PICK OF THE WEEK: Colour: It's all around you, but you have to see it!

Ubud Market Colour (Ubud Bali Indonesia March 2014)

Twice today I've had colour mentioned to me. Nothing unusual in that you might say: after all I am an artist. But, these mentions were quite specific and really hit home because as you know by now, we're in Bali.

  As we walked around this lovely village of Padangbai, my partner said something to the effect of: "We mustn't become so used to the beautiful colours here that we stop seeing them." And then, later, an online friend commented on a photograph posted from here: "Those beautiful vibrant colours, just how I imagined Bali to be"

   Firstly, Bali is an extraodinary colour filled place. The many and varied greens of the jungle and rice paddies, the many types of palms, the emerald green of the tropical seas. Then there is the really striking powder blues of the skies: I've never really seen skies quite like them. And this is saying nothing of the wonderful colours and fabrics worn by many of the people, especially when it comes time for ceremonies and temple worship.

    These two comments on colour got me thinking how easy it is for us to become blasé to our surroundings and in particular how indifferent we can so easily become to the colours in our environment.

    We do this all the time as we go about our daily affairs. No time or energy to notice colour, too much to do and so little time. So, you might think when we go on holidays, when we take a vacation, that we have a little more time, even a little more inclination to notice the colours around us.

     Well, it's a nice theory, but I think it isn't always that simple. After all, when we're on vacation, we bring ourselves and our habits along with us. And it's still quite easy to quickly become accustomed to our surroundings to the extent of failing to notice colour or other elements of this new environment. I do try not to ever become indifferent, but even the artist in me sometimes gets so used to what's around me that I can stop seeing.

     Ubud, as you will know if you read my blog post about the town, was a noise and traffic nightmare. When one is in a town where it's almost impossible to hear one's own thoughts, where it is dangerous to walk on the sidewalks and where the noise and chaos is almost maddening,  then maybe it's quite understandable that one fails to notice colours or other striking elements of one's surroundings.

     But, the truth is, I still managed to see something of what was there; I still saw some colour. So, this week's Pick is just that: colour. A market stall full of extraordinary colours.

    It takes great efforts sometimes to take in our surroundings, to notice the colours that surround us. Like this market stall. I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Now, I share it with you.
Peace

Ode to the Isle of Thanet: A Street Photography Slideshow

For most of the winter of 2012/13 I lived on the Isle of Thanet, in Margate to be exact. Due to the cold, I wasn't out on the street that much, but I worked when I was able and when I was in the right mental space. Thanet is a beautiful area, but down on its luck as "they" say. Decaying infrastructure, increasingly scarce social and other services and a general lack of energy, will or attention on the part of government, all have led to the area being very depressed. So, a lovely part of the world, full of people who deserve better is being allowed to decay. This slideshow of images made while I was there is dedicated to all the people of Thanet, including my son who lives there too.
Peace

The Decisive Moment That Lead to the Decisive Moment: A Multi-Part Review of Henri Cartier-Bresson Part 1

Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004), is considered a pioneer of photojournalism. Initially a painter, he turned to photography in order to ‘testify with a quicker instrument than a brush’ 

Seeing Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika (1930) by Hungarian photographer Martin Munkaski, Cartier-Bresson understood that, ‘photography could reach eternity through the moment’. He realised the potential of the camera to capture the ‘decisive moment’.

Using a 35mm camera with standard lens, allowed Cartier-Bresson to work quickly and unobtrusively.  The title of his book, Images à la Sauvette ( Changed for US publication to The Decisive Moment) means images on the sly; in other words, candid photography.

Cartier-Bresson insisted on strong composition. He used the viewfinder to frame subjects precisely, preferring to crop the image in the camera.

He shot in Black and White because he regarded the camera as simply a ‘sketchbook’. It's as simple as this. In a sense this lays to rest the black and white versus colour debate to a degree: For this "master" the choice was not one of aesthetics; it was merely practical choicefor this photographer.

This is the first in a several post series which together make up a small review of a great artist and a personal role model.