3 posts tagged “photo”

Last Saturday, my husband and I went to Toronto for "Shadow Notes" to hang out for an hour with some famous photographers.  One of them happened to be Andy Summers.

The photography panel was made up of Andy, Danny Clinch, and Ralph Gibson (gently moderated by Robert Enright). It was held in the Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario, a part of the huge Luminato festival, and it ended up being very intimate and jovial.  The theatre was cozy and dark, and there were maybe 100 of us in the audience.  The staff had prepared slides of each photographer's work and these were projected above their heads during the entire discussion. 

If you aren't into photography (or famous photographers) then you might expect the whole discussion to be completely dry and about boring stuff like f-stops and other slang you have to be a shutterbug to know about.  I adore photography and I had no idea what I was in for -- the topics ranged from celebrity photos to zen koans to why digital sucks and everything in between.  The three of them were great panel guests and would have been equally entertaining if the topic had been burritos.  I was impressed by their willingness to share tips (how to get into concerts to take photos) and what drives them to do what they do (if they don't, they'll go insane). 

Andy Summers told his "Every Breath You Take" story, defended digital photography, and explained how he made lists of things to take photos of when on tour with the Police so he wouldn't forget to record everything.  One of the audience members (Bruce, who happens to be a friend of mine) asked him about how he views the 'ordinary' now and they all discussed how they see things differently than most people.  Andy can take a photo of a bowl on a hotel bed and get art... the rest of us just think "housekeeping!".

Danny Clinch had the most amazing aura, he told some fabulous stories and after the event was over he walked out the front door with a clump of us, to catch his daughter's recital.  Ralph Gibson was definitely more traditional in his views and topics and gave a very interesting perspective on digital photography (comparing it, somehow, to using the phone).  The moderator participated only to direct questions and he was splendid, letting everyone talk and laughing along with the rest of us.

After the discussion there was, of course, books offered and my husband met all three photographers.  He managed to get all of their autographs as well -- neatly stored upside down on a back page of Andy's "One Train Later" book -- and I got an incredible shot of him meeting Andy Summers.  Andy's smile was so genuine.  And then they rushed Andy out the door, because he is after all Andy Summers, and we collected our coats and books and headed out into the sunshine.

The whole bunch of us (well, almost all of us) met across the street for pub fare.  One of the art installations started -- a very loud audio and video decent into hell and fear, apparently -- and was truly a disturbing backdrop to both digestion and discussion.   But it was great to hang out with nutter friends again, and dish about book covers and ex-girlfriends and why I embarrassingly can't remember that one guy's name.  And then my husband and I walked down to the open-air photo exhibit, giant photos from the panel mounted on freestanding structures among the throngs of people in Yonge and Dundas square, to take photos of the photos (and take photos of me with the photos of photos -- or something).

This weekend is the last of this year's Luminato festival, and if you can make it down to the Harborfront Centre you'll be treated to a free Cirque du Soleil concert.  We're going to go if the weather holds... if you're going to be there too, let me know :)

[ Photo meme, carried forth from DeWitte ]

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
Tangerine

2 - Go to "Random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

Death Really Hates That!

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Originally uploaded by Sarah .K

[ if you got here through one of my tags but didn't find what you were looking for... this is the explanation why ]

It's really very simple.

Being a writer is a shitty job.  People think that writers should just write for the pleasure of it, and therefore writing is a job they won't pay you for.  Not true.  People think they can just sit down and decide one day to be a writer.  Not bloody likely.  People also think they can control what other people write.  You can't.

I've always said that if you know a writer, you will eventually find yourself in one of Mork's reports back to Orson.

Does Mork care if you are in the report?  Nope.  Does Orson think it's wrong for people to interfere with Mork filing his report?  Hell, yes.

So I'm going to admit it.  I'm sick to death of the scrutiny.  Quite frankly, I'm embarrassed for you -- that you think you have the right to control the things I say, what I do, what I think, and what I write about.  I'm tired of feigning respect for, and continuing to smile and nod at, the people who just want to judge me.  Worse: when they communicate these judgments to me and then expect me to change to fit their ideas.

I'm taking my control back.  Here's what I've left for you:  your scrutiny, your judgments, and your ideas.  You can have them.  They are, after all, just yours.  I've never shared them.

This is not my first VOX blog post.  I've moved almost everything into "neighbourhood only" so that I can select who sees what, and when.   How's that for showing some lady balls?   I hope you aren't feeling threatened.  All I'm doing is living my own life.  Which is, like it or lump it, the life of a writer.

If you need access to one of my previous posts, whether through a Google search or a link that one of my friends has shared, just message or contact me, and I'll hook you up.