uke

Result of a practise session with my mate Andy's camera. I'm privileged to be filming his wedding later this month and he's lending me his dishy 7D to do it. So I let him play on my uke - fair's fair...

film

Do you vaguely remember me mentioning a documentary module that I was taking this semester at uni? 

Well, the deadline for handing in the documentary (and an essay about it) is tomorrow. So, I thought it only fair to give it its premier on these fair pages.

So, with no further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give you: my film.

Monday's Faces

Quite a formidable-looking woman isn't she? Something very kind about her face though. She looks quite matronly, as though she'd know what to do in a crisis, and her hair and clothes are very practical, as though she's used to scooping up any number of children and generally keeping order. 

This is quite an unusual picture compared to the others, I think, because she doesn't appear to know that it's being taken – or, at least, hasn't been given much time to prepare for it, as she seems to be still walking out of the building. Maybe someone told her that she was having her picture taken that day, and she was grumblingly on her way out, thinking that she "didn't have enough time for such nonsense."

Monday's Faces

She's gorgeous, isn't she? I love her hair and clothes, she looks so stylish. I love that she's called Dorothy, I reckon her friends called her Dot.

I think it's so interesting that so many of these old portraits are postcards - I wonder how that worked? Did people get a batch made, or just one-offs? I wonder how much it cost - was it just for special occasions or did everyone get them done?

I love her smile, just a hint. Mona Lisa's got nothing on this lass.

Monday's Faces

Just look at this lovely little lad - what a poppet! Thought I'd post this one today seeing as it's such gorgeous weather outside; makes me feel summery. It's quite tricky trying to guess where he might be, but I reckon he's just visiting the seaside for the day. Looks like a city lad to me. And look at his little face, "glee" personified.

My favourite bit of this picture, though, is his little boat on a string. It makes me wonder where he got it. Did he buy it in a little seaside shop? Something makes me doubt it. I reckon he brought it with him specially, and had it in his lap all the way to the seaside on the train. You know when you see something so beautiful, or so lovely, it kind of makes you feel like your heart might break? Well, that little boat is a heart-clencher.

Monday's Faces

This one's so lovely. Even though neither of them look like either of us, it reminds me of my dad and I. It makes me wonder where they were going when they stopped for their picnic. Me and Dad used to go to the Lake District for the occasional weekend when I was younger, and we used make stops for what became affectionately known as "car picnics". 

In fact, I used to kind of hope that it'd rain so that we could have a car picnic instead of one outside because, somehow, sitting in the car all cosy while the rain battered down on the roof and windows seemed much more of an adventure. It was a comforting, warm space with just me and Dad out in the middle of nowhere with our Scotch eggs and apple turnovers. Perfect. I like to think that the girl in this picture was feeling something of the happiness I felt at those times.

Monday's Faces

I bloomin love this one. I've had to up the contrast a wee bit because it was so faded - so faded, in fact, that the guy on the stall gave me it for free. It was just too good to miss. 

I didn't think much of it until I read what it said on the back: 

The bear and I. 

I flicked back to the picture and realised that, indeed, it was a bloke with a gun and a dead bear. What I want to know is, where on earth was this picture taken? I'm assuming, perhaps wrongly, that it was taken in the UK given the unlikelihood of a picture from elsewhere finding its way onto a market stall in Tynemouth, but maybe I'm wrong?

My favourite thing about this picture is the caption on the back. Dead simple, no explanation, no beating around the bush, grammar-perfect. What a lad.

Monday's Faces

So, haven't done a Monday's Faces post in about oh, I don't know, a billion years. 

So after a quick meander in Tynemouth Market and a quick browse of the ol' photo stall I came across a few new beauties and, making the most of the Canon bombshell while I can, I took pictures of the lot of them so that I can blog them over the next few weeks.

Well, how could I resist this lovely little lad? By the looks of it, it seems that he's on a farm somewhere (I reckon those buildings behind him are barns of some sort) - I love his dungarees and the way he's got his hands in his pockets, like he's copying his dad. Such a serious little face, and he looks so adult. Except for his little sandals. Cute!

More mysterious, though, is the writing on the back of the picture. If who can guess? And who's giving the picture away? The handwriting looks fairly old, and it's written in fountain pen by the looks. It reminds me of that game you play at school, where you all bring in a baby picture and you try to guess who's in each picture. Maybe it was something like that? Seems unlikely.

