Preparations

for the new year exhibition & party. Or rather the few minutes between the time we actually set up the exhibition and the moment the exhibition opened.

Grandpa

Bob.

Ana

is back. This time with snowmen. Unfortunately I was still a bit ill so I didn't take the cold too well and didn't stay for a long time.

When

even houses enjoy the holiday spirit.

Holiday reading

Well, obviously not all of them. But as I am still sort of sick, probably a bit more that I would usually at this time of year. In the last week I have read Litt (that took me one day and a bit in bed), Breakfast on Pluto and re-read waiting for Godot (just to remind myself of what I am waiting for in life)... So which one shall I go for now?

Merry X-mas

Everyone. May each and every one of you get the perfect present.

Fed up (not fed ex)

Woke up with a high temperature. How boring is that? I was looking forward to going to the morning concert, specially as it was somebody I have never seen live and I even bought his first CD all those years ago. Instead I stayed at home and alternated between sleeping and translating. Couldn't just stay the day in bed because there was something I needed to hand in by friday.
And in the evening I was looking forward to going to what I could consider my first office party in over ten years. As a free lancer working at home, I don't get any of them. Not much of a party hanging by yourself in the same room you treat as your office everyday. But this year I am also a part of a team and thus there was a chance for a office party (with a concert and all) - how cool is that? But no, the temperature kept me at home... Oh well.. next year maybe....

Parody

Went to see a parody, even though I was starting to feel a bit ill again... but I must say that immediately after it finished, I rushed home to bed, because I really did feel knackered after the show. I suppose I did not enjoy it quite as much because of it, even though it was fun... but then I usually find things Roza does entertaining...

Punk

from the 80s in the noughties. Seems like it is still going, doesn't it? And yes, there I was in the very first rows with my camera, trying to keep out of trouble... Sometimes it is a true battlefield out there, I tell you...

The frozen statue update

Do you remember when I went to the opening of a pig-man sculpture about 14 days ago... Well this is an update on it. Inside it has a cooling system that works so well that it is freezing on the outside... So this is a living sculpture you could say...

Stuck at home

but continuing to try and show you a photo that will make you think: 'This ain't no Tahiti.'

Saturday

... I was supposed to DJ. After a very long time. And it would be fun. So I was trying to get some rest. But I woke up in the morning after a very lousy night of not sleeping because I was waking every five minutes because of me coughing, feeling that my throat has been attacked by piranhas from within and similar stuff... So I immediately sorted out that my fellow DJ would take over by himself (and he did say that the night was excellent, the venue was full and the whole party was great fun - and I missed it all). So that was another photo of the day you will just have to imagine...

Blah,

For some daft reason I feel terrible again today. I have a temperature, I started coughing and all that. So I am not going out to take photos... I am not even going to take a photo at home. I will just tell you what I wanted to go and see and photograph. First of all, I stopped on the way back from lunch (when I was just starting to feel a bit poorly) at a gallery I take photos for. I was supposed to take a photo of a statue that is expected to change through time. I took a photo about 10 days ago, and I wanted to go and see if anything happened to it in the mean time. Unfortunately the gallery was closed and nobody was there, even though it was supposed to be open. So I went home and started feeling increasingly poorly. So suddenly I realised I will not go and see all the things I wanted to go and see. I was planing to go to the modern gallery to a performance, then I wanted to go and see Jadranka Juras in concert and after that to K4 where my step bro was DJ-ing and organising an event. But instead it was the couch... And I thought, OK I will not go to the performance... I'll rest a bit and then go to the concert. By concert time I did not feel any better, so I thought OK, I will rest a bit more and then go and see my step bro (he is rarely in the country, so I don't get to see him often)... By the time I would have to leave, I realised there is no way I would be able to cope with the noise of a club in my state, not to mention actually getting there in all that snow or even standing up for a longer period of time... So, I stayed at home and decided to get some rest for Saturday when....

Old school multimedia

This is (by far) not the best photo from the concert (well, that is what I am hoping for, anyway - 'cos I have not gone through them all... I just had an extremely fast-forward search through the last band in search of ... well - this!). The thing I liked was the inclusion of paintings as a part of the stage design (I love it when different artist, from different fields co-operate - I love it when I go to photograph a play and come home and feel the urge to write a poem. I love it when I see a lot of different creative people doing creative stuff - each in their own way). So, anyway, for a change this band had paintings on stage.. so it was like being at an exhibition at the same time... and the good part was that with the changing lights, the paintings changed... They could be anything from scary to warm and (almost) friendly... Just by changing the colour and intensity of the lights....

