shooting the breeze

"To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality."

Henri Cartier-Bresson

***

I am very excited to make an announcement! Something I have been rolling around in my brain and musing over for weeks and weeks has finally happened.

Yes, I have created an online workshop. I seem to hear and read so often and from so many people that they would love to start trying to shoot film; they love the look and the idea but they don't know where to start, are worried it's too technical, complicated and worry about wasting film.

Well let me tell you this

• the technical bits will be covered and I'll show you it's really not that complicated
• you will learn to shoot instinctively, stop worrying and slow down
• see film photography as a means of artistic expression 
• I will get you started (or re-started) via shared learning using a private blog and flickr group and also one-to-one with me.

So beg, borrow or steal a camera and a roll of film and jump in. Actually, even if you already a film shooting freak like me, come along anyway, it will be fun doing this as a group!

mended

Broken Spotmatic? Weehee! Not anymore, my friends!

I took a little photowalk around my town just to make sure….and it's all good.

vive la difference!

I thank you Amanda. (and for showing me this too)

In the South of France:

• people eat a big meal at lunchtime, and a lot of the morning is taken up with preparing it. Family members often come back home for their lunch.

• ladies 'of a certain age' love to wear everything but the kitchen sink;  they dye their hair black, wear very ornate stilettos, full make up, pongy perfume and are weighed down with bling. 

• there are more hairdressers and pharmacists than any other type of shop.

• love either rugby or football. They also love petanque, skiing in winter, swimming in summer, hiking, cycling and anything outdoors. Gyms, indoor pools and bowling alleys pretty hard to find, and if you do find one, it will be damn pricey.

• smoking is considered obligatory for teenagers. Teenagers consider Andorra to be the land of milk and honey (cheap booze and fags) They also hang out constantly, chatting & smoking till the wee small hours.

• dog poo is everywhere, including on your shoes and in your nostrils, and dogs run loose everywhere.

• vegetarians are abnormal freaks, that cause much bewilderment amongst the locals. Hunting takes over the countryside from August to February. You have to learn to live with it, no matter how much you hate it.

• say 'bonjour' to you even if you are a complete stranger. They also use 30 sentences when 2 would be enough. The fact you are not fluent doesn't matter one bit. A chat is a chat whether you are an active participant or not. You are also kissed by anyone you have met more than once before in your life. Bumping into a neighbour can't be a quick wave or 'hiya' but a half hour distraction.

• on the other hand will shrug, sometimes with a funny sort of 'buh' noise, if they can't be bothered to help you/answer you.

• Talk incessantly about the weather. It's always too hot or too cold apparently.

• The country runs on paperwork. Forms have to be filled in for everything, and generally 5 times. A phonecall cannot sort things out. Getting stroppy gets you nowhere (see gallic shrug) 

• Snakes, scorpions, enormous spiders, rats, mice etc are everywhere and a normal part of life.

• Eat lots of patisseries, butter, white bread, drink strong coffee, wine, smoke. Live long and healthy.

In the South of England:

• people eat a sandwich for lunch.

• ladies 'of a certain age' are either drab and dowdy or fake leopardskin wearing cougars.

• there are more newsagents than any other type of shop.

• love rugby, football, cricket, darts down the pub but especially any sports that can be played on a wii so you don't have to go outside.

• take a high moral stance on teenagers smoking. And loitering. They forget they were young once, assume the worst of them and that the worst will happen.

• dog poo bins are everywhere, streets are much cleaner and a loose dog is reason to call the police.

• vegetarians have a blast. Loads of choices in shops and restaurants and are considered normal members of society. As for hunting, only posh knobs fox hunt, or shoot pheasants.

• are naturally wary of strangers and are usually in too much of a rush to chitchat.

• but will always try to help you if they can.

• talk incessantly about the weather. It's always too cold.

• A phonecall usually sorts things out. Slightly stroppy threats of contacting managers or the ombudsman or BBC Watchdog programme gets the job done if needed.

• spiders and snakes cause terror. Rats and mice are vermin not to come within 500 metres of your home.

• Eat a healthy diet, cholesterol lowering products, low sugar, caffeine free and watch those carbs! Live long and healthy.

guilt complex...

…about the fact that I so rarely use my digital camera. So one of my 2011 challenges is to get some digital love. I am very lucky to have 2 facebook generationers willing to help me in my quest.

Film photography is a like a hustling, high maintenance, expensive, very bad but very sexy man who has me under his spell and I cannot live without him.

Let's see if this could be a way to keep his addictive gorgeousness under control.

***

But these lovelies would have been so very much lovelier with a Spotmatic and a roll of Ektar.

3 is a magic number

ever since the man-child came into my life 18 years ago

we've been skint for most of the time

(a very british word, but it sounds so much more onomatopoeic and much more me than 'hard-up' or 'broke' or 'struggling')

so for those 18 years buying secondhand, making-do-and-mending, has been as much a necessary way of life as a lifestyle choice.

Of course over the years it's become utterly addictive. But when we came here, the belongings of a family of 5 from a packed-to-the-roof 3 bedroom house could sadly not fit into a transit van, and so I sold or gave way nearly everything that wasn't an heirloom or used daily.

Fast forward 6 years and the permanent skint-ness and rummage-addiction are the same as always. Now my 4 bedroomed (crumbling) house, barn and cellar are packed to the roof. Rien ne change!

Allow me to cut the ribbon.

Trilogie is open.

and it's time that you love

three little pigs

I thought it was about high time I introduced you to the littlest housemates. I'm sure you are already well acquainted with Arthur, and probably The Cat too.

These beautiful boys live under my office desk. We call their house Dunrumblin which is a bit of a misnomer; we thought squabbling and rumbles would be unnecessary as they have enough space to get away from each other but essentially what we have are 2 extremely hormonal, spotty boys and a oblivious old man.

So at the top is Serge, named after the great Gainsbourg. Yes, he's often found humping the others. And just like a teenager he often storms off up to the top floor. I have told my husband to make him a bedroom door that he can slam.

Next one is Figgy. Mild-mannered and easy going, but he does get a bit pissed off with the whippersnappers arguing. When he sloppily scoffs his tomatoes the juice runs down his chin, making him a bit like Dracula.

Most recent addition down the bottom is Ted. He's been with us for a couple of months since our vet asked us to adopt him. His previous owner had bought him in with an infection that had left him bald and really unwell and they couldn't cope with him anymore. So being a soft hearted idiot I bought him home and nursed him back to health. Bossy, demanding and attention-seeking, I swear his inner monologue says "Your ruining my life!" to the others constantly on a loop-tape.

As for me I used to protest about them, say they were a waste of space and eat too much. Truth is as I sit here typing this listening to them wheeking at each other and crunching carrots…..

…….I bloody well love these guys.

***

top: pentax spotmatic

middle and bottom: olympus om10