I love the mystery of it though, just that little note on the back: no name, no date - looks like something from a film. Love it!

glorious

So today I had my hands on this tasty SLR, courtesy of the aforementioned documentary module I'm studying, and went off to the also aforementioned Tynemouth Market to film my first few shots "on location". 

Needless to say, I am now utterly in love. I've never used an SLR before so after a quick peruse of the "quick and dirty guide to shooting" we were given I just went for it, twirling various dials and flicking switches to my heart's delight. And, well, it's a revelation. Such good quality, such a good zoom. It's fab. And, tragically, well out of my price range... A quick recce on Amazon revealed that to own this beautiful piece of kit I'd have to fork out something in the region of £600. I weep.

However, I fully intend to make the most of this little beauty while I have the chance. I've got it until Monday evening then I'll have to book another slot. It's making me want to go out taking pictures too - it's a photographical dream! Ah man. One day.

camera

This post is making me feel like the hugest underachiever. To my shame, I haven't picked up my digital camera with anything resembling intent for bloomin' months. 

My attraction to hulaseventy's gorgeous blog is somewhat bittersweet. In fact, the blogging world in general is at once beautiful and nigglingly irksome. Scrolling through endless pages of talented, creative people committed to whichever art form they have dedicated themselves to - photography, writing, film - is bound to provoke some twinge of unease.

Somehow they all find time to be gloriously creative!  Good grief. I need to sally forth into this next term with a much more determined focus - a focus on taking pictures in particular. 

Time to dust off the Nikon and look at the world with new eyes. 

number 5

Reet, I've had a couple of rolls developed now so I reckon I can legitimately cross number 5 off the list (although it's definitely going to be continued throughout the year).

First film wasn't too fruitful, but to be fair I was just getting to grips with using an analogue camera again (and without a flash!) so I think it was more of a trial run:

[click on the pictures to see larger versions if you fancy a closer look]

Roll #1

Roll #2

So yes, not too bad - getting better. It'll take practice but I'm slowly progressing.

big glasses, emergency pants, and overly-polished blonde women...

Latest vlog is done - yay! Want to get back into the swing of it after almost 6 WEEKS without laptop. It's gonna be good...

I'm really excited about developing my next roll of film (cracking on with number 5 on the list), I've nearly finished it! I was trying to take some cool in-the-metro shots yesterday, but this bloke at the other end of the platform kept looking over suspiciously at me so I kept surreptitiously hiding the camera back in my bag. Grr. Still, I managed to take a sneaky picture when he wasn't looking...

Excessively excited for Sunday - Tom and Joel are coming to stay and it will be mint. Very very excited.

one of the more flowery outcrops of modern life

Such such splendid times. I love my blog (so much), and I have always loved YouTube, but I think I've fallen for YouTube even more deeply in the past few weeks.

I have added links to a few excellent channels in the "Some Things Extraordinary" list on the right - definitely worth a look.

I am not neglecting my blog, however, as I do adore it - but new realms of YouTubian possibility are revealing themselves in an exciting way.

If you're not a user of YouTube or just haven't really explored it much, I really encourage you to. Well worth it.

Monday's Faces

Slightly belated, but here nonetheless. Here is this week's Monday Face:

Love this lady. Perhaps she's celebrating getting her first house? Who knows. I just love the little table with the tablecloth and plant - I wonder how long she took to decide what to put on the table?

I can identify with her pride over her house, something that just belongs to her. Recently, and rather pathetically perhaps, I've been overcome with a nesting urge - I cannee wait to get a house after uni and decorate it and make it all cosy.

Well, maybe when I do I can orchestrate a picture like this one and put it up here for all to see. Sounds like a plan...

Monday's Faces

I get the impression that they didn't hold hands very often. But then, perhaps his father didn't used to hold his hand either.

Monday's Faces

No description on the back of this one. My eye is drawn to the lady on the left - Elsie, I reckon. Not too clear where they are either, but looks as though they could be in a boat. The lady on the right looks a tad insipid - lately jilted perhaps?

I think Elsie has taken her out for the day to cheer her up, and "get her some fresh air." I think Elsie is the type of lady who would insist on rowing the boat, and when she got together with her friends would say she was having "a night with the girls."