TTSS

 

when i first read tomas alfredson was set to direct TTSP, i was already conjuring up images of a moody quiet thriller punctuated with bursts of controlled violence.  if you haven't seen let the right one in then do so immediately. in my mind it is possibly the most perfect on screen realization of the modern vampire.  in TTSP he employs the same sort of tight dark control over his subject matter. alfredson's monochromatic london has a similar feel to his suburban sweden, but it really works. there is a gritty dirty quality.  an inner world created in a public space between those that share a secret and those who do not.   the use of color really struck me as well.  despite such an earthy somber palette, his characters both embody their surroundings and stand apart from them.  encased within an overarching sense of moral ambiguity, you get the sense that as long as they exist in an office, these bureaucratic spies would be at home anywhere in the world.  and of course- gary oldman is a total bad ass in glasses.

round lake ferry

a few last shots from lake ferry a couple months back. now that the weather has a distinct chill to it and the days feel so much shorter,  i would welcome back this year's summer imposter.  i have no doubt today's wildly vacillating wind, rain and sun will be a fond memory two months from now...

double back

getting out of town for a day trip is always a welcome reprieve.  i also find myself looking forward to the trip back. an end of the day drive back into wellington is often filled with beautiful moody sunsets, backlighting and dramatic clouds...

color me melb

 

naturally every space has a color theme of it's own. some cities jump out in this regard more than others. when i first came to the southern hemisphere i was struck by the difference in the quality of light. in los angeles we have so much smog which diffuses the air and makes for spectacular sunsets. in new zealand [when it's not overcast] the light in contrast seems so stark and strong. in melbourne the weather was quite warm and the light was again different. the color palette that emerged surprised me- bright greens and soft pastels. though it was late summer, to me the feeling was distinctly spring.

hello.melb

i like so many things about melbourne- the art, culture, food... but one of the best things about it is the intersection of beautiful public spaces and small intimate alleyways. both seem to coexist side by side and only by walking around the city does one get a sense of the shifting scale. at one moment you are sitting in an alleyway packed with cafes. around the corner the moving image museum offers expansive views of a public park. and in between there are throngs of people. i already want to go back...

once more with feeling...

these photos were taken at the same time as the ones below, except with a medium format film camera.  i'm still learning to work with the medium format. the fact that there are only ten exposures on a roll of film and the cost of developing it coupled with the non-instant gratification aspect makes the whole process feel so much more precious.  it's interesting to me to compare the results of the same photo as well. in addition to the fidelity of the image, the color temperatures are completely different [in this case owing to the fuji 100]. certainly this can be accounted for by color grading the digi version, but the coolness in the film feels much more vibrant here. i also quite like the aspect ratio of the medium format which lends itself to landscapes.

a tree is a tree...

rip 50d

these photos were not taken with my 50d. sadly, it's pretty much dead. i don't really like to jizz over equipment, but i had a moment of silence for it as it was my trusty first dslr and it served me well under some pretty harsh conditions.  i have resurrected an old used 5d and am using that now. it's rather...eye opening. the uncropped sensor is a bit of a revelation for landscapes. and who knows, the extra weight may help me tone my guns in the long term. onwards then...

invis.vis

portraits are often interesting for what they reveal about their subject. alternatively, they can also preserve a sense of mystery. i like the idea of a subversive portrait that hardly tells you anything at all!

inception.lucid dreaming

when idries shah, the preeminant sufi teacher was asked to name "a fundamental mistake of man's," he replied, "to think that he is alive, when he has merely fallen asleep in life's waiting room."

- from exploring the world of lucid dreaming

"dreams, they feel real while we're in them right?. it's only when we wake up do we realize something was actually strange." -dom cobb, inception

when i first saw inception a few years ago, like many people, i was quite taken in by it. i recall thinking at the time that the film felt like a bit of a visual effects game changer in the way the matrix was ten years prior. i still feel that way. both films presented visual effects that were unusual and innovative and wove these effects into a story line in such a way that the results were completely psychologically immersive. the so-called "wizardry" of both bullet time and bending cities have now become iconic. but their emotional resonance within the films endure. i felt this was more than computer graphics posturing. they were and and remain examples of what can be achieved when vfx are allowed to move beyond the literal and into the abstract dream state.

i started thinking about inception again because, like the matrix it draws on some well known philosophical concepts towards constructing a pop oriented interpretation. to this end, the film's use of lucid dreaming theory and research is pretty well known.  having recently begun reading stephen laBerge's book on lucid dreaming however, i find the film's premise even more intriguing.  certainly the film posits some far out concepts. but in principle, the idea that we can achieve greater self awareness and reprogram ourselves in a waking state through lucid dreaming [in other words, inception] is entirely plausible as it turns out. at the moment i am only in the first phase  of the book which focuses on accurate dream recall. but stay tuned for future lucid dreaming updates...