1990's we started playing on a synthetic surface, rather than the traditional grass. The only fields in Sydney at the time were at Homebush (the site and surrounding area would host the Sydney 2000 Olympics).

The only other sporting facility at Homebush at time was the State Sports Centre which had a number of sports halls for playing basketball and many other indoor sports.

After finishing a week night training session with my club, Sydney Uni, I could hear live music being played in one of the sports hall. It was early in the season and it was still warm. The doors to the Hall adjoining the hockey field was open, so I had a look.

At the far end of the Hall was a band playing - it was Midnight Oil rehearsing for an upcoming tour. I sat down, leant against the wall. They appeared to not notice me or did not care. As the lone audience member, I just sat back, thought how lucky I was, and watched and listened to Midnight Oil rehearse a number of songs.

This song, the Forgotten Years was one of them. It stood out to me and I liked it immediately (still do). It was the first time I had heard it and I remember telling Jenny about my good fortune and hearing all their big hits of the time (eg Beds are Burning). I told her about this song, which I had not heard before.

I don't know exactly when, but I know this song started to get some air play and I saw the above film clip which seems to give the song even more meaning.

Here are the lyrics ..


Forgotten Years Lyrics

Few of the sins of the father
Are visited upon the son
Hearts have been hard
Hands have been clenched into fists too long

Our sons need never be soldiers
Our daughters will never need guns
These are the years between
These are the years that were hard fought and won

Contracts torn at the edges
Old signatures stained with tears
Seasons of war and grace
These should not be forgotten years

Still it aches like tetanus
It reeks of politics
How many dreams remain?
This is a feeling too strong to contain

The hardest years, the darkest years
The roarin' years, the fallen years
These should not be forgotten years
The hardest years the wildest years
The desperate and divided years
Our shoreline was never invaded
Our country was never in flames
This is the calm we breathe
This is a feeling too strong to contain

Still it aches like tetanus
It reeks of politics
Signatures stained with tears
Who can remember, we've got to remember

The hardest years, the darkest years...
Forsaking aching breaking years
The time 'n' tested heartbreak years
These should not be forgotten years

The blinded years, the binded years
The desperate and divided years
These should not be forgotten years
Remember

As someone said ..

This is simply a song about remembering the sacrifice made by all soldiers during war.

The small miracle of photography is .. it's never summer (Thu 04 Apr 2013)

Street Portrait (*) - George Street / Sydney (Fri 15 Mar 2013)
it's never summer (*) writes:

The small miracle (*) of photography is, in [the photographers] hands, images with very little context can generate compassion (*).

via From the jpegs online and what I had read about it, I had... (*) by it's never summer (*).

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

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