Bénch

Monday, January 09, 2017

The Human Forest.

Many thanks to photographer Adam Summerscales for kindly giving permission to use the image below [his website]

Me & Cathy went to Dean Clough in Halifax this afternoon. Several exhibitions are on.http://www.deanclough.com/arts/whats_on.asp

I was especially taken by The Human Forest !

Street Photos by Adam Summerscales.Shot in Sheffield.

As well as being technically great.and having arresting compositions, I loved how the people in the photos are (mostly ) unaware & uninterested .

They were getting on with their lives........reminding me of what street photography was like before digital and CCTV arrived.

.These days we sense & expect surveillance.We strike a pose whenever a camera pops up.Ironically , the more we are photographed, the less we show of ourselves.

Somehow .Adam's photos catch people unaware and natural. Maybe its the angle he shoots? Maybe people see only his mobility scooter ?

you can visit Adam's website [here]

and learn more about him & his work and see the pictures.

Thursday, January 05, 2017

a bigger bark

I took this photo on boxing Day outside the Co-Op in Mytholmroyd. Me& Cathy were driving into Halifax. She pointed the image out to me.

......The bird was glancing nervously in their direction , freezing still and then hopping , poking and probing in the rocks for food and glancing back intensely ,fearful and yet free. As they moved closer , it hopped out into the flat , hard sand, dragging one of its wings.

It's injured , Meg whispered.

It's an act .They do it to lure predators away from the nest. He took another step toward the bird and it skittered up the sand ,keening loudly , dragging its wing.

Let me try to explain.Living things , all of them , are tied together. A bird is roped in tension,it's beautiful to watch. It's part of what makes a bird beautiful , he said. She'll fake it until it's a reality if she has to, luring the predator away , at the risk of her own demise.Once it gets near enough she'll keep playing and playing until it's close in and then she'll try and scare it . That's about ninety percent of what you need in the natural world; the one with a bigger bark , a display of power, wins.

DAVID MEANS: HYSTOPIA

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/21/hystopia-david-means-review

Me & Cath will be attending this fine event on Saturday 21st January in the afternoon 1-4 by The River Calder . [Link:Details] It would be nice if you joined us.

Sunday, January 01, 2017

you could do it with your eyes shut .don't you see ?

Saturday, December 24, 2016

notes from an orphan

Tu Spoczywa
Wladyslaw Zimnoch
(14th Feb 1917-26th Dec1984)

Boxing Day 1984: Me & Cath are in Marrakesh.

I recieve a phonecall from my brother Ziggy.

My Dad has suddenly died of a massive Heart Attack.

Boxing Day 2016 I visit his & my Mum's grave at Stoney Royd Halifax.

I dont visit their graves often these days.I stand& wonder , why? The conclusion I come to is ,perhaps ,they are buried deep in my head ,not deep in that ground.
A bit of poetical nonesense.But true none the less........