PAGE FROM MY JOURNAL WHERE I WAS RECORDING VISITOR NUMBERS

A couple of Saturdays past, I spent the day in the belly of the overbearing mother.  Perhaps that is too abstract, rather I spent the day in the belly of a shipping container. Perhaps still too vague, I feel I should step backwards and address this from a place that bears a greater background!

I was lucky enough to meet one of the co-founders and curators of LIDO, a gallery space in St Leonards adjoining a set of artist studios.  From what might appear a modest establishment from the outside, LIDO has an impressively ambitious program of exhibitions, events and commissioned art works which puts pay to the ‘I’d never get the funding’ attitude of the rest of us.

The man in question was Dan Howard-Birt, a painter and curator who – as coincidence would have it, was born in the fair town of Aylesbury where I myself hail from (but we won’t dwell on that as I haven’t yet had a chance to bemoan the delights of the town with Dan himself).  The story of our meeting is also irrelevant, apart from to say I was surprised but delighted when I received a call from him asking if I would be able to invigilate part of a show he was involved in as part of Hastings annual Coastal Currents festival.

The project in question very much appealed to my sensibilities and so, without much further of a do, I found myself one Saturday morning in a rather blustery September, walking along the seafront of St Leonards to LIDO and was soon confronted by the structure that would be my home for the day.

The structure in question was the first outdoor sculptural commission by LIDO, created by artist Dylan Shipton and entitled ‘The Overbearing Mother’.  LIDO itself is so named because it fronts onto the site of the now grassed over outdoor swimming pool that once proudly boasted its way onto the seafront site.  At its conception the original Lido was massive – on a scale only matched by Blackpool’s and sadly, this grandeur was also it’s demise as the eyes of Hastings & St Leonards council were sadly much bigger than the belly of the public prepared to visited.

So now what was once an epic mass of water and bathers is now a large grassed area used mainly by dog walkers and Sunday Strollers.  Without the honor of a gallery space now named after it – it would to many, pass completely unnoticed.  What remains of the structure are two large concrete platforms, which rise up unannounced from their now inconspicuous surroundings. It is on one of these platforms that The Overbearing Mother sat through the lion share of September.

The sculpture consists of a beached shipping container that is encased in a Day-Glo protuberance on each side.  On the west face this forms a sort of veranda that appears as if it has something to announce or present.  To the East, a large advertising hoarding reaches up above the container shouting its message to the onlookers of Hastings and the sea beyond.  Shipton commissioned Ben Fitton to create the sign for the location, which in barely legible font reads: “The gap that has been left by the departure of / will soon enough make itself felt”.  Interestingly and I think intentionally, the banner was loosely fitted and so when a particularly aggressive gust of coastal breeze came along, the words came free of their tetherings and flew out to sea, perhaps to be one day to take on new meaning as they are found by a confused fisherman.

The sculpture is perhaps a comment on the changing use of space and surroundings.  The whole structure emerging from one of the few remaining aspects of the Lido to still exist and the advertising hoarding itself paying testament to considerations on how, as our landscape changes, and perhaps when things that were once important are removed or replaced, we only then become fully aware of their impact, resonance and relevance in our environment.

And so Shiptons Overbearing Mother takes on these metaphors – with its bright nu-rave coloured and complex shapes being spun out of a shipping container as if it had always been there but stood unnoticed.  How apt also that the sign that ties the piece together with its surroundings was eventually lost to the winds.

This work is very much a continuation of his previous incarnations – where his sculptural pieces seem to be a comment on the properties and limitations of space by constructing architectural shapes

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 4 (2011)

and frames.  Whilst sometimes standalone, they often appear site specific and take inspiration and message from their surroundings.  Especially interesting are his tape works whereby large bodies of form, colour and shape are made entirely from an assortment of different tapes (see them online here).  Looking at previous works in context, it is almost as if Shipton is exploring and investigating the possibilities of a potential futuristic landscape with strange developments and structures emerging from their surroundings – both challenging and accepting the expected norms at the same time.

