Random Deviations
One comes across a lot of ‘interesting’ things on the internet these days. If email forwards of yesteryears were not enough, you now have Facebook, Twitter and yes, blogs. A lot of it is noise. Granted what is noise and what is not is a highly subjective and personal thing, but we all find ourselves a bit overwhelmed these days - no matter how selective we are about what we consider noise. Here are a few things that stood out from the noise (for me) over the past couple of months:
Subodh Gupta - Is an Indian artist who is going places these days. He creates very peculiar art and steel utensils are an important motif across most of his works. Be it his installations, like “Very Hungry God” - a huge skull made entirely of stainless steel cooking vessels (thereby giving the installation a somewhat literal bend), or his photorealistic paintings of everyday steel utensils.
Very Hungry God - Photo: Marc Domage, via Saatchi Online
Utensils - via The Saatchi Gallery
FreshPairOfEyes
Brooke Waggoner - Most music that is churned out these days has very little shelf life - most songs grow on you within one listening but then their charm begins to wear off. Within a month you begin to wonder how you ever liked that particular track. Gone also are the days when you’d pick an album and like every single track in it.
So I approach the free tracks that iTunes gives away each Tuesday with very little expectation. Yet, when I heard Brooke Waggoner’s ‘Young Friend’ I knew I had stumbled upon something different.
Her music is a fairly unique sounding blend of folk, pop and country and hasn’t lost it’s freshness after a month of repeated listening. But don’t take my word for it. Her site is giving away her first EP free. Get it from brookewaggonermusic.com.
Filminute: The International One-Minute Film Festival showcases one minute long ‘films’. My attention span isn’t quite that bad yet, but it is indeed a very interesting limitation that has led to some very creative ‘films’, including a couple from India. Do check out ‘Rahim Murge Pe Mat Ro’ (don’t if you are the squeamish sorts). Bonus points if you can identify the background track.
Filminute
Via Gaurav.
Give Me A Hug!
Give Me A Hug!
Seemed to say these leaves. Taken in late April at Coorg last year. The summer had been hot and the rains had proven to be temperamental. No wonder the plants and the trees were calling out for a little love!
I Want To Travel
I Want To Travel 1
London on a summer day. If you are lucky, a bit of blue will show through the clouds and with some more luck, it’ll continue to be visible for the rest of the day.
I Want To Travel 2
In the clear-speckless-blue sky department, Brighton is something else altogether. My 50 mm lens wouldn’t permit me a wide enough view of the pier signboard, so I settled for a pie in the sky.
In Black And White
In Black And White
Although the picture was originally taken in color, I think I knew that it would end up as a toned, black and white. Come to think of it, it goes with the current blog template eh?
The Roof Over Our Head
The Roof Over Our Head
Our home-stay at Coorg had a small covered area in their lawn. Besides the hammock and a scenic view that the spot presented, I was fascinated by the roof that covered it. The way the light fell, the geometric pattern of tiles, the overall symmetry, all added up to make the roof eminently photographable. I got on my knees, pointed the camera at the exact center of the roof and clicked a few shots. It then occurred to me that I was sitting exactly the way Arjuna was depicted in our school textbooks as he shot a golden fish (mounted on a wheel spinning on a pole) in its eye while looking at its reflection in a pool of oil below. I said something to the effect of, how, if I were to arrange such an archery contest, it would involve cameras and fish-eye lenses rather than the fish’s eye. That got me a very special look from my wife - one that she reserves for my exceptionally sordid jokes, and I knew that I did not have to take the analogy any further. Ah, well - I present to you