hello, 2010

The lettering says something like after a while I wonder
whether I wish to communicate anything (because I end up
in places where I cant talk to anyone) so maybe I did it in
Japan, but it could have been many places..

Maybe this year a few people who come by might actually
write a comment?
Wishing all a happy year.

le divan fumoir bohemien

light

Today the light is wet, tropical; top were in Maui, below at
Springbrook in south east Queensland. I love how both places
look, except for leeches.

These are more the colours I grew up with.. dry.
Lower left is Bali, ( we usually think green, no?) the others
in Mexico, north & south.
San Cristobal de las Casas, gets 2 wet seasons yearly, though
it can look dry when farms are burning off.

Here I was in Colorado. With no early experience
of cold winters, I found the light deceptive, was often very
surprised when I stepped outside.

an interesting mix to end the year:
mayo-nmg, latartinegourmande, dataisnature, walterspies

decoration

Textiles at a small ethnographic museum in Luang Prabang

The kind of decoration I tune in to in Thailand & Laos..
there may be just as much grossly executed graffiti
there, I just can't read it.There's certainly lots
of advertising. & tons of rubbish.. so, like everything else,
it's where your focus is. Or what filters one is seeing through.
(Still don't care for ordinary graffiti!)

From sfgirlbybay, who's on a list of 50 best design blogs
I quite often check out hers & many on that list;
should probably 'subscribe' to some & add some gadgets
but, so far, prefer to keep it simple.

graffiti

About the only piece of graffiti that I like in Byron ~ in fact
I'm not a big fan at all. & it's probably not graffiti, it covers
a sort of shipping container, making very good use of the ribs
of construction etc. Walking in my town during the
various festivals, events, & holidays is depressing, it looks dirty
& unkempt. Why do so many people throw their
trash anywhere, smash bottles, & generally foul the nest?
Here, it's probably related to the big increase in
liquor outlets open long hours.

reformschoolrules ~ fun posters etc

mangoes

& it's mango season. I'm eating ones from north Queensland,
it looks like being a good year for them, rain at the right time
& whatever other factors count.
Are you enjoying ?

holidays

One day the main beach was perfectly calm

last evening the clouds were marvellous, a cool breeze after
a hot day.. so many different moods to each beach.
Best of all I love how the ocean can quieten people.
We all had a beautiful day, a meeting with Isaac & Meike

happy

My twin made this bird from two of the sponges
we collected on Stradbroke island, & gave it to me.
I love how she's simply used whats there, a shell for it's
beak, the topknot was part of the smaller piece.
I feel happy looking at it.

Wishing happy times to all.

memory

Thought the figures top right & lower left were familiar as I'd
seen similar ones in Vientiane top left, but found this sketch
in an old drawing book from about 1971, I'd been on a trek
in the golden triangle, opium was still in evidence, then.

Also in northern Thailand, looks a different (good) place to stay

plans

One of my 2010 plans is to get more photos in Chiang Mai
of these paintings, once very fine, now in fragments
& perhaps more inspiring this way, for me.
I heard the fine arts faculty of the university has
accomplished restorers.
As I only saw a fraction of the 300+ temples before,
there's the hope there will be more frescoes.

apsara

My small camera still works, plus I've a lot of files,
(played with my photo of the Thai apsara carving for
this year's season's greetings) but perhaps I need a
holiday
?

classical apsara dance

market

A monthly market today in Byron Bay, it's on a field with
forest nearby, there were a lot of flying foxes settling in there.
Much more low key than this big weekend one in Bangkok;
the antiques & buddhas crowd one section, just about anything
is available there, including wild animals, unfortunately.

Going to Thailand again next year.
I'm staying at a lovely little guest house ,
but how about this beautiful hotel, it even has a big library.

skies

Dawn at the Gold Coast left & tonight, a storm & some rain.
Do we notice the sky more in Australia than in other places,
or is it just me? How was the Copenhagen conference
allowed to fail?

wild photographs from Estelle Hanania

away

Have been away for several days (used the post options function)
Splendid dawns from the 8th floor.

My sister's first grandson, left. He's a darling, only 2 months old,
or we could have bought some baby ducks.

Their dog is having a hard time sharing the attention of
the new parents. Waiting in the car while it rained, right.
Next day my camera broke. Tragic, I love that CanonG7,
maybe it can be repaired.

palms

Playing. Away for a while.

Mike & Doug Starn I saw an early show of theirs in New York
or Boston, it was inspiring.

faces

Didn't change anything, left. I like knowing that viewing nature
is a reciprocal event, in some way ~ we aren't separate, after all.