But, I know what is going on behind those slightly glazed eyes – your mind is questioning how I ended up spending a day inside the mother.  Very well (you are saying), we are interested in hearing about this sculpture (you continue), but your title drew us in and now you are leaving us dangling with curiosity (you finish).

Well, The Overbearing Mother had a double life and four weekends in a row, played host to a micro cinema, which nestled in its belly.  This part of the instillation was organised by Christine Gist at Interface and was a brilliant complement to the sculpture itself and the concept a stroke of genius.  The idea being that on each of the 8 days it was open, a different artist would be asked to curate a selection of films to be shown.

Stepping through the heavy blue doors of the container, the un-expecting visitor was confronted by a black curtain, which, upon opening revealed the secrets behind.  A large screen at the far end onto which a projector beamed at full capacity.  A set of wooden benches around the perimeter for film perusal and the usual ample selection of information and intrigue.

Over the different weekends, artists choose a huge array of different films – some showing just one long feature, others opting for numerous shorts.  The day I was asked to be ringmaster to this celluloid cinema, it was the turn of painter and co-founder of Lido, Jacqui Hallum to be the selector.  Jacqui selected three different films to show on rotation, all quite different from one another – but all equally brilliant.

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 2 (2011)

As a quick and interesting (to me anyway) sideline – on quizzing Jacqui about her film selection, she told me that she had initially come across the films or their directors on Channel Four some years back.  It turned out that this inspiration had emerged off the back of Channel Four’s long time deceased late night short film seasons, which until this point I had completely forgotten about.  This sparked a string of memories for me of staying up to late obsessively watching the short films with my brother and being both amazed at how strange they were and wowed at the skill and variety of the film makers.  For a memory I had until then forgotten, it seemed to resonate as having been an important part of my creative education!

Unlike Jacqui, I wasn’t wise enough to commit the names of the directors I liked to paper and my ailing memory was never going to retain such information – but perhaps with a bit of cunning research, I can be reacquainted with some of my favourites from this period.

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 3 (2011)

The day in question was a windy and slightly gloomy one, the sort of day where the seafront comes alive and everything feels more dramatic than it perhaps is.  So being in the trailer was no different, as the wind pounded the sides and flapped the curtain into a gentle sway, it sounded like there was a full blown gale outside the confines of the cosy cinema.  Of course, being in a metal crate it sounded far worse than it was, but this added to the experience of feeling somewhere unique in a refuge against the harsh world outside.

This also complemented Jacqui’s choice of films delightfully, as each one was slightly edgy and uncanny in its own right, whilst maintaining enough of a vein of dark humour to keep them from the dangerous precipice of severe paranoid viewing.

First up was Jan Svankmajer’s Food.  A brilliantly inventive film that uses stop motion animation using real actors and some cunning use of plasticine prosthetics.  The film is split into 3 parts – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and follows the stories of sets of diners eating their meal and often much of their surroundings (including their co-eaters!). Dark, surreal and amusing (in a Czech sort of a way!) and expertly filmed and put together.  I have seen some of his work before and would highly recommend checking it out. To get you started, here is part 1:

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Next was Andreas Samland with Tag 26 which follows the fortunes of two lone survivors of an undisclosed biological world wrecking super hazard! Without giving too much away, the film touches on raw aspects of humanity and how people would deal with such a situation but again in a rather surreal fashion.  Coming in at 18 minutes long – amazingly the film was put together for around 7000 Euro, which doesn’t show from the clever direction of Samland.

Last but not least on the triple bill was a film called Kitchen Sink by Alison Maclean.  This is a kind of urban nightmare scenario with some loose overtones of Frankenstein influence.  Essentially, a giant ball of hair and gunk from a woman’s kitchen sink gets transformed into a real life man!  Imagine that.  Well, watch the film and you don’t need to.  Funny enough, I thought this film was quite amusing, but a few of the watching visitors said it was the most disturbing to them.  Does that mean I am warped or they are wimps…who can say?  Shot in black and white and filmed with an interesting sense of mystery and suspense, it is no wonder the film went on to win 8 awards at Cannes. Watch the full 14 minute film on Vimeo below…

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All in all – a good day out was had by all and probably especially by me.  The cinema proved popular with those who visited it and was rather snug once inside.  The odd thing was how natural one felt sitting on a makeshift bench, in a shipping container, on a windy Saturday afternoon – watching strange films.  One kind visitor even bequested me with a clutch of apples (later transformed into an Apple & Cider cake as well as a fine crumble) for being the guardian of her bike for the duration of her stay.