Catching up

As my regular readers will know, I had a temperature on Monday, which continued into Tuesday. And while I was still willing to take a photo for my regular readers (or viewers) on Monday, I just focused on taking it easy and getting well on Tuesday. This meant a lot of reading, a bit of TV (yup, I got a new one, and it is all digital) enormous quantities of tea (yup, even herbal teas made it on my list), heaps of fresh fruit - especially (but not exclusively) the Vitamin C variety and a couple of paracetamols...

And today I felt better. Not 100% fit mind you, but as I told my dad on the good old dog & bone 78% fit. And I haven’t been out for two days... well that is a lie – on Monday I went to the chemist’s. But except for that I was at home all the time... So, I had to treat myself. First I went to the cinema to see a film (Unmade Beds, UK, 2009) – enjoyed it and felt nostalgic for London again, but no photos from there (hopefully I will make it to London soon and I will take some pictures there – will that do?). After that I went to see a run through of a performance (this is from where the photo will be when it will be posted – you see I promised the director not to show any photos until the opening night (Friday) – how am I supposed to keep up my blog like that I ask you? J - No I am sure he would not mind a single photo on my blog, but still a promise is a promise). But I will post it on Saturday. Promise! But under this blog, not Saturday’s. Anyway, after that I whizzed to a concert and saw a few bands... and took some photos, one of which I could post here for today’s entry, but I don’t want to... (I want to have a photo from the play on my blog – I know, I am just being stubborn). By the time the last band came on stage and played a few songs, I was so knackered I just called it a night (not being back to my 100%). So I didn’t stay until the end of the gig, but hey Eskobars, it was not you, it was all me. It always is me with me (if you get it?).

And as promised, days later, here is a photo from the performance:

Yup

this means the winter has come and once again it is trying to tell me not to cycle around town... Yeah right. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and stuff... I think that as long as I can I will cycle in the cold and hot and refuse to sit in my rather bored car. Well, for town use anyway... I spend enough time sitting in front of the computer anyway, so I really don't need to sit in front of the steering wheel to move a few miles. But I guess that every now and then you get a bit of a fever... but then, I am sure I would even if I would not cycle in the cold.

Films

Sometimes the people who actually pay for my photos (yes, there are a few of them out there who actually commission me) ask me to do photos of events that I do not consider to be truly photographable. Of course one such event is a cinematic projection. This always makes me wonder what should I do... OK, you can do a few shots of the crowd, and one or two of the speaker (if there is one) and that is it basically... but I suppose the problem is that in the digital age everybody expects to get a quadrillion photos, but sometimes the event does just not allow for that... So you get a few photos and hope for the best...

Festivity

Even though it was not a pre-Christmas party or an early New Year party we had some of these sprinkler type fireworks. And it was just like when we were kids... except that as everything else these things have also got bigger, taller, fatter and surprisingly longer-lasting.

Portrait of a film critic (amongst others)

who also happens to be my nan. We met for a morning tea and did a portrait for the local cinema monthly publication. Luckily she is known so they opened the cinema for her.

Hip Hop

But with a live band. Not only the rapper and a load of samples. And both bands enjoyed themselves which also had a good influence on the public.

Dance

I went to see this performance while still in the making. Two days in a row. And it is hard to explain how different the two performances were. The first day I got the same chaotic feeling as I did when I watched Trier's Idiots. The second day it all seemed to obtain structure and calm down. I wonder how it will all turn out by the opening night?

Animal farm

Well that is my interpretation of it anyway...

Small town

The good thing about living in a small town where you know all the people is that you can wander around on your way to somewhere and bump into someone you know who is doing something fun... Today they were filming a short film... Unfortunately I could not join them for a longer time, because I needed to be somewhere else, but I stayed for a bit to see what's happening and to take a photo or two...

Cold

This winter I am going to learn how to photograph cold. I am sure that by the end of the winter I will have a picture that you will look at and say: 'Now, this is cold if ever I saw it.'
Well, that's my goal anyway :)

Pigglet

And this little piggy ran all the way to the modern gallery...

Never

too many photos... (Yes, if I could I would probably take photos all day long...)

But sometimes there is a lot to choose from, and when you want to post a single one for the day it is hard, especially if you have been to more than one event on that particular day.

Do you chose your favourite event? Your favourite photo? The photo that best depicts your day? Or the photo that is the most unlikely? The one that is the least you? I have no idea, and I think I play it as I go along...

Today I decided to post this photo from the Nikon event (and yes we Canon people were in the minority, but then, as far as I am concerned it is not about the brand of your camera, it is about the love for photography - which I suppose the marketing people at Nikon (or Canon for that matter) will totally disagree with...). Why did I choose it? I think that today I just felt like giving you a bit of diversity, so I opted not to give you a concert photo for a change...