Photography with Giles Duley and W. Eugene Smith

I didn’t write the rules — why should I follow them? Since I put a great deal of time and research to know what I am about? I ask and arrange if I feel it is legitimate. The honesty lies in my — the photographer’s — ability to understand.

W. Eugene Smith, Photographer

I found this quote and loved it.  I loved the photographer's defiance, or the disbelief.  I'm not sure but it made me think that it is a question we should all ask sometimes. 
And this: 
Q.  Why do you print your own pictures?
A.   The same reason a great writer doesn’t turn his draft over to a secretary… I will retouch.

Or:
Q.   Avedon said that there are three steps in making a photograph: first the taking of the pictures, then the darkroom work, then the retouching. He showed me one unretouched picture in which the girl’s skirt fell straight; in the final version it was flying out.
A.   I would have gotten her skirt up somehow.
And so it is today.  You make the photograph, you process it, and then you apply your feeling.  That 'application' varies.  I like to keep mine minimal but the image is mine to do as I please.
I love the way he owns, unapologetically, all that he does as a photographer.
Found after watching the following inspirational TEDx Talk, by photographer, Giles Duley.

A Really Special Valentines Gift ...

A friend of mine has come up with a most delightful video product just in time for Valentines Day.

Patrice, from Web Video Impact, is offering to create an exquisitely personal video message using your own photographs.  You can see how it all works over here.

It's as simple as sending Patrice the photographs, via his Dropbox account, along with any text you want to add to the video.  He also asks that you give him some idea of the kind of music you prefer but don't worry, if you have no idea, he has more than a few.

And, of course, everything can be done via the internet, so location is no problem.

You can contact Patrice over at WebVideo Impact.

Taysir Batniji, "Voyage impossible", Berlin

I was fortunate enough to photograph Taysir Batniji, in his"Voyage impossible" performance, in Berlin back in 2009.

Today he wrote, asking if he might use some of those images for an exhibition in France, in April this year.  And it was so good to know that those photographs from that magical TASWIR Exhibition are still going out into the world.

Taswir - Univers iconographiques de l’Islam et modernité*, Martin-Gropius-Bau - Berlin, Germany

New Directions ...

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.

Rainer Maria Wilke

It's like that ... this year.  It's full of the promise of things that have never been.  Exciting things.  And if I can just work through this winter thing, this frustration with ice and snow, the isolation of working alone and without colleagues or friends After 5 fabulous weeks back amongst my people, then all would be grand.

It's been a rough week, one where I picked up more responsibility than I like, cleaned the house more often than usual, and struggled to juggle all of the balls/projects I seem to have up in the air.

And I've been on a mission, trying to work out what is possible, which projects are feasible when it come  to time and what might lead to employment ... the usual angst but with a clearer head.

I'm developing an exquisite project with a much-adored and respected friend ... to be unveiled as soon as it's ready to fly.  And I'm interviewing the people in my neighbourhood here.  The Flemish people I enjoy doing business with ... enjoy knowing, and I'm loving their stories. I need to pick up and start running Camera Journeys again ... but need to wait for the new direction to be confirmed, with dates and a place to book.  There's a newsletter to get out soon ... there's stuff to be done and no more time can be spent on my knees, feeling sorry for myself.

It's been like that ... I needed to give myself a bit of a talking to.  And it helped that I was reading Diana Baur's superb book titled 'Your Truth'.  It's been the perfect companion through these challenging days.  At only $5.99us, it's the best kind of read.

And the quote at the beginning ... I found that over on Cynthia Haynes website ... via the truly lovely Leonie Wise.

So, there's a vegetarian lasagne to bake now, and some bread too.  I was going to make a pavlova for dessert but I think that might be raising the bar higher than I want to commit to longterm.  I don't love housework.  I'm more like Erica Jong in her poem Woman Enough. 

I'll leave you with a favourite subject ... an image that I think best sums up the promise of things to come.  Tot straks.

Neil Dawson, Ferns - Wellington, New Zealand

When I started work on Ferns I saw Ian Athfield's nikau palms as major markers of the Square. What I've aimed for is a sort of delicate intricacy that can float over the top of the palms so the two elements can work with each other.

What I wanted to do with my sphere was to extend Athfield's poetry by adding variety in the form of five different ferns because, of course, the basic form of the nikau is overlapping ferns.

Neil Dawson, Sculptor.

No visit to Wellington city is complete without viewing Ferns, an exquisite sculpture by Neil Dawson.

It hangs 14 metres above you when you're standing in Civic Square and, like so many others, I find it exquisitely beautiful.  

You can view more of Neil's work over on his website. 

 

I miss my morning walks in New Zealand

Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge.

Reif Larsen, from The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet.

Meanwhile, I'm playing this song on repeat and up loud as I work here this morning. 

And before I forget, I found the opening quote over on the marvellous Terri Windling's blog.

A glimpse from one of those early morning walks I took, back home in New Zealand ... Cooks Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula ... sunrise.


'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more'.

We're just in from a weekend spent in Wallonia, where the temperature dropped to below zero celsius and snow fell.  And we gathered around a huge fire in a big old house and spent our time talking with good friends.

Actually, my heart has been warmed as friends have welcomed us back to Belgium after weeks spent wandering in that New Zealand summer.

Wednesday found me out with Jurjana, my truly delicious Croatian friend here in Antwerp.  She drove me to her favourite restaurant and we enjoyed a lovely lunch and catch-up session at Patrasche, in Hoboken. 

Thursday and Stephanie, an English friend, came over for dinner with her daughter.  Another few hours spent talking and listening.