If you are in the area, check the LIDO website for their current exhibitions and projects and pay them a visit. www.lidoprojects.com

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 1 (2011)

So given the new move to new terratories I thought it would be apt to break my visual silence with a couple of images from my first explorations of what Hastings has to offer.

INTERLUDE – visual silence?  Is that physically or metaphysically possible?  Can one have silence in relation to something that does not intrinsically pocess sound in the first place?  Perhaps my scentence should have read: visual blindness?

ROOF TOP VIEW FROM FUNICULAR RAILWAY (2011) - Is it sad that at the tended age of thirty something I find the prospect of a ride on the Funicular railway mind numbingly exciting? Well...I do - you get a great view of Hastings old town too!

Entering the heady realm of living in a new area is a bizare experience for me – as someone who generally sees the world as a series of photographs, I find that the more familiar I am with an area so the more micro the images become that I see around me.  Brighton is a firm example of this as I knew its streets and buildings rather well, after 10 years of enveloping myself in its dirty glory!  Instead of seeing new vista’s of interest, I would see a new stain on the floor, a interesting coloured brick in a wall or a comic item discarded amongst the pavement debris.

So starting to place foot onto virgin pavement in Hastings, I have suddenly found the visual stimulous has become more macro again as the whole environment and landscape is new and unfamiliar.  This is exciting. I am, you could argue, excited. So much so that I am contemplating embarking on yet another project (to sit nicely alongside the myriad of mounting projects I have started but yet to finish!), which is soley about my initial exoploration, inspirations and sightings in, around and of Hastings.

BE PREPARED FOR A HASTINGS RELATED PUN FEST

Perhaps, through this series of photographs, I could visually conquer Hastings (1) and battle (2) with a new set of influences and images. You could even argue that I am already finding new potential images are hurtling towards my eye like an arrow (3). The potential for visual exploration is boundless and, Will_I_Am  (4) excited.

Sorry.  No really, I am sorry.  I have brought shame upon myself – BUT in self defence, I felt the need to erradicate all Battle of Hastings related puns out of my system so they will never have to grace the pages again! I understand that it is no good apologising to you know, as, for you at least – it is too late.  You have already suffered at the hand of my obismal efforts at comic whit.  But, I hope you understand the mental need I had to get through it early on!  I particularly wish to express shame for pun 4 – which, even for me, was sub-standard!

DAY IN THE PARK (2011) - Arguably my first official Hastings Fun Day involved the annual park gathering. Bunting and deck chars festooning a park are the best way to spend a sunny weekend!

That is it …a small and pathetic relay of Hastings related images to wet your whistle before the onslaught begins!

Yeah alright – calm down.  You haven’t even heard my reasoning yet…

Given that we are basically in June, I DO now feel it is now acceptable to mention snow!

Earlier in the year when snow was everywhere, it felt too cliched and obvious to mention it or do a post relating to it!  If i had done it then, you would have been so bored of the snow, it might of annoyed you.  So June, being bang in the middle of the year seems far enough away from the last snow to get away with talking about it and far enough away from new snow to keep it interesting!

You know us at OurWorldMyEye – we always have you’re interests at the forefront of our mind!

There’s-now logic in there!!!

So during the snowy downpours earlier this year, I kept noticing the patterns that appeared on the windows of cars after a light dusting had taken place.  The windows formed their own landscapes with peaks and troughs, highlights and shadows, paths and rivers running through them.  I started to photograph a few of them as out of context thought they were ‘quite interesting’ to look at.

