the write stuff

probably a title that has no doubt been used many times. but it is so right for expressing me at the moment.

writing writing writing

writing my thesis

writing for the museum

writing for my research assistant work

writing my blog … when i need a break from academic writing

i don’t think i would technically call myself a writer, therefore i must qualify that i have also been

researching

kung fuing

exhibiting

photographing

travelling

socialising

loving

booking ( international flights!)

life is full and good …

but i will really enjoy that holiday when it comes

miss fitz

the crowd is his element … his passion and his profession are to become one flesh with the crowd.  for the perfect flaneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite.  to be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world … the spectator is a prince who everywhere rejoices in his incognito … thus the lover of universal life enters into the crowd as though it were an immense reservoir of electrical energy.  or we might liken him to a mirror as vast as the crowd itself; or to a kaleidoscope gifted with consciousness, responding to each one of its movements and reproducing the multiplicity of life and the flickering grace of all  the elements of life

charles baudelaire, ‘the painter of modern life’, figaro, 1863

as i’ve was going through some polaroids the other day, i came across these that i took in november last year in fitzroy.

i was in the midst of a flurry of polaroid shooting and, as i walked through fitzroy from carlton to get home in the afternoon, it was often my subject. i loved strolling down the streets, knowing i was on my way home, caught up in the joy that is finishing work, with all sights and sounds of brunswick street around me.

soon after this i started working in the city most days, so began to only see lovely fitzroy from a tram window as i zoomed (or crawled) through. i could often go a week without going there at all. maybe a quick coffee, popping into a shop for something or meeting a friend for dinner. but that’s not the pure joy that you get from walking down a city street with other individuals adding to the buzz.

the idea of flaneur has long been associated with urban & street photography & baudelaire has often spoken to me as a photographer, a historian & a lover of cities. these photos made me remember that this is how i felt when i walk about in fitzroy at the times when i have no purpose other than to soak up the atmosphere.

so when i looked at these i realised how much i miss this daily stroll, how much i miss fitzroy.

so yesterday, when i finished

when i finished work, i got off the tram at the start of brunswick street and did a flaneur’s stroll from one end to the other.

it was lovely.

inhabited

just a quick little post for the weekend! i’ve showed you some of the colour film images that i took in south america, including several from buenos aires that i displayed in my feria exhibition at sonido! cafe. i loved the beautiful soft light and colours that my canon tx captured during my time there. but i also shot with black & white film while i was there. it’s interesting to reflect on the difference in feel between images produced with colour film and those made with black & white, on the same camera in the same area of buenos aires at around the same time in similar light. 

to me the colour shots seem whimsical and dreamlike with a vintage feel. in contrast the b&w shots are sharp and defined with a simplicity that that lends itself to particular types of urban scenes that i so love to shoot. the images that i shoot in b&w are often simpler in their composition than my colour shots; they usual emphasise the built environment and, although the people that inhabit that environment are present, they are almost incidental to the scene. of course the contrast between these people and the solid structures surrounding them only serve to highlight their humanity and perhaps their fragility.

sometimes this is deliberate but, more often, i think it’s actually an unconscious process when i’m shooting b&w. my composition changes to this more simple style, with architectural forms and lines often the driving force, starkly contrasting with the people in the images.

i hope you enjoy these images – all shot in buenos aires in 2009. for those of you in melbourne you can see these four particular images in real life at brunswick street gallery in the photography 11a group show, on until 3 february.

sweet things: polas on show

hello all! i’m back. i’ve been having a wee break from the web 2.0 world since early december – no tweeting, no flickr, no blog reading! this was all for a variety of reasons mainly business:

a. i went to new zealand for 10 days. it was part work, part play. i friends in auckland & tauranga (bay of plenty), as well as going to the contained memory conference in wellington. the former was restful and good for the soul, the latter was mind-blowingly inspiring!

b. christmas in brisbane with family after a week back from nz. lovely and restful, great to see my family. lots of dvds watched on my parents gigantic new flatscreen and harry potter at gold class. it rained the whole time, which made it hard to go out but it forced me to relax. unfortunately, as we now know, that rain turned into devastating flooding that affected so many in queensland.

c. new years. four lovely friends came down from sydney and spent the week with us. it was so much fun! i worked the whole time, including new years day but we had plans for a nice quiet dinner with cocktails and drinks at my house. everything went to plan … except for the quiet bit (i was in bed by 1am, the rest of them partied all night!)

d. exhibitions! yes … plural. i’ve been doing back to back exhibitions for the last few months and feeling a little exhausted by them all. i of course already blogged about the m.a.i.d. show in october at the owl & the pussycat, richmond, as well as my solo show, feria, in november at chiquitica. for the last month i’ve had six polaroids up in the annual small works show at brunswick street gallery. i was so pleased with the way they worked out i have to say! they included some that you’ve seen before and a few new ones, including the two above. you can see all the images on my small works exhibition set on flickr. they’re a nice little mix of foody treats and images of two of my fave spots in fitzroy for being foody - sonido & alimentari. there were so many gorgeous works in the exhibition in all types of media … i was so tempted to buy … but could not make a decision what to buy! i literally just pulled these off the wall today, so apologies that i made no effort whatsoever to promote it or tell anybody about it at all. but … i promise i’ll keep you up to date on the next lot coming up very very soon … in two days in fact … eep!

‘roid week!

erm … huh, what is that? i hear you say!

‘roid week is a five-day stretch where a bunch of dedicated polaroid photographers get together on flickr and post up to two new never-before-posted polaroid images a day to the ‘roid week flickr group. it happens twice a year and in 2010 fall/autumn was on from 1 to 5 november. this ‘roid week is the first time i’ve participated as in the spring incarnation i didn’t have my polaroid camera yet. last time i just ogled lots of other amazing polaroid photographers, took note of their amazingness and bided my time.

it was lots of fun getting involved and i’d saved up some shots from the last couple of months to post, which you see above. i’ve taken what i consider some of my best polaroid shots over the last few weeks, so it was great to post them for the first time during ‘roid week. my latest pack of ATZ (artistic time zero) polaroid film has been producing some really interesting and unusual colours and i’ve been very excited about them. above are four the five of the images from my flickr stream that i posted for ‘roid week (the fifth will appear in my next post!)

in the end i had many encouraging comments and favorites on my flickr stream from many fellow flickr users and contacts, including some of those pola photographers that i think are just the bees knees when it comes to shooting polaroid.  the shy uncertain girl in me is so amazed when people profess that they love my work. don’t get me wrong, i love my work too; but i always think of it in my terms – do i love it? –  without much consideration about whether others might too. so i get a little thrill and a sense of wonder when others tell me how much they do like it.

i also learnt a lot and saw some fabulous, inspiring work. i now have a ridiculous amount of faves on flickr! i highly recommend you go to the ‘roid week flickr stream, set it on slideshow & drink in the gorgeousness that is polaroid!