Bubbles, Piazza De Ferrari, Genova

I'm one of those creatures who, to learn a new thing, need to repeat it until it becomes familiar.

Actually, that's one of the reasons I have begun offering one-on-one photography coaching, for women. I suspect I'm not alone in being overwhelmed over years, as well-meaning, engineering-minded people have tried teaching me photography via their beautiful minds of order and logic.

My mind doesn't function along the lines of order and logic ... there is some logic there but in a form that is more about 'my logic', as opposed to logic that makes maths and physics obvious.  Ask my first husband, the physics guy ... there were some stories about my way of portraying the theory of relativity and other things. 

So here I am, bending my mind into the 'obvious' in photoshop, creating these small collages and having the nicest time before going back to my work.

I hope your day is a good one, where ever you are.

Fertal Lahcen, artist

Imagine, always traveling, meeting people ... hearing their stories. 

Alex and Mina have their blog, ...sending postcards. Who could resist reading them: 'During the autumn of 2009, we sold our house, quit our jobs, and were married in the sun. We left our life-long home on the prairies of Canada to run away together and see the world. This travelogue was created to document our extended honeymoon - the often mundane, seldom peculiar, and sometimes extraordinary details.'

I found this artist over on their website.  Turn the volume up when you watch Fertal describing the materials he uses to create his artworks.

Petrichor

Erik gifted me a new word, in response to the post about rain just below.

I think that word needs a post all of its own ... Petrichor.

petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr) noun

The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

[From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.]

"Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain." Matthew Bettelheim; Nature's Laboratory; Shasta Parent (Mt Shasta, California); Jan 2002.

"But, even in the other pieces, her prose breaks into passages of lyrical beauty that come as a sorely needed revivifying petrichor amid the pitiless glare of callousness and cruelty." Pradip Bhattacharya; Forest Interludes; Indianest.com; Jul 29, 2001.

Darren the Bull ... with Robert & Sheepy

Martin OConnor introduced me to this series of youtubes short films by some New Zealand sheep over on ThePenNZ's Channel.

I went searching and found the website where it says: Two Kiwi sheep and their take on life.  Written and voiced by Guy Capper and Jemaine Clement.

I've been giggling away, remembering all the kiwi blokes I've heard saying similar stuff while under the influence. 

Listen carefully and you'll hear some New Zealandese there near the end ... 'couldn'thaveI'

Anthony Pisano ...

This Is My Home from Mark on Vimeo.

I loved this ... On an unseasonably warm November night in Manhattan on our way to get ice cream, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a vintage shop, brightly lit display window and all. As we began to walk in, a man sitting out front warned us that we were welcome to explore, but nothing inside was for sale. Our interests piqued, we began to browse through the collections the man out front had built throughout his life. This is a story of a man and his home.

 

Murmuration ...

Loved this!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Video of a massive starling flock turning and twisting over a river in Ireland has gone viral, and with good reason. Flocking starlings are one of nature’s most extraordinary sights: Just a few hundred birds moving as one is enough to convey a sense of suspended reality, and the flock filmed above the River Shannon contained thousands.

What makes possible the uncanny coordination of these murmurations, as starling flocks are so beautifully known? Until recently, it was hard to say. Scientists had to wait for the tools of high-powered video analysis and computational modeling. And when these were finally applied to starlings, they revealed patterns known less from biology than cutting-edge physics.

Feel free to continue reading here  :-)

 

Het Internationaal Schutterstornooi - a toast

Sometimes, lovely friends pull you into the most magical experiences…

Dank u wel, Jurjana, for a day full of ancient wonders and beautiful photographs.

This photograph arrived, via Jurjana, just now and it made me smile.  It’s rare that I am ‘in’ a photograph but I had to post it.  There I am, in the midst of the archery guild members while they make their ancient toast, in the very old City Hall here in Antwerpen.

Photo credit goes to Tom Meeus.

Maurizio Carnevali, Sculptor

Maurizio Carnevali was one of ten international artists creating a Brussels-themed sculpture in Brussels recently.  I wandered by, with Paola, on Saturday and could have spent hours attempting to capture something of the artists and their work… then came the rain.

A Maurizio Carnevali Sculpture

This is the artwork created by Italian sculptor, Maurizio Carnevali during the 1st Brussels International Sculpture Symposium.

The symposium took place between 2nd and 16th July and was rather stunning.  Ten artists, of international reknown, created a Brussels-themed sculpture in Park Parmentier, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. 

I only arrived on that last day, as finished sculptures were revealed, artists were thanked, and champagne was poured.  Thanks for letting me tag along, Paola.  A lovely outing despite the rain.

Food for Thought Regarding the Current State of our Education Systems ... & a short piece on Passion

I couldn’t not share this over here ... This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award.
Click here for more information on Sir Ken’s work.

But I loved this too ... Sir Ken was asked by the British newspaper, the Observer, to contribute a 280 word piece on passion to the regular series on Life Lessons.
Here it is:
Make the most of whatever it is that floats your boat…

It was Jeremy Bentham, I believe, who said there are two types of people in this world: those who divide the world into two types and those who do not. Well, these days I do. On the one hand, I’m constantly surprised by how many people settle for so little fulfilment in their lives, who endure their lives rather than enjoy them. On the other, I know people who simply love what they do and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “This isn’t what I do,” they say, “this is who I am.” There are people in every walk of life for whom this is true: people who are in their element. Being in your element involves doing something for which you have a natural aptitude. But it’s more than that: it’s about passion. You have to love it, too.

Passion can be a disconcerting idea in Britain, conjuring up images of fiery glances, pounding hearts and a hint of castanets. It’s not always like that. Passion is a deep attraction. It can be for someone else or for a process: music, maths, cooking, sport, entrepreneurship, teaching… whatever fires your imagination and stokes your energy. We all have different aptitudes and we have unique passions. The challenge is to find them because it’s in the fusion of both that we live our best lives.

 

An original meaning of “passion” is to suffer or endure, as in the Passion of Christ. Its modern meanings have evolved to include love, attraction and pleasure. Finding our own element is also a journey from endurance to enjoyment. It’s a vital step, too, in moving from being one type of person to being the other type.

A Climbing Film - Towers of the Ennedi Film Festival Edit and Camp 4 Collective

I love climbing literature and films about as much as I love reading the stories of war photographers and journalists .... it’s like that with me.  A bit of an armchair passion.

Perhaps this short film gives you an idea of what it is about this kind of life ... where it’s just about what’s in front of you.  And there’s more treasure over here at Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.  Found on Jimmy Chin’s blog.

I had to add a link to the incredible Alex Honnold’s film too ... but you’ll see, the Camp 4 Collective have a whole range of short films on their Vimeo site.

Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

 

The North Face®:  Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Tony Madigan ... a remarkable man.

I met Tony at Kathleen and Manuel’s wedding in Madrid.

He was the pipe-smoking guy talking with the fabulous Peter after the wedding ceremony.  My camera wanted to capture him.

It turns out, he is Kathleen’s rather superb voice teacher.  He plays guitar like an angel ... I suspect there is more but I’ll find out and get back to you.

Anyway, meet Tony Madigan ...