Photographing in a snowstorm
Photography, books and music. What more could anyone want from a post? Or life for that matter. Oh yes, a person to share it all with would be nice sometimes. But not all the time maybe.
A package came from Amazon yesterday with 2 new books, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and 'The Fear Index' by Robert Harris. As it's snowing properly for the first time this winter, I'd love to go to bed and read both, but first I must finish 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood. It's somewhat bleak so far, but intriguing and mysterious and ominous. I love how she manages to create an atmosphere just using words, and every sentence is perfectly crafted. It must have seemed quite futuristic and apocalyptic when it was published in 1985. Who could ever imagine an America like that back then? I can see it quite visually as I read and I'm glad I haven't seen the film because then I wouldn't see it in my imagination. It was made in 1990 with a good cast. Has anyone seen it? Was it any good? I like dystopian fiction. (So I hope I like The Hunger Games.) I'm only up to page 84, but here are so many good quotes. Here's one p.66 :
"Is that how we lived then? But we lived as usual. Everyone does, most of the time. Whatever is going on is as usual. Even this is as usual, now.
We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.
[.....]
We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom.
We lived in the gaps between the stories."
Pause for about an hour, while I go out to photograph in the snow, in the dark. This requires motivation and dedication and a certain amount of idiocy, because it's fucking cold out there and the wind is blowing the snow everywhere. Clothes needed for expedition: Socks, yoga pants, a pair of corduroy trousers on top, rubber boots, vest top, cashmere sweater, thermal fleece type top which I used to wear for skiing, neckwarmer tube worn round my head to keep my ears warm, cashmere scarf round my mouth and neck, russian type furry hat, black quilted coat, and two pairs of gloves. Taking pictures with gloves on is not easy, and my hands still got cold!
Open a bottle of red wine and pour a glass while I wait for the photos to upload.
95% of them are crap, because they are experimental, and some are quite abstract (and it's dark and I don't have the tripod), but a few of them I quite like. I was trying various different exposures and flash .. makes a huge difference.
You get a song as well because I was listening to the radio while I was writing this and I thought it was too good not to share. Never heard of Mark Hole before, but it's a great song, raw and sad, with simple lyrics from the heart. I really like it .. and we've mostly all been there unfortunately.
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