Category: Photography


REFLECTIONS ON MIRROR

Filed under: Movies, Music, Photography, Poetry — Leave a comment
November 25, 2012

MIRROR directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (Russia, 1975)

Tarkovsky’s movie is an enigma without solution – a poetic reflection on memory, regret and death that has no defined beginning, middle or ending.

It’s power rests on the dream-like visuals  where recurring images of  wind, fire and water appear to be deeply symbolic but remain open to interpretation.

We see wartime newsreel footage, hear music by Bach, the voice of a hidden narrator and poetry read  by Tarkovsky’s father. It spans three different time periods with no obvious link or linear narrative to connect the scenes. Continue reading →

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A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD LIFESTYLE

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November 24, 2012

I have a bit of a stubborn streak but it’s nothing compared to Luo Baogen and his wife from Wenling in Eastern China. The elderly couple are taking advantage of  by-laws that make it illegal to demolish property by force without an agreement.

A four lane motorway cutting through the Xiazhangyang village and leading to the Wenling railway station has been built regardless of their protest although it has yet to be officially opened.

As owners of the five storey house, Mr & Mrs Baogen are standing firm in their belief that the compensation on offer would not be enough to cover the cost of building a replacement.

A resourceful estate agent would say that the home is ideal for the DIY enthusiast and big up the excellent travel links!

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SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF AGO DEL TORRONE

Filed under: Italy, Photography — Leave a comment
November 17, 2012

The Guardian Eyewitness is one of my favourite I-Pad Apps – a spectacular  image delivered daily taking you to the heart of world events or simply displaying a virtuoso piece of photography.

A good example from a couple of days ago is this shot by Robert Boesch which, at first glance, looks like  a giant cactus but actually shows twenty-eight climbers simultaneously scaling the 1,000 metre high Ago Del Torrone in Northern Italy. Rather them than me!

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WHAT MAKES THE ENGLISH SO GREAT

Filed under: Books, Photography — Leave a comment
October 6, 2012

As an Englishman, I am ashamed to concede  the accuracy of this quote from Stevie Smith’s ‘Novel On Yellow Paper’:

“One of the greatest qualities that have made the English a great people is their eminently sane, reasonable, fair-minded inability to conceive that any viewpoint save their own can possibly have the slightest merit”.

Photo of John Bull Patriot by Drew Gardner

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THE CINEMATIC POETRY OF JEAN VIGO

Filed under: Movies, Photography, Poetry, Politics — 1 Comment
September 17, 2012
Jean Vigo

Man with a movie camera – Jean Vigo (1905-34)

Jean Vigo died of tuberculosis at the age of 29, a poet of the cinema whose flame burned brightly but all too briefly.

Between 1931  and 1934,  he made four flops which are now considered cinematic masterpieces and which had a huge influence on French New Wave directors.

His filmography consists of a couple of documentaries, a short film about a school rebellion and a feature-length movie about a married couple on a barge. All these can be viewed in under three hours. Continue reading →

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