And here we are today, father and son, and I am both of those things. One good thing about having a child is that is keeps you focussed in the now, because right now he is demanding something, right now he is about to pull down all my CD's, right now he wants something to drink... It's only after he's gone to bed and is asleep that my mind drifts away and down the years.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Taj Mahal, 1987
One comforting thought which occurs to me, looking through these photos of my London to Kathmandu overland trip back in the spring of 1987, is that I haven't really put on much weight since I was 26 and have almost the same amount of hair. There are some men of 44 who could not say the same.
I am going to get my Zimbabwe trip photos put on CD soon. That was a trip I made in 1986.
All this nostalgia and looking at old photos of a younger you is almost certainly not such a great thing to do... too much of. Life is about falling forward into the future with a strong and postive attitude that the best could yet be to come. Life gets richer and deeper and if it doesn't you only have yourself to blame.
There's no fool like an old fool, so they say.
I am going to get my Zimbabwe trip photos put on CD soon. That was a trip I made in 1986.
All this nostalgia and looking at old photos of a younger you is almost certainly not such a great thing to do... too much of. Life is about falling forward into the future with a strong and postive attitude that the best could yet be to come. Life gets richer and deeper and if it doesn't you only have yourself to blame.
There's no fool like an old fool, so they say.
Friday, February 11, 2005
La Qua
It was a national holiday today, Dried Fish Day or something. We went to Korakoen, home of Tokyo Dome and affiliated attractions. There is a harum-scarum, hurdy gurdy roller coaster ride that twists and turns in spine-jangaling elipses and flies through a round hole in the top right hand corner of the shopping building. I've haven't ridden it but in my mind I've been through that hole many times, and every time I emerge the track has some how disappeared and we are gliding parabolically towards the ground. We land in the space between the people in the photograph.
We were going to have a look at Koshikawa Park, which is next to the Dome, but although it looked very nice, it didn't look like the sort of garden a 17 month old toddler was going to get any kicks out of of, so we gave it a miss, for a couple of years, but hey, we'll be back.
We were going to have a look at Koshikawa Park, which is next to the Dome, but although it looked very nice, it didn't look like the sort of garden a 17 month old toddler was going to get any kicks out of of, so we gave it a miss, for a couple of years, but hey, we'll be back.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Tibet 1987 (Part 3)
Another photo from the Tibet trip back in 1987. It was so dry up there on the Tibetan plateau; no trees, no grass, thin air, blue sky... I'd love to see it again, but it wouldn't be same... it really is another country.
They say we replace every cell in our bodies every seven years. By which reckoning I am twice removed from the man who took this picture. The memories in my mind are twice as old as the cells they are held in, but they are still there.
They say we replace every cell in our bodies every seven years. By which reckoning I am twice removed from the man who took this picture. The memories in my mind are twice as old as the cells they are held in, but they are still there.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Tibet 1987
In the spring of 1987 I traveled from Kathmandu to Lhasa. This photo was taken on one of the high mountain passes.
That journey stayed with me for a long time, in fact it is stuck in a place at the back of my mind and makes an appearance every now and again to remind what I did when I was 26 years old.
It's the passage of time that surprises and scares me. It dificult to look at these photos; looking at the younger me, the freer me.
There are 4 other sets of negatives here that I could transfer onto CD but I'm not sure I could handle it.
That's says something I should take note of.
Tibet is still there. Those prayer flags are still there and the sky is still a deep blue there, but that 26 year old isn't there.
Build a bridge and get over it...
That journey stayed with me for a long time, in fact it is stuck in a place at the back of my mind and makes an appearance every now and again to remind what I did when I was 26 years old.
It's the passage of time that surprises and scares me. It dificult to look at these photos; looking at the younger me, the freer me.
There are 4 other sets of negatives here that I could transfer onto CD but I'm not sure I could handle it.
That's says something I should take note of.
Tibet is still there. Those prayer flags are still there and the sky is still a deep blue there, but that 26 year old isn't there.
Build a bridge and get over it...
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Ushuaia Bay & Peaks
I spent 4 days in Ushuaia, Patagonia, which was a couple of days too long actually, but I couldn't get an earlier flight out so four days (and three nights) it was. The second day, the first full day, was the best, and indeed ranks pretty high in my list of all time best days. It was a perfect day; blue sky and sea and no wind. I walked all over the town, down to the bay, and then up to those mountains and the small glacier.
The one thing I now regret about not just the days in Ushuaia, but the whole Argentina and Chile trip was that I didn't draw anything. Those four days in Ushuaia could have been so productive and creative. Photographs are great, they document the place, but to draw something means to own it deep within you. To draw something means you open your eyes and really see. When you take a photograph you're not really looking at your subject, not as closely or as carefully or as intently as when you draw.
If I ever get the chance of a long trip again the first thing I will pack is my pen and sketchbook.
The one thing I now regret about not just the days in Ushuaia, but the whole Argentina and Chile trip was that I didn't draw anything. Those four days in Ushuaia could have been so productive and creative. Photographs are great, they document the place, but to draw something means to own it deep within you. To draw something means you open your eyes and really see. When you take a photograph you're not really looking at your subject, not as closely or as carefully or as intently as when you draw.
If I ever get the chance of a long trip again the first thing I will pack is my pen and sketchbook.
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