Rendering, a sense of achievement

I have been editing some video footage I took whilst in Wales, on the beach. A few years ago now, I started to make video collages. When I looked at my previous videos, I couldn’t believe it had been so long! One of the ideas I had was to break down a walk to the sea edge. I have been visualising what this would look like, and thinking about the various ways I could document it for a while now.

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Today, I finally sat down at my tidy (ish) desk and began to remember how to use Adobe Premiere. It has been a real treat to play with it and see what comes out. The video I have made is the very start of thinking about how I will document the next beach I visit and other walks/adventures. There are a number of things I would change, like using a tripod for the video of the sea, to get the horizon straight.

Below is a screen print of the video in progress. There is the sky at the top, which is a video taken with the camera pointing upwards whilst walking on the beach. The middle section is a static shot of the sea moving in and out, and the sound used is what is captured whilst filming this. The finally, you have a slideshow of photos taken on the beach floor, whilst walking towards the sea.

Sky Sea Sand print screen

I am really interested in documenting these experiences and exploring different ways I see what’s around me. My next mission is to get an app on my photo that has a pause button, so I can make videos, like I used to, with short clips of parts of a walk/journey.

Taking a break

I am almost two weeks into a two month break from work. I decided I needed to stop and do some thinking. So here I am, in the fortunate position of having time. The plan is to not be distracted by my job and attempt to focus on remembering what it is I like to do outside of it.

One of the things high up on the list is putting into practice some of my ideas. I have lists of them but I rarely sit down and do anything to make them happen. I want it to be part of my everyday, so that it doesn’t feel so daunting/out of reach. I found a list of questions that I had prepared when I was organising the Art Works page in LeftLion and I hope, by the end of the two months to be able to answer the questions on it. At the moment, my mind is like scrambled eggs.

Last week, I went to Bishopston in Wales, with my parents. It was a last minute decision to tag along and they were super lovely to let me. It was just want I needed to clear away the cobwebs and start to think about what I want to do with the luxury that is time. One of the biggest things is to give myself a break and try not to give myself a hard time. When in wales, we went on a daily walk and it made me think how good it is for you, not only for the exercise but also for the change of scenery.

Here are a few photos taken:

Brandy Cove

 

Rope swing

Rhondda valley

My Mum, Ali and I sat in the garden and painted the garden. I have no technique at all, but it was so relaxing. These were my Nan’s watercolour paints and below is my painting.

Watercolour paints

watercolour painting

When you lose something

I think the feeling of loss is one of the worse feelings in the world.

Today I discovered my SD card was missing and had that sinking feeling when you know you haven’t backed it up. Photos, for me, are extremely precious but also sometimes a burden. I take photos everyday. That means there are A LOT of them, and they become this disorganised mess of ‘photo’s to sort’ folders and unsearchable badly labeled virtual files. I love them. I get lost in them and I morn them when they are gone.

I had a conversation, just as I left work. I melodramatically told the sad tale of my missing SD card, in which a colleague replied with ‘Yeah, I know what you mean, when my Mum died my family took all of the family photos, so I have none.’ Without meaning to at all (she was really sympathetic), it was like someone had smacked me round the head with some perspective.

I may not have the photos, but I was there taking them. They’re not as easy to access now, by any stretch of the imagination, but they are there. People say it will turn up and I hope they’re are right, but if that doesn’t happen then it’s going to be okay. Worse things happen at sea, and if I remember anything, there’s no point crying over spilt milk.

Bay leaf heart

Time for art

I got married to my best friend Alan Gilby just over a week ago, and we had the most wonderful time. I have been reflecting on the last year and am aware that I have been putting some of the things I love to do on the back burner. I think having space away can be a good thing, as it can give you a new lease of life. I am excited to be starting to think about what I want to make/do/see next.

The first thing I have done, is create a page to my Instagram feed, as I really like it and it’s another way I share things I have seen that I think may be of interest. You can view it here.

I feel like how I look in this photo; ready to get my things in order and do a lot of thinking whilst gazing into the distance.

The aftermath

I have been trying to make my own confetti with the flowers I have bought or received this year. I displayed the remnants on a piece of paper and then put it outside, and it’s started to rot. I think they’re really beautiful.

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Petal by petal

I was bought some beautiful flowers by my friends Flo and Luke. The roses were starting to wilt, so I decided to make video by peeling the flower each petal in turn. Such incredible colours were revealed. There were petals that I would never have seen if  I hadn’t peeled it.

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London snaps

Whist looking through my photos from my day trip to London, I noticed this guy looking at the camera, whilst eating an ice cream with such intensity. I call him ‘Ice Cream Man.’

Ice cream man

Near the Southbank, Katie and I ended up walking over a bridge without thinking about where we were heading. Half way over we noticed a Skateboard/shoe/doll graveyard.

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Then we saw a beach on the side of the Thames and thought ‘London really does have all the sights.’

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And just look at the sky!!

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Side of house

Yesterday I received a call from my friend Mara to say she had just driven past a house that was almost demolished, but had a window and door still standing. This was music to my ears and I couldn’t wait to go and have a look! Thank you for the amazing tip off. Here are the photographs I took. I really didn’t want to leave as I kept finding different details.

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Yellow and grey walk

Yesterday I decided to take a break from my desk and go for a walk around Nottingham City centre looking for grey and yellow sights to photograph. It is really great to change your focus and look for specific colours around you. I found it really relaxing, even when I was crouching on the floor to take the photo.

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At the end of my walk I bought myself these beautiful yellow roses for the bargain price of £2.

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By the side of the road

Whilst walking on the road to Bunny this weekend, I took some photographs of these plants at the side of the road. I also did really short videos as I really like them moving slightly and the sound from the road.

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