after the garden of the finzi-continis, found photo
serendipity
I was out shooting some night shots last night and took the NikonD80 to use as a light meter for the Yashica, the time was so slow i had to take the digital pic to count the seconds the shutter was open for. I haven’t got a clue if it will work on film until i get it developed. I liked the accident of this; zoom on, camera held out at arms length more than if i’d had it on a tripod.
Conflicts fuelled by climate change causing new refugee crisis, warns UN
Climate change is fuelling conflicts around the world and helping to drive the number of people forced out of their homes to new highs, the head of the UN’s refugee agency said yesterday. After a few years of improvement, thanks mainly to large-scale resettlement in Afghanistan, the numbers of civilians uprooted by conflict is again rising. During 2007 the total jumped to 37.4 million, an increase of more than 3 million, according to statistics published today.
foxhunt - taking a bit of heat off the squirrels
Ritsos’ chair - for Cooper
Greek Scene
He dismounted, hitched his horse to the huge mulberry tree, took a leak.
The horse was looking at him. He slapped its neck.
“We’re young,” he said.
The sun was calling out among the osiers.
The cicadas were coming on strong.
The fig tree’s shadow banged against the stones.
A huge red sail was flapping above the plane trees.
The horse was twitching its ears, sometimes the one,
sometimes the other, while below,
two young boatmen were rolling the huge iron barrel along the road.
Samos, August 19, 1963
experimenting
this is a digital shot taken through the viewfinder of a twin lens reflex [TTV - through the viewfinder]
Canadian train put in quarantine
A train in Canada with about 280 people on board has been put under quarantine, after one passenger died and several others reported flu-like symptoms.
The authorities say they do not believe there is a connection between the death and the illnesses.
um, is it me or is there some confusing contradiction here or maybe several
cameras - Bencini Koroll
I was gifted a camera recently that I shot a roll of film through. There’s some information on it here and an image of its lovely construction and basic elements. Mine is not the Koroll S but a simple Koroll that preceded it, the only difference being that mine has no flash bracket. I really like its minimalist functions; 1 F stop and 2 shutter speeds, kind of a 1950’s point and shoot. Film used — Kodak160VC
photogenic
every time i take my camera out into the garden and start framing a shot the dog makes a dash and positions herself in front of the lens
hubris and nemesis; the economy of food
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television. It is a documentary most Americans will never see, explaining how the gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.
For millennia, farmers have saved seeds from season to season. But when Monsanto developed GM seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, Monsanto patented the seeds. For nearly all of its history the United States Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as life-forms with too many variables to be patented. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for seed patents in a five-to-four decision, laying the groundwork for a handful of corporations to begin taking control of the world’s food supply.
more here about the seed gestapo
george mikes and epigrams
Epigrams take us on elegant brisk journeys; they are smart ripostes in which X proposes, Y disposes. They are beautifully crafted little musical instruments, exquisite jewelled needles that can do real harm. There is nothing quite so lethal as a neat binary:
Four legs good: two legs bad.
Me Tarzan, you Jane.
from George Szirtes
Sheila’s new tundrabusting roadster
happy is… as happy does
well this isn’t a photo masterpiece but these 2 are such a consistently joyful pair they warm my heart
1979: annus nautilus
those were happy days, remember Rod Stewart ‘i am sailing’ well maybe it came later… cringe, thats me in the middle, o and good heavens i just remembered Melanie’s ‘i got a brand new pair of roller skates’ and me mother’s knitted jumpers
cross cultural references
Kifissia, a suburb of Athens, where people’s grandiose turn of the last century summer houses have been converted into expensive shops. When i first moved there in ‘76 it was a village at the end of the metro line where people came for weekend strolls not consumer fixes, it was very leisurely and Greek in those days. It’s name means; ‘there where it blows’. Taken with me Yashica D
dammit
happiness can be found in the strangest of places - Athens airport
road trip to Deron’s farm anyone?
i’ll provide a picnic basket, was thinking of taking the Vladivostok route if Sheila can get me funding
The Man Who Questions Chemotherapy : Dr. Ralph Moss
We are obviously losing ground with conventional cancer treatment, because the death rates keep going up. The reason for this is because conventional treatment is based on a faulty standard: That the body must be purged of cancer by aggressive and toxic methods such as surgery chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This, of course, seemed reasonable back in 1894 when William Halsted, M.D. did the first radical mastectomy, but it has proven to be so wrong over the last 50 years that continuing to adhere to it constitutes more fraud than honest mistake. However, this standard still dominates conventional cancer therapy, and until that changes, we will continue to lose ground with cancer.
carry on - sheila, you wanna explain?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkqHI3-KXCs&feature=related[/youtube]
the situation is
that the doc don’t know the situation, never mind the insurance and then the clinic where you pay cos the printer in the hospital ain’t working so they don’t give appointments but at the clinic it takes so long you get to snooze in expensive couches… all for the purpose of delivering this to the docs postbox or to reason what those hangy jowl things are or that explosion between the eye sockets, while a bit of photoshop can change the whole dynamic of a jolly roger afternoon… moral? no docs please!
in view of recent auditions
for the role of caterpillar in ‘Alice’
Kosovo amongst other thoughts
i suspect that Europe is waking to another Balkan fiasco - when the Cherokee seek autonomy will America be so fast to oblige - these historical hamster wheels are disappointing - higher powers play poker games in provincial theaters - and on another continent Fidel resigns his state of suspended animation; my disenchantment complete, my morning coffee cold.
this beach no longer exists
ok aficianodos - any clues?
Mamiya 6 - the ‘Texas Leica’
Mike Dougan at The Fiery Scotsman
Why did I want this camera?
Because of its reputation as the Texas Leica (Leica is a 35mm German camera, excellent build quality but expensive). I was interested in buying a Leica but 2 things put me off, 1 PRICE!! 2. 35mm film………. I prefer the square image.
I have several 1950’s rangefinder cameras but as none of them have a light meter I wanted a more modern 6 by 6 rangefinder for slightly more candid shots. The choice was simple, its reputation is legend:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/mamiya/6.htm
Its a great camera, quite large, infact when I got it out of the box my reaction was ‘holy fuck’ but after a few days using it. I like its size, weight and feel in my hand. Its a solid camera.
*Note there was an earlier Mamiya 6 in the 40’s and 50’s*