THE SNOW WINDOW LANDSCAPES

There is something rather appealing about taking small pieces of the world like this, out of context and viewing them as  world or landscape in their own right.

So over the past few weeks I have been having to Photograph lots of art work for students taking the International Baccalaureate.

They have to send samples off to Croatia for international moderation don’t you know?

Whilst it is interesting meeting so many students and getting to look at and discuss their work – there is just too much of it and I am constantly aware of the ever growing mountain of images I have to process, edit and print.

BUT DISTRACTIONS ARE MORE REWARDING

Ever the one for procrastination and distraction as a cunning avoidance technique from reality…my mind and eye began to wonder across the room. What did I see – interesting still lives everywhere and snapshots of the art students life littering the room. Look for yourself.

Don't Be Afraid Of Art (2010)

ART – THE GREAT DIVIDER OF PEOPLE

A few choice encounters of late including “the episode” coupled with my own personal re-falling in love with the world of fine art made me want to write a few lines about the attitudes and opinions people hold.

Art is a funny subject as it seems to very squarely fall into a love it or hate it division.  What is more, those who say they are not into art seem to be absurdly threatened by it and I find this very curious.  Why should something so creative, open and broad be so threatening?  Isn’t Art a true leveller – placing everyone as the viewer in a certain position of control?  We can choose to look at something or not to look at it.  We can give it meaning or have meaning suggested to us.  We can be inspired by it because we love it or equally inspired because we hate it.

For me – art is truly democratic.  There is a medium, genre or style for everyone.  People who state they don’t like art must be kidding themselves – because we all like art.  What the real question comes down to is the definition of art – and that is something that artists, philosophers and drunken dinner party guests have squabbled over since the first artistic marks where made.

THE THREAT OF CONCEPT

When I mention the A word to some people – they wince as if I have said something dirty.  As if it something to be feared or rebel against. It is like the very mention of it makes them defensive and on the back foot.  Is that just because they don’t understand art or is it because their definition is of highly obscure, conceptual and inaccessible contemporary art.  I wonder if that same person where to be shown a pretty painting of a photo realistic rolling hill landscape and told “this is true art”, if they would change their reaction?

Equally some people only consider the highly over intellectualised conceptual art to be worthy of time and old jack, painting mediocre landscapes in his shed of a Sunday doesn’t get a look in.

I suppose music invokes similar reactions from people – it is as if we are so threatened by other people liking something creative that we ourselves do not get, that we have to launch a massive assault on it in order to satisfy our own minds that it is not because we are stupid, ignorant or poorly educated.  A classic musical example is when you come across someone who loves rock but hates any form of dance music (or vice versa).  They will almost convulse in disgust at the very mention of it and ridicule it – “That’s not music!”

I can understand why people do not want to get intellectually involved in a subject – after all, we only have so much room in our brains and time in our lives to dedicate to our passions.  But to completely sack off one of the most significant things about being human, for me, is absolutely balmy.

JOHN BERGER - WAYS OF SEEING (PUBLISHED 1972)

THE ANTI-ART REBELLION

Anyway, I have been rebelling against this anti-art brigade recently by re-absorbing myself if the hoighty toighty world that surrounds it BUT I have also remembered that it really isn’t that threatening!  There have been a host of amazing documentaries on recently that explore very specific areas of the art worldin good details – yet still remain brilliantly accessible and watchable.

Channel 4s ‘The Genius of British Art‘ as well as recent series on Rennaisance art, portraits and the art of Germany to name but a few.

I also indulged by re-reading John Berger’s Ways of Seeing – a fundamentally important book to anyone who has got eyes and has ever come into contact with art.  Again, the book is well written and more than readable whether you know everything about art or nothing at all.

Perhaps I should conduct some research as I do think it a particularly fascinating area and I would love to understand why it provokes the reactions it does.

So besides a few conversations with people who are massively threatened by art – particularly fine art and conceptual art, I also experienced something that I have never encountered before in relation to my own practice.