Awesome photos (& idea) of Lui Bolin, easy to
sympathise with the desire to be invisible among the zillions.

summer

A hot day today..

walked to the beach after lunch with a friend

.. decided it was too hot to be on the beach,
so came home again. What a hard life!

Olaf Otto Becker's cool Greenland photos

another way

This might be another way through the jungle.
I don't know when or if I'll be near a jungle again.
Wonderful to see them, also very uncomfortable for bodies.

I'd like to zap over to London to see the Turner Prize winner,
Richard Wright, don't you admire his attitude to things too?

how?

Have been playing with this image, don't have suitable
jungle shots, will try something else, maybe. Angkor was
lost to the jungle for ages, & you can still see that, though not
in a "have to hack a path through with a machete" way.

Saw an excerpt of Shaun Tan's latest book, here,
it's a wonder, I've ordered one.

sharp edged

For days there have been winds like the Fohn in Europe,
which sometimes excuses difficult behaviour. Many fires too.
A friend is having a hard time, the details all
hard edged & black & white: this is true, that is bad.
With a rainy day perhaps things would be gentler..

morbid anatomy is fascinating
camille seaman's majestic landscapes

echos

The palm tree seeds fell down in a recent storm, love the colours.
& I expect to see city lights again in a few days.
As you'd know, I dont always take the photo on the day
of the post, I also like to flick through (200+GB of files)
until one says something of the day, more or less.

Impressed by Harry Lee from Melbourne on boingboing

seeds

The large seed pods are from an Illawarra Flame tree top
The small ones from a Grevillea, below left. The large red
flower might be a heliconia, I'm not great with names.
Was reminded of pieces by Ivana Perkins

garden history girl ~ interesting stuff

better

My courtyard gets pleasing shadows in the afternoon, I used
some of these photos of my hand, in another image.The bottle
that refracts the light, right, I made in a hot glass class.

Went to some of John de Ruiter's meetings in these days
I so enjoy the deep silence.

fierce

There are many strange hybrid creatures in the sculpture
& decoration of asia, some are friendly, others quite fierce.
I'm feeling grumpy after looking at the stat counter details:
Many downloads of my images, so how come so few comments?
I've deleted the rest of my words as too fierce, but go figure.

Michelle Dawson has great drawings here Dec 11/09.

clever

Saw a photo taken in central Brisbane , 3 pigeons working a
water fountain: 1 sat on the handle while the other 2 drank &
bathed, then they'd change places. & this is just the stuff we
notice, around the things some humans have manufactured,
imagine how much we miss.

Cai Guo-Qiang is an amazing, clever & thought provoking artist.
I do wonder about the animals however, is it taxidermy?
One piece has dozens of wolves, for instance. What do you feel?

large prints

Might pull this apart & do it differently: it got so big, & my
computer so hot, I hurried more than I wanted to. It doesn't
work to have separate files, as you need to see how the whole
thing flows ~ or not. It's so enjoyable making images
from buddhas, & these from Bangkok have such refined &
meditative expressions. They'll be available
as limited edition prints, on paper, about 30 inches wide.
Email me.

bizarrely amusing from Nagi Noda

meeting

About 1986, at Esalen left, I did my first workshop with
Eli & Gangaji, they are in Byron Bay now ~ nice to see them.
There's quite a big interest here in 'spiritual' matters,
also a very wide range of people catering to that interest..
right is from a retreat I attended at Kyogle with Isaac.

A truly amazing series of photos from yatch-maiken,
sent via Meike

reflect

Starting to put these together. When I found myself in a
quiet part of a temple in Bangkok, with rows of
golden buddhas behind glass, I was dismayed at the
many reflections. Soon saw the possibilities, though..

the multiple reflections produce a sort of hallucinatory
effect where it's .. where all kinds of outcomes seem possible.
I was there for hours, & no-one else came, not even the
builders whose renovations are mirrored in the glass.

Don't know if I'll get to Alaska, sure hope this guy is still
driving a bus, if I do: David Cartier on Flickr

walls

A local camera shop had a special on photobooks ~ use
your own photos, with a choice of format etc, I did one of
walls, which sometimes include windows & doors.

Have been reading Peter Hoeg's The Quiet Girl,
after weeks of finding no compelling reads, this one has
made my hair stand on end several times.

group

Sections of a few of the buddhas I've joined up,
each from several shots. I'll be doing something different with
them, have enough for several large images.

contemplating the moon