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.

On Photography and Ambiguity - Streetshooter (Thu 29 Oct 2015)

Shroud of Erskine Creek - Water - Erskine Creek / Mount Gower / Lord Howe Island (Mon 22 Oct 2001)

Streetshooter on Photography and Ambiguity:

The thing is, to have all three elements of the self - find and realize your intent. The Eye, Heart and Mind work together to find the subject and realize the intent. The entire process from start to finish is ambiguous and should be allowed to remain that way.

via Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 28 … Street … Deciphering and Realizing Intent by Streetshooter.

Our group stopped here about half way up Mount Gower to rest and to refuel for the second and more difficult half of our ascent of Mount Gower. For some reason I made a photo of the water with the reflection of the over head canopy and shafts of light breaking through. It was just a photo of the water, I thought. When I saw this photo on my computer screen a few weeks later, I decided it would look better in Black and White and made the transformation. In doing so a beautiful women revealed herself out of the relections in the water. I hope you can see her. Not everyone can. For me I see photos and I see people in photos.

The words Ambiguity and Uncertainity are interesting words. Closely related but very different. I think I can understand and feel the difference. Hence I would like to substitute the word ambiguous above with uncertain. I'm not exactly sure as I feel the word ambiguity has quite a few shades of meaning in that it can be difficult thing or a good thing depending on the context of its application. Post inspired by a engaging discussion with Carla. Thanks Carla.

On Intention - The Eye, Heart and Mind - StreetShooter (Thu 08 May 2014)

eljeiffel House (*) - Alexandria (Sun 04 May 2014)
StreetShooter (*) writes On Intent (*):

it’s very easy to adapt (*) the frame (*) to make a photo by moving but it’s more important to be where you are supposed to be and be using what you are supposed to be using because you want what your INTENT (*) wants to be as true to the EYE, HEART and MIND (*) as possible.

via May 8th, 2014 … Fuji X-Pro1 and 23mm May Be as Good as it Gets (*) by StreetShooter (*).

There was a rainbow (*) on the wall of the soon to be lounge room. I placed the camera on the wall and captured the photo above. I was interested to see how it came out. Must have placed the camera in the yellow part of the rainbow. Will experiment a bit more later ..

Inspiration comes from Intent - Singapore Airport (Fri 12 Jul 2013)

Inspiration (*) comes from Intent - Singapore Airport (Fri 12 Jul 2013)
Cameron Sinclair (*), Chief Eternal Optimistic, Archtitecture for Humanity

Macau 2010: Intention and Reflection

Intention & Reflection by Drew Ginn (7 May 2007)

What does it mean to have conscious intent?

To be fully engaged and intentionally focused is a critical ingredient for improving performance.

Maintaining a clear focus when everything becomes hazy with fatigue and stress is certainly some thing I practice.

It is something that I work on while engaged in any activity, in fact that is the greatest part you can practice it any time.

Being clear about what, how and why creates a purposeful performance and intention is that capacity to transfer thought in to action.

It is easy to switch off and go through the motions, but to stay present and aware is a challenge, at least initially.

That's why I love training by myself sometimes, it enables me to practice finding that clarity and to apply thought or mental image to action.

Reflection is important to ensure that what you intent is realised and it is upon reflection that insights are gained about how to improve each session, each stroke, each race and each season.

Clear intention is like a laser. It penetrates through the power of unity. A diffused athlete is more likely to under perform than an athlete who is clear, driven and focused.

Another blog post that I keep coming back to read.

Now that we are back from Macau, it is a good time to reflect on what was achieved and how it was done ..

CCWC Mixed 500m Final (Video Screen) - Pacific Dragons/Lane 2 - Macau/China- Sat 31 Jul 2010
Premier Mixed 500m Final - Macau/China - Sat 31 Jul 2010
CCWC Mixed 500m Final - Pacific Dragons - Macau/China- Sat 31 Jul 2010
Premier Mixed 500m Medal Presentation - Pacific Dragons/World Champions - Sun 01 Aug 2010
Pacific Dragons Premier Mixed 500m Team - Back (l-r) Geoff Eldridge, Norman Joe, Rachel Mosen, Kerry Davenport, Darren Ma, Todd Skeels, Craig Stewart, Justin Spake, Michal Hrcka, Suzy Kong, Annett Happich, Mark Hall, Lisa Green, Stuart Young, Toby Wilson, Graeme Bacon Front (l-r) Michelle Ng, Helen Papin, Christian Happich, Matt Spies, Michelle Hone, Nicola Frowen, Di Morgan, Paul Smith, Christophe Pistoni, Julia Ryall, Kathaleen Burrows - Macau/China - Sun 01 Aug 2010

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.

Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Geoff, Tony (Mouse) and Joanne – Inspire Award 2012 / PD’s Award Night - AB Hotel / Glebe (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

A few words (*) and a short video (*) after Tony "Mouse" Pound was presented with the 2012 Inspire Award ..

Joanne and I would like to thank Pacific Dragons (*) for Honouring Jenny’s Memory (*) with the Annual Presentation of the Inspire Award (*) – this being the 3rd time it has been presented since she left us (*) on Tue 30 Jun 2009.

We congratulate Tony Pound ("Mouse") the 2012 Inspire Award Recipient.

We know Jenny would be smiling from above and would no doubt be wondering, like the rest of us here "How’s Mouse's Mother's Chooks" are.

We also like the direction of the award has taken.

Being an Annual Award it becomes something of an Anniversary for Joanne and I to celebrate and remember Jenny's life, as the Club and its Members recognise the Achievements of one it's member - Mouse for the 2011/2012 season.

We hope it is also an opportunity for all of us to remember and honour those that have been close to us and have influenced our own lives but are no longer with us.

We also hope it is a time to acknowledge those close to us who are facing their own challenges in life. We hope Jenny's life can be an example as to how to live a fulfilling life with a life-threatening illness as well as provide some hope, belief and inspiration to face the challenges and changes that lay ahead.

So, as it is with all Anniversaries, it is a time reflect on the year just passed and to celebrate on what has been achieved and so tonight we celebrate Mouse's Achievements since coming to the club two seasons ago.

I think, more importantly, for Anniversaries, it is a time to look to the future and set new goals.

This can be challenging as often the path is full of obstacles as well as self-doubts. It almost always requires change, which can be step into the unknown. This is all risky business and the fear of failure and making mistakes can quickly put a stop to all good intentions.

I think those people who inspire us often overcome these obstacles and fears, with the common theme in all of their actions, being the word Belief (*), which is something Jenny had plenty of.

Belief gives us a purpose and intent as we strive towards a goal.

A photographer I follow recently wrote [Alex Coghe (*)] about belief in the context of photography, but it can be applied to all aspects of our lives. It is succinct and goes:

"If you believe, you are stronger and the light will reward you."

Basedy on my own life experiences I know this to be true [A longer version here (*)].

We congratulate you all on another great year with Pacific Dragons.

Finally, we thank you and the Club for the Amazing Experiences that are created for us and we share together. For you see as Seth Godin wrote:

"The experiences we create [and share] are the moments that define us."

We look forward to the season ahead and we hope you are having ..

"The Time of Your Life."

We Remember Jenny - The Time of Your Life..

Remembering Jenny - Time of Your Life / Greenday - Youtube (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Live Long and Prosper .. Geoff and Joanne (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Postscript (Mon 23 Jul 2012): I wanted to add the following quote (*) into the video but did not have the time to work out. So here it is ..

Give me the courage, tenacity & positivity to change that which I can... (with a smile on my face!) (15 Jun 2009)

Give me the serenity, humility & tolerance to accept that which I cannot... (16 Jun 2009)

And give me the wisdom, humbleness & strength to know the difference. (17 Jun 2009)

Sandhill Warrior (Rob Rowland-Smith)

Labels: Belief, Inspire Award, Pacific Dragons, Sat 21 Jul 2012, Remembering Jenny, Jenny Petterson, Sandhill Warrior, Change

On Failure - Some Notes on Photographic Intent - Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (01 Mar 2012)

Mont-Royal Red - Mont-Royal / Montreal (Thu 18 Aug 2011)
Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (*) writes (*):

Failure is the sound of a thousand wasted efforts screaming in unison. [..]

So the goal [..] should be to use those things that inspire us as a framework for exploration, so we can learn the process behind them.

Shots aren’t preordained.

They are happy accidents, lead by intention, and founded on a combination of preparation and discovery.

In other words, photography isn’t seeing the big picture.

It’s knowing how to stumble from one adjustment to the next, eliminating choices along the way, while focusing on others, until we find that one thing that says just what we want. [..]

Success is the sound of a single action made of a thousand efforts.

On Goal Setting - Making our Bests Even Better - Adam van Koeverden (Sat 30 Jun 2012)

Joanne, Jenny and Geoff - 2009 State Titles / SIRC / Penrith (Sat 21 Mar 2009)
On Goal Setting, Adam van Koeverden (*) writes (*):

my goal is always the same.

I just want to race my very best.

I want to cross the finish line knowing that I couldn’t have gone any faster.

I want to be sure my tank is totally empty, that I executed a perfect race with great, efficient technique and made all these thousands of kilometers in training worthwhile.