Starting with a conscious decision to move (temporarily) away from a very controlled form of image making, perhaps because I am currently working my way through the second of several many hundreds of pages long Photoshop manuals to try and understand digital photography a bit better – I have been making a lot of work using my Lomo.  As readers will be aware, I became quite a Lomo obsessive and still take the camera on my daily travels and very much enjoy the process of ‘shooting from the hip’ and making images that are interesting for instinctive reasons.  The process has been very cathartic for me and through not concentrating on framing and focus – the Lomo has taught me a huge amount about composition but has also now become the victim of “the episode”.

As the reader will also be aware – before Christmas I decided to stick me awe out and print, mount and sell some of the Lomofiles at an art fair.  All this was healthy and good and the feedback I have received interesting and pleasing.

You may further recall that I promised an online shop would follow the art sale where all manner of OurWorldMyEye related items could be purchased for personal enjoyment.  Now – here is where my tale really begins, because, not being one to break my promises – I did start setting up the shop.  After much debating on the best way to do so, I decided on giving the folks at Folksy a try.  Folksy is an online market place for crafts people and artists to peddle their wares for a modest fee.  Seemed to make sense to try and support such an organisation and make use of their amount of traffic.

So I got underway listing items in readiness for the grand launch on this here blog.  In fact, those more eagle eyed amongst you may have already spotted the links to the shop that now straddle the usual content.  I had listed about 5 things and being a bit casual about the whole affair, but getting ready for a mammoth listing task prior to officially announcing the shop open for business.  But – I was somewhat stopped in my tracks.  Due to some magic Internet trickery (otherwise know as Google Analytics) I noticed on one particular day a modest amount of traffic had perused my shop – linked from a post of Facebook.  I investigated, and this friends, is where the stumbling block came. in the form of…

THE 50P BAD HAID (2010)

The link took me to another Folksy seller who had a Facebook fan page from where they linked to their shop as well as posted various ramblings about their activities.  One post on this page caught my eye and provided the explanation for the traffic I had received.  It went something like this:

I had to comment on this shop i just found on folksy. I don’t tend to scrutinise openly about other people photography skills coz im no saint at it either but to even try and sell really bad out of focus shots of bad subject matter is both brave and stupid. mainly stupid though

The image in question that they singled out is also displayed to the left.  Now I am choosing to hide the name of the author as I feel it would be a bit unacceptable to go naming and shaming – ultimately, they are entitled to their opinion.

What surprised me was that someone felt the need to judge someone else’s work in such a fashion as well as finding it appropriate to publicly dismiss it.  I replied to the posting pointing out some facts about the particular aesthetic of Lomo photographs and that it is an intentional choice.  I also pointed them to the Lomography website so they could see similar work for themselves and I expressed that they were entitled to their view, but I felt they should know some background before slating my efforts.  Sadly and I think rudely I received no reply.

At first I admit to being quite pissed off that someone had actually taken the trouble to comment about my work, publicly, in such a negative way.

Then I got over that knowing that anyone who puts work out there on display is subjecting it to criticism good or bad – that simply goes with the territory.  I also accepted that people were entitled to an opinion and equally entitled to express that opinion.  I also got over the fact they clearly hadn’t read the information that accompanies my images explaining what Lomo is and what it is about.

However, I cannot deny that it did dent my confidence somewhat and this post is essentially a cathartic process to let go any last questions which remain.  After all, you can’t please everyone and I have received a fair amount of positive feedback about the Lomo images as well.  The person in questions craft skills where not exactly to my taste shall we say, so the fact that my work didn’t sing for them is hardly surprising.

So I should just get over it right?

I’M A REAL ARTIST

Clearly I should, but “the episode”did make me think about the creative process and art in general – which draws me back to the start of this post.  Now I am not trying to say my Lomo photographs are high end art or works of genius – they are not.  However, they are intended to show the world from a different perspective and investigate our surroundings in a way that does challenge the eye.  They are not conventional and I have never been interested in trying to produce conventional commercial images.

