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
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?
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*
i believe this coincides with sheila’s birthday
another hand portrait
Stamati’s Parable – the priest’s tale
A priest after conducting a service on the waterfront [possibly epiphania] fell into the harbour. Although it was not so deep, just deep enough to be out of reach and he could not swim, there were many people there to offer assistance in his rescue. One man reached out his hand…
‘Priest! Give me your hand!’
But the priest ignored him, again he insisted
‘Priest! Give me your hand so I can pull you out!’
Nothing from the priest, and after some time of pleading the priest drowned. When the people brought his body to his wife they told her the story of their ignored attempts to rescue him.
She snorted…
‘you should have known better, had you said, “priest take my hand!” he would have grabbed it immediately’
john contemplating 60
“the past is baggage, the future is potential baggage – what should one be doing?”
hi-brow photos from low-fi cameras
slow boat to Amerika [found photo]
cult cameras – the Holga
The Holga is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film toy camera, originating in China, that later came to be appreciated for its low-fidelity aesthetic. The Holga’s cheap construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. Ironically, the camera’s quality problems became a virtue among some photographers, with Holga photos winning awards and competitions in art and news photography.[Wiki]
One Holga user I asked about the appeal: “the Holga?…Freedom, the lack of control, but the more you use it the more you recognise when and where what will work so you increase the hit rate. Because it is soft and has light leak issues it really allows you to let go and forget…just look at what you want to photograph and worry later if it worked or not. Kind of spits in the face or metering.”
All that really matters is your eye and your brain. This is the camera to use with abandon, allowing serendipity and impulse to hold sway.
More information about the Holga:
http://www.holgamods.com/what/what.html
Some places exclusive to the Holga photographs:
http://www.photomediacenter.org/Holgashow2/holga2home.html
http://h0lg4.org/album.php
Image courtesy of terrorkiten
someone elses moment – found vintage
i’d like to introduce
my friend Stamati
we’ve been sharing an interest in photography. This was taken with my DSLR [Nikon D80] with an old Nikkor 20mm lens, 1:2.8
speaking of polaroids
This is an excellent one posted recently on terrorkitten.
moments
Once when I was rummaging through the remains of someone’s life in a derelict building I came across a suitcase of photographs, letters and old school exercise books. Many of the photographs are studio shots with carefully choreographed poses, especially the hands, which more often than not held some kind of stage prop. However in and amongst these are some rarer ‘snapshots’, situational photographs that convey a remarkable sense of time and place and raise in my mind a multitude of questions or scenarios. Perhaps something of a collective memory.
self portrait
i got a lensbaby to play with for christmas and i tried it on my digital slr, with some interesting results in colour, but when i tried it on my film slr it brought home to me the differences, this is something i continue to think about, or perhaps worry at dog to bone style.
between the impulse and the action
an interesting on line project
Honour sought for ‘Soldier Bear’
When Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take the bear with them was to “enlist” him.
So he was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.
He saw action at Monte Cassino before being billeted – along with about 3,000 other Polish troops – at the army camp in the Scottish Borders.
The soldiers who were stationed with him say that he was easy to get along with.
more on bbc