That’s why we train so hard, to make our bests even better.

[ I wrote the following late last Sat Night after observing the 3rd Anniversary of Jenny's passing. I decided at the time not to post it, but I figured I need to stop worrying about what people might think of my writings here. This is from my heart and I hope it shows. We are lucky to be doing what we are doing and I am thankful the opportunities and experiences that we make for each other. ]

Today we fly out to Hong Kong for the 2012 World Club Crew Dragon Boat Championships which start on Wednesday and finish on Sunday. This will be my 9th International Event and the third with my Club. So here are a few Thank You's and Observations.

Hong Kong has been a long term goal for many people in the Club. We virtually have everyone going, so to me that indicates we are a unified group that believes in and supports each other. This is true essence of a strong Team and being a Team Player.

It has been fantastic for us to train with purpose and intent with full crews for the last 11 weeks or so.

With a handful of our paddlers flying out yesterday, Thursday night was our last full strength session of the campaign - I was a little sad as we paddled in at end of the session, knowing that it will be a long time before we will train, as a Club, as we have during this Campaign.

I thank my coaches and team mates for their dedication to the Campaign.

The logistics of the campaign have been handled seamlessly and brilliantly from where I sit. Those involved know who they are and I thank them for their amazing job. To organise 60 or so people is no mean feat. Well done.

We have been coached brilliantly and we have trained hard on and off water. The squad is our strongest to participate at a World Club Crews since our first in Penang in 2008.

I hope for many, your goal for Hong Kong is to go and create a fantastic experience for yourself and ourselves. We are creating memories to last a life time.

For some it will be their first International event, while for others, it will another of many. We can all inspire and learn from each other no matter who we are.

There will be different experiences for each one of us and how we respond to them defines who we are and who we will become. Some things will go our/your way and others will not. There is a randomness to it all. There will be feelings of elation, disappointment and every emotion in between. This is what Dragon Boating is all about and big international events like this can magnify these emotions and their impact. My experience (and I have felt it all) and advice with all of this is to be mindful of others and to remember the Sport and our Club is based on the spirit of team work.

I can say that I go with an open heart and mind. For Jo and I, Jenny guides and inspires us from above and she is there for every stroke and moment along the way.

Finally, have fun and in the spirit of Adam's words above, lets put our best races on the water and make our bests even better, no matter what Team you are in. That would be just reward to all for the effort and sacrifice we (and our Families and Friends) have made to able to participate in our sport, against the best in the world, at such a high level event.

Go the Mighty PD's.

Pacific Dragons - State Titles - International Regatta Centre / Penrith (Sun 11 Mar 2012)
Pacific Dragons 500m Mixed - 2012 AUSDBF National Titles - Docklands / Melbourne (Mon 02 Apr 2012)
Pacific Dragons 2km Mixed - 2012 AUSDBF National Titles - Docklands / Melbourne (Tue 03 Apr 2012)

On Carpark Spaces - Genoa (Sun 14 Aug 2005) / Shanghai (Thu 06 May 2010)

Parking Space - Genoa / Italy (Sun 14 Aug 2005)

Parking Space - Shanghai / China (Thu 06 May 2010)
Always question myself why I take these kind of photos and at times I say to myself:

What are you thinking? What are you seeing? What will others think?

When I look at it now, I can see and appreciate, just like Jeffrey Smart (specifically here):

the geometery, colour and lines

I am always surprised to see photos that are so far apart in time and space to be so similiar in intent and result. Makes me realise that my visual filter is consistent, strong and resilent in time. Afterall, they are just photos of a carpark spaces.

On Architecture - John Dalton (1961) / Elizabeth Musgrave (Houses 102)

eljeiffel House - Alexandria (Sat 26 Sep 2015)

John Dalton on Architecture:

for us, life in the sun is a reality, and we who build in the sunlight sense the joy of space and light. It is our delight. The magic of shade and shadow capture our senses and direct us towards our purpose, which is to dispense comfort and happiness through useful form

via Sun and Shadow House by Elizabeth Musgrave.

Been lucky enough to have had an Architect and Builder who knows what this means. I live in the result of that intent and purpose, and I still can't believe it.

Is Comedy the New News? - Dan Ilic / Andrew P Street / Spectrum (Fri 07 Apr 2017)

Poster (Pauline Hanson) - The Monthly / Glebe (Fri 07 Apr 2017)

Dan Ilic on Comedy:

[Andrew P Street] is comedy the new news?

[ Dan Ilic ] Politics is often dense and obfuscates intent, so there's ... value in breaking down, in simple, clear language, what the hell is going on.

via How Donald Trump killed comedy - What happens to satire when the world of politics is a joke? by Andrew P Street.