KEITH ARNATT - I'M A REAL ARTIST

But, I think “the episode” illustrates and interesting point about what people are willing to accept as art and how far they will allow their aesthetic sensibilities to be stretched.  Why is it, that as in this case, when something challenges the conventions that a person expects in art – their reaction is to thrash out at it in a derogatory manner?  Are people so threatened by what they don’t understand?

As a wider point, however, I would honestly appreciate further comment on the images – not because I want praise to come flooding forward in support, but as I am genuinely interested to know people’s thoughts.  Photography is very dear to my heart and I appreciate it in many forms – especially those that challenge the conventions (the same concventions that stifle photographic practice in this country).  I have a horrible suspicion that if I created a series of technically perfect images of flowers with the sun glinting behind them – I would sell a shed load.

People in Britain think Photography is an easy art – one that anybody can turn their hand to and as such tend to migrate towards images that follow the conventions we are all subjected to by much photographic practice.  Britain is far behind the rest of the world in its appreciation and acceptance of Photography and I find that sad.  Places like Germany, America, Holland and Japan to name a few – all hold Photography much higher in their esteem.  Yet it seems in our conservative shores, people still want to see chocolate box images of chocolate box subject matter and will champion that work over something that is going out on a bit of a limb.

As I say, I am not holding up my images to be great works.  On the contrary, the Lomo work is meant to be casual and throw away and that for me is why it is interesting and appeals.

But I do find myself questioning why this is the case and how it can be reversed.

I also find myself questioning if Folksy is the place for me or whether most people who stumble upon my shop share the same thoughts as the person from “the episode” and if I am doing more damage to myself than good.

Well, I think that is about it.  Apologies as this post turned out much longer and more angry than I expected.  So thank you for listening.  Rant now over and I feel I have exercised my demons.

If you would like to see the few items I did put up on the shop, you can do so at: www.folksy.com/shops/ourworldmyeye

 Who knows…perhaps now I will continue to list the rest!

MONKEY BRAND

I LOVE MONKEYS – DO YOU?

I think I am yet to meet a man or woman alive who can resist the appeal of the monkey.

Things with monkey in the title are brilliant – FACT

Monkeys are brilliant – FACT

Monkeys dressed as men are the funniest thing around – FACT

Monkey related stories are brilliant – FACT

What is it about the humble monkey?

If you happen to be interested, this photo was taken at Petworth House in the very interesting kitchens there.  Preserved as they where in ye olde days.

The remaining question is why monkey’s were associated with soap?  What I can tell you is their adverts were amazing!  Check it…

Monkey Brand Advert 1

Monkey Brand Advert 2

I was down at Brighton seafront the other day, walking the dog and checking out what there was to be checked out.

When you live by the sea, it is sometimes nice to visit it of an evening you see.

As seems to be an inevitable inevitability, there was a really lovely sunset.  Not sure if there is always a nice sunset on Brighton beach, or if there is always a nice sunset on any beach.  Or perhaps I am just lucky and always see a nice sunset when I visit.  Or, bare with me here, perhaps there is something about my magnetic field or sunny aura that creates a nice sunset!!!

What they came for (2010)

Anyway, as mentioned in a previous post, I have had my fill of taking photos of it.  Done and done – can’t be bothered no more.

WATCHING OTHER PEOPLE TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS IS SOMETIMES MORE SATISFYING THAN TAKING THE IMAGE YOURSELF

BUT…what I have always been interested in, is watching other people taking photographs of the sunset.  Brighton is particularly fruity for this hobby as an army of semi-professionals seem to descend every evening and carefully compose their scene which comprises of:

A) The Sunset – preferably reflected in the sea
B) The dilapidated West Pier glistening in the evening light
C) Some seagulls either flying or standing in the shores of the water
D) Maybe a person silhouette
E) The high rise buildings of shoreham forming a backdrop

Get all five and your on to a winner.

So, my new favourite thing to photograph on Brighton beach is not the lovely sunset – but the lovely people taking a photograph of the lovely sunset.

You have to take it seriously

And it can get quite crowded

See – sometimes people are more interesting than places!!!

