Images and Worlds
Months ago, I had the idea for a book for charity, showcasing the work of Leica photographers Worldwide. The Leica User Forum Charity Book 2010 is the result, with over 140 exceptional images from all around the World. This book has already raised over £7500 for charity - each copy sold adds to that total. The beneficiary is the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR).
Please buy a copy by following the link above.
Some things are so big that the mind struggles to comprehend them. Superlatives become inadequate and hyperlatives just haven’t been invented yet. Big boats fall into this category. They move the way mountains don’t; slowly, imperceptibly, yet if you take your eye off them they have definitely made progress.
Nice sunset too.
There is something reassuring about a bicycle with a basket on the front. Solid, trustworthy, dependable. People who ride bikes with baskets do not wear lycra in public. They go to church on Sunday - probably to read the sermon. They bake things. They don’t work in modern buildings.
Do they?
The world used to be a much simpler place. Before kiosks, before cafes, before Starbucks. If you wanted refreshment you could get a drink for free without being asked to choose between more options than a parliamentary candidate in a marginal seat and paying the Earth for the privilege.
Water, a tin cup - what more do you want?
It takes courage to reach out. It’s easier to keep your hands at your sides and your heart in your pocket. But the best thing about reaching out is when you touch.
Then it’s all worthwhile.
Powerful thing, emotion. Love, most of all. Religion? You can keep it, but the passions it stirs are hard to ignore.
Who said the English are reserved?
People who look at maps do so for a reason. Nobody stands in the middle of the street and studies one for fun. Some can transliterate; relate the lines and shapes on the sheet to the place they are standing - or want to be standing. Others will stare all day and still get it wrong.
Seeing isn’t about looking - it’s about understanding.
There is something special about graffiti. It is by nature transient, ephemeral - intrusive. It has no place in an ordered society, and yet it exists in every society that aspires to order - and always has. It is subversive, and yet when done well it is uplifting. A finger raised to The Man.
Or a spray can.
Knowledge is power. It always has been. But they don’t want you to know that. Books used to be kept chained up, for fear of the wisdom contained in their pages actually getting to those who could make best use of it.
Not a lot has changed, has it?
Big Brother had a sister. It’s a little known fact. Pretty little thing. But just as observant. And intolerant. She would have found a spiritual home in England today.
It’s dangerous to sleep on the Metro, you know - trains run over sleepers.
There is something stark about the light in Southerly climes. It is actinic. Bright. Sometimes almost clinical. Everything seems somehow clean when washed by the Southern Sun. Shapes are more shapely, angles delineated. Nothing ambiguous. You know where you are.
Portugal, actually.
I like numbers. They are reliable. Predictable. Like fingers, they are something you can count on. They represent order, progression. They therefore seldom present themselves unexpectedly. When they do it would be rude to ignore them.
Ironically this is not a digital image.
Bridges lead somewhere. They always do. You cannot cross a bridge without coming to it. On the other side it is different. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. But always different. That’s the great thing about bridges. Not only do they keep your feet dry but they are reliable.
I like bridges.
Every day that you have lived is just a dress rehearsal for today. You can keep making the same mistakes, or you can raise your game. It’s up to you. There is no director, no script, no critics - but there is an audience.
Get it wrong and they will walk out on your performance. You don’t want that.
Funny things, stairs. They are not a place, they are a tool. They are go-betweens, transporting us not just from one place to another, but from level to level. They move us, and yet they do not move. They are overlooked, underestimated.
There.
