DON'T TRY

The epitaph on Charles Bukowki's head stone reads 'DON"T TRY'

I read an article about Charles Bukowski this week and discovered this interesting fact. The interviewer recalls a conversation with Linda Bukowski who explained the meaning thus.

"Yeah, I get so many different ideas from people that don’t understand what that means. Well, Don’t Try? Just be a slacker? lay back?” No!
Don’t try, do. Because if you’re spending your time trying something, you’re not doing it…”

Charles Bukowski, the man cuts through the shit with a large knife.

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Red Roses for my Valentine

Couldn't put this in yesterdays post (bit of a clash) and it is Valentines Day after all.

Choose a rose and send it to the one you love...

My City of Sydney

I miss the glow of you..
Is that right. Long time since that piece of musical liquid has slid through my inner ear.

Last weekend. A good one. Just an overnighter, but we packed in the thrills. Galleries, openings, coffees, window (and actual) shopping and the best Sushi salad in town at Jackies in Paddo.

Three images from Paddington....

Night Vision

Perhaps for me one of the great things about traveling is the chance to see something new, or rather to see something, perhaps familiar, in a different way.

It's not always the right time of day for that particular image you are after. Still there are only opportunities out there. You don't just need your eyes open, you need to have your mind open to all the new opportunities that arise from moment to moment and the possibilities to be creative within these opportunities.

Always a big fan of line, shape, form and colour the after dark images make it easy to ignore details and really concentrate on composition and the beautiful ways that colours can be heightened to create a kind of magical landscape of shapes and form. Your eyes can play with the colours, the shapes, and not be distracted by the need to engage with the details.

Some more images taken during my travels on the south coast of NSW with my lovely daughter Olive (who resides in the second image with me).

These images taken in Coledale and Kiama.

A step back in time...

Barely enough time to scratch myself today or any day in the last six weeks (you can't imagine how itchy I've been) I wanted to get another post up before Jan ended, so here it is.

I've been traveling for the whole of the holiday break to places near and far. I want to put up some images from those travels but I honestly don't know where to start. So, I've gone back to the beginning and placed one image that I took just as the holidays were beginning.

I like these images the people are always smiling for me.

There will be much more to come...

Short stop

Just a quick drop in at home after a road trip down the south coast with the youngest, a trip to Brisbane with the youngest and oldest and then in just 48hrs overseas with the middle-est.

It's been a non-stop holiday this time around and no time for image processing or blogging for a bit. Thought I'd just bash out a couple while I'm stationary for a moment.

The first image a short walk from Coledale, where I had camped when I was 15 with my Dad on a father/son bonding trip. It rained, so of course the tent leaked overnight, right onto my ear. A good time was had during the daylight hours. The second image taken at Kiama, perhaps to remind me of the rainy first trip. Spent some time at the 'Blowhole', oohing and ahhing with the other tourists, depending on the size of the spurt of water into the air.
Much laughter was enjoyed.

Had a wonderful time revisiting places of my youth on the south coast... camping and sleeping in the car. Didn't realise it was so close. Will be back again soon.

Walls not Bridges

Not sure what's going on, but everywhere I go I keep running into brick walls. Another addition to the images that were hung earlier this year in The Distracted Sky series.

Trumpet Blowing

The 2012 Kodak Salon run by the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.

This great rollicking show of Contemporary Photography runs annually in all four galleries of the CCP in George St, Fitzroy. I have hung images in the show for the last three years. Never been down for the opening but would love to one year. It looks like a lot of fun from the image posts, and also would love to be in the midst of so many photographers looking at so many images.

This year would have been a good one to attend, in fact this year I was specifically called and invited. Just checking my catalogue entry and by the way will you be at the opening (wink, wink). This year I had the good fortune to win one of the categories with one of my images. The Kayell Best Inkjet Print. (feeling very chuffed)

Now there are some people who think that making a good inkjet print is just a matter of turning up at the printers and leaving your digital file and collecting the print five days later (who knows why this takes so long sometimes) Not this time jack. I printed this image myself, as I do all of my images. I have a wonderful printer to use, the Epson Pro Stylus 9900, and I printed on a terrific paper, the Hahnmuele Bright 100% Cotton Rag (thanks CW), but as they say, you can't get blood out of a stone.

The good image starts with a good exposure, shadows/highlights etc, preferably on a RAW file. The file is converted to a DNG file and initial adjustments made in Adobe Camera RAW. Brought into Photoshop the image is fine tuned, colour, contrast, local tonal adjustments and sharpening. If you ever look at the way an 'Ansel Adams' works a print you would know that there is nothing straight forward about the process of printing. Honestly I never developed the patience or skill of Mr Adams when I worked in the darkroom. To some extent, but never to his ultra-high level of expertise. Photoshop gives me the time to think about what I want to do. It allows me finesse the highlights and fill out the shadows. It allows me to darken that little area just below the tiles on the facade at the right and enhance the texture of the peeling paint across the centre of the cladding. I can balance the small areas of red with the overwhelming amount of green in the foreground and background. I can take my time and try things out in a way not really possible, for me, in the darkroom. Tools like Photoshop bring us all a little closer to Mr Ansel Adams. Imagine what the master would do with something like Photoshop. Actually I can imagine he would throw it out the back door and stick to the darkroom.

If you have the opportunity and can get down to Melbourne pop into the show. You are bound to see many, many images that surprise and delight you. Thanks CCP

A couple of randoms

Just throwing in a couple of random images from last time in Melbourne. No meaning to glean. I just liked the images when I saw them and I have finally got them on the road. That's all.

There are many more to come....