Friday and it was Lucy, Fiona, and Ruth.  My lovely Irish and Belgian friends.  We began as an informal Nederlands class but they have become such good friends that there was something of a 'coming home' feeling as I arrived at Fiona's house.  Actually, we don't really speak in Nederlands anymore .... but, by crikey, we always have a most excellent time when we get together.

And this weekend was the icing on the cake.  We wandered over to the New Zealand/Belgian/American household, over there on the other side of Belgium, and the snow fell and our wandering souls were surely warmed.

We're back in Belgium where its winter.

There Were Days Like This Out On The Road ...

My cousin Tania owns the house I love best in the world ...

Situated near the foothills of the Southern Alps, on the edge of a sometimes mighty mountain-fed river, it is a place of beauty ... a place of peace.  I love it there.

I have memories of staying there in the past, of slipping outside and crossing the dew-covered lawn, just happy about being alive in that place.

This time the Belgian Bloke and I only managed to fit in an afternoon visit but one that involved an afternoon tea on the lawn in the shade of the trees, surrounded by the most exquisite flowers and birdsong.  Beer and lemonade were involved.  Stories were told and there was much laughter too.

Next time we'll stay longer.  We were trying to do and see everything back there in my world and there weren't enough days in those 5 weeks at home.

Next time ...

 

Using Art to Change the World ... a powerful piece

We didn't push the limit; we just showed that they were further than anyone thought.

JR

And one year later ... 'Street artist JR made a wish in 2011: Join me in a worldwide photo project to show the world its true face. Now, a year after his TED Prize wish, he shows how giant posters of human faces, pasted in public, are connecting communities, making change, and turning the world inside out. You can join in at insideoutproject.net

What you would do if money were no object ...

Life really begins when you have discovered that you can do anything you want.

Amelia Earhart.

I needed to share this with you: 'In 1949, career counselor William J. Reilly penned How To Avoid Work  — a short guide to finding your purpose and doing what you love. Despite the occasional vintage self-helpism of the tone, the book is remarkable for many reasons — written at the dawn of the American corporate era and the golden age of the housewife, it not only encouraged people of all ages to pursue their passions over conventional, safe occupations, but it also spoke to both men and women with equal regard.

The rest of this interesting post can be found over on Brainpickings.org - a site full of interesting stuff.  It's worth checking out.  Inspirational even.

Oddly enough, this popped up just as I was writing this post and so I'm adding it. Casey Neistat and his idea that 'When nothing's for sure, anything can happen.'

I know.

 

Hunter and Clare Shaw's Eco Retreat, Fiordland, New Zealand

On the first night of our roadtrip round New Zealand's South Island ... otherwise known as Di's Island, we were heading for Hunter and Clare Shaw's eco retreat in Manapouri, Fiordland.

I first met Hunter and Clare when I was living in Te Anau, back in 90's, and one of my favourite life stories is about their daughter Phoebe who came home from school and told her mum about the new girl's interesting mum.  The  'favourite' part of that story is the part where she told Clare that I reminded her of Lucy Lawless ... aka Xena Warrior Princess.  Who could resist...?

And that was the beginning of the friendship.  Later, after we moved to Dunedin, Hunter used to come up to work with clients in his Hellerworks massage practice and so he would stay, bringing venison fresh from the mountains or farm.  He taught me how to cook the most divine venison steaks.

Still later and they popped in and stayed a few days with us here in Antwerp and there was always an invitation to go stay with them when I finally got home.

And so we did.

I cannot recommend booking their eco retreat highly enough.  Gert and I were stunned when we were shown the light-filled, spacious cabin where we would be spending our 2 nights in Fiordland.

It's private, it's an exquisitespace, and it felt like home.  I'm highly qualified in the field of 'feels like home' as I've been searching for places that feel like home since forever.

But here is a taste of what they offer in their words: Lake Manapouri is just 3km away, the start of your Manapouri-Doubtful Sound experience and we are well placed for trips to Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park. There are many walking tracks nearby of varying degrees of difficulty, whatever your fitness level you will find something to suit and be able to experience hiking in Fiordland from the popular tracks to those that are used by few.

Your hosts are Hunter and Claire Shaw who both have a wealth of knowledge about the local area, its history, and the flora and fauna of the surrounding park, not to mention the numerous places to visit.

Hunter is a professional guide with interpretation being his specialty and has lived in the area for over 50 years. All Hunter’s working life has been involved in the National Park - in the early years with wild deer hunting and more recently leading trips through the World Heritage forests of Fiordland.

And friendly, so friendly.  Hunter is a story-teller, a man I spent a couple of days interviewing once upon a time.  He is a book.  I didn't write it but he talks about doing it himself one day.

So ... all this to say, if you are heading to New Zealand, or if you live there, and you are thinking about visiting Fiordland, consider staying at Hunter and Clare's cabin in the woods.   You won't regret it.

My Little Sister and I ... today

My little sister, Sandra, suffers being photographed while I mostly avoid it by being photographer however ... today, in the midst of photographing my sister's family, Katie-niece decided that there had to be photographs taken of the sisters who hadn't seen each other in so long.

We survived it together.

That Belgian Photographer Bloke ...

The Belgian bloke out in the McKenzie Country ...

I think I've convinced him about New Zealand being the greatest little island-continent in the world.

We're in Twizel tonight, using the slowest internet in the world, cursing it a little ... as one does.  But the room is lovely and we spent an hour chatting with our neighbours here.  Frank and Dianne Sedlar from Michigan.