Well, with all this excitement about the World Cup and England being as terrible as one might expect – I feel that I should assist the nation with a public service.  That service is to bring you all down to earth with a full and frank chat about why Lofts are great and will always be exciting to go into!

Now, on the face of it – you might think I am mad.  Perhaps you think I should keep to my latest obsession of posting Lomo photographs and stick to what I know rather than delving into the world of moribund topics.

But no – hold forth on your judgements and behold some revelations about the world of lofts and other childhood places of intrigue.

Loft Door (2010)

Ever since I was a kid, certain places have always excited me.  Whilst at the core, I always knew they would probably be disappointing – the mystery of what lay behind certain doors or up the top of certain ladders could not fail to instill a sense of wonder in my simple mind.  Amazingly, now in my 30′s, this effect still takes hold!  Lofts, Cellars, Disused buildings – any place that is rarely visited by human feet and is behind a closed door holds a certain appeal.

Loft Rafters (2010)

THE MOST EXCITING LOFT I EVER WENT INTO

So, imagine the joy that fell upon my simple face, when I had the chance to go into the loft above the hall at the college I work at.

This met the brief on a number of different points:

1) It was a loft

2) It was at a college (and the place I work) so held even more excitement and mystery

3) I had to climb onto the roof to get in there and as any self respecting person knows, going on a roof is a guaranteed good time.

Loft Blocked Up Door (2010)

WHAT MYSTERY LIES BEHIND A LONG CLOSED DOOR?

So was this mystery place as exciting as I had hoped?  Well, no – obviously not, but that is kind of besides the point.

Up until you open the door, the sense of mystery still remains – what lays beyond it is unknown.  Rarely do people go up there, so there is always a chance of finding something incredible, unseen by eyes for many decades.

In my limited experience of exploring such locations, I admit that I have never found anything exciting.  A bag of cement ( gone hard) or some smokeless fuel perhaps, but never anything that could really live up to my initial high expectations.

Lofty Wine (2010)

THE GOONIES EFFECT

So what is the appeal when the reality rarely meets expectation?

Well, this is the point of my post (besides showing some moderately interesting photographs I took up there).

I blame it on The Goonies.  Not just The Goonies – but that whole kids adventure genre, where a romping good yarn begins by finding something in a loft or a barn or a run down derelict property.  You know the sort – kids have hard life as parents are cruel – kids want something to break the monotony of suburban existence – kids find shed/barn/building/loft/cellar and go in to look around – a few random things scare them and then they stumble across a map/treasure/hobo/alien/monster/criminal – there begins an adventure that 1) gives them some excitement 2) makes them realise their home town is great 3) makes them realise their friends are great and their enemies are actually there friends 4) makes them realise their parents are great; and sometimes 5) gives them some form of riches that set them up for life.

Now, anyone who grew up not looking for such adventures, clearly had a miss spent childhood – as building dens and going into lofts looking for maps is clearly how one should spend ones formative years rather than being stuck behind a X-station-wee-advanced playing video games.

Loft Pulley (2010)

And that is my theory.  It is rather simple and a bit rubbish I know, but a theory none the less.  That excitement instilled in us as children, that a Famous Five style adventure is entirety feasible and is actually quite likely to happen if you go to places you shouldn’t and explore places that few men tread, stays with us to adulthood.

Of course, I speak in the plural here, when I can only really account for my own actions.  Although nothing of consequence was found during my loft adventure, part of me did still believe it was possible I would find something exciting!  And whilst that belief, no matter how small, rest in your soul – child like excitement at doing rather unexciting things will remain!

Before I go, I would like to share with you a funny loft story from when I was younger.  Call me a strange kid, but sometimes I used to go into the loft just for larks.  No real goal in mind, just an excuse to clamber up and have a look around – after all, who knows what could be up there.  Anyway, one such day, as I stuck my head through the hatch, I saw my brother.  But he was meant to be at work – doing his Saturday job at the local shop.  I was rather confused and slightly shocked at seeing his face staring back at me.  My immediate thought was he had been sacked and didn’t want to tell my parents so was hiding in the loft so he could pretend he had been at work.  I quickly asked him what he was doing, to which I received no reply.  It was then I realised I was looking at my own reflection in a mirror which had been placed just by the hatch.  What a fool I felt.  True if not sad story!

