To be or not to be...

Patterns and shapes fill my world. Watching Mr Elvis Costello interview My James Taylor last night. Some great songs and words. James Taylor said that his songwriting over the years has produced many individual songs but that the themes in his work were few. He continued to return to those ideas that were important to him and write something new from his current position. Perhaps he sang it a little more elegantly. (and what a beautiful voice)

I realise when I review my image making over the years that I also have been returning to the same themes and subjects over and over. The surface, shape, texture, angle, and line within my composition that underpin my thoughts are regular reminders of past images. The materials and subjects within my photographs return with regularity. When I'm out taking photographs I don't take a lot of time framing each image, but I do take a lot of care. I know when the composition is right and when it is not, and there is always the choice of whether to open the shutter or move on.

That particular subjects can represent feelings, thoughts and ideas is very intriguing. Why this angle or that piece of rusty corrugated iron. I sometimes shoot blind random images of textured or patterned surfaces. The choice there comes in the editing. The images I keep and those I delete fit into the familiar. I freely acknowledge the influence of other photographers and other images I have seen. The images I like are those that touch me deep below the surface of the subject. The intrinsic nature of certain images has the power to reach out and connect in a powerful way.

Many years ago a friend of mine and I sat in a bar in Gijon, Spain. My friend sat, feet resting on a second chair. A table between us. We sat and talked and every so often he would look across to a painted cast iron column reaching up to the ceiling. I've always liked that column he said with his eyes fixed. Why, I inquired. I don't know he said, I just do.

Red Beans and Roses

Have been doing a fair bit of imaging of late. The camera always at hand, that sort of thing. Trouble is, you end up with an almighty filing and storage problem with images that range from a passing tattoo to decaying flowers or architectural oddities to a dead lizard on the footpath.
Storage is obviously on the computer, but if your not careful naming and archiving the images how in Bill Brandt's name do you find it again.

So I ended up with some random images of frying beans and of a bunch of roses all in the same folder. The beans were my attempt to make refried beans to go with Tacos one night. Only I happen to like refried beans at home so I thought I'd make my own on this occasion. After the frying (and they were really only fried once) I had to get the potato masher out to work them over and into a state that looked a little similar to the genuine article. They didn't ever look the same, or taste the same. I'll leave it at that.

The roses, a gift. Photographed here while still young and vibrant are, as I write quietly maturing in the bedroom. If ever two subjects were made for each other it is Red Beans and Roses. There is a visual magic between these two unlikely companions. And in a way do they not represent all that we need from the world. Sustenance, companionship and beauty. There is a reason they ended up snuggling close, the way only digital files can, together... in a folder... on my computer.