Loft Rubbish (2010)

Loft Abstract (2010)

So here we are, post election excitement – I have been at rest since the madness of the polls and feeling temporarily uninspired to write anything…which, I can now firmly blame on the Tories!

Anyway, I promised the political talk would come to an end and so it shall – instead, lets move onto experimenting with very small children (something else the Tories are into…sorry!).

I think, perhaps, I should start again.

MY DISCOVERY OF SEVERAL RANDOM FILMS

So…I recently spent about a billion pounds on getting a large quantity of film processed.  Films that I have taken over the past year or so and have not had the funds to process (tragic huh?).  So in a fit of idle rage and partial madness – I took them all in a few weeks back and got the lot processed and scanned at once.

It was an exciting haul – full of surprises and forgotten gems.  For anyone who doesn’t stock pile films and get them developed in one swoop months and months later…I highly recommend it!  Every image is a nice surprise as you have no recollection as to what was on any of the films.  I had the delights of several medium format films I took in Greece, my first efforts with the Lomo Mini Diana camera and even a couple of random 35mm shot through my Nikon FM.  Marvelous.

Three photos initially confused me when I looked at them, until my memory banks kicked in and I remembered what they were all about!  A few months back…perhaps at the dying end of last summer, Hannah and I met my sister and nephew in Preston Park for a picnic and general jolly.  I was armed with various items for personal entertainment – including of course a host of cameras.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE A 1 YEAR OLD TODDLER A 35mm SLR CAMERA TO PLAY WITH?

As I was thinking of new an interesting ways to amuse my then, 1 year old nephew, Noah – it occurred to me that one is never to young to learn photography.  So my lesson began and I greedily forced him into taking his first every photographs.

Noah's First Photos - Attempt 1

ATTEMPT 1

So we were just warming up here and to be fair, young Noah had no idea what the hell was going on.

Still – I think he got quite a good portrait of his ear and how he managed to get the interesting blue to purple fade in the left of the frame is beyond me (edge of his finger perhaps?)…but I like it.

I discussed the merits of depth of field and focus with him – he spluttered a few noises back and we tried again.

Noah's First Photos - Attempt 2

ATTEMPT 2

OK, not bad – a definite improvement.  I like his composition, good awareness of colour, perhaps his focus could have been a bit more centred – but overall, not a bad effort.

Think it kind of says something about a lazy day in the park.

Nice job.  However, I felt a chat about visualising his images before he shot might help and we discussed how you can bring meaning into an image by being more selective about what you shot and really aware of what you put in and out of focus.

Noah's First Photos - Attempt 3

ATTEMPT 3

YEAH!

Check that puppy out.  Now tell me if I am wrong, but that is a genuinely great photo!  Taken from Noah’s point of view, I think it comments on the relationship of mother and son.

The ever watching eye of the mother gazing over the childs shoulder – mirrored by the ever gazing eye of the camera.  Susan Sontag would have a field day with this one.

So, what do you reckon?  For a 1 year old – I think he shows much promise!  Next lesson, I will move him onto Medium Format and see how quickly he can master that medium!

Remember kids – you are never to young to start learning new and complex skills!

One of the mysterious and alien codes on the ground of a building site!

WHY ARE BUILDING SITES SO INTERESTING TO LOOK AT?

Have we ever discussed my love of the humble building site?

It runs deep – especially when cranes are involved.  Heavy machinery is always exciting, but when it involves construction – my fascination knows no bounds!

Like with anything one knows nothing about, it is always interesting to ponder what things mean.  Building sites are full of secret items. codes and symbols that I do not understand and therefore want to.  Usually, I imagine in my mind that they represent something far more interesting than reality permits.

Still, perhaps that’s the secret of my fascination.

The fence contains its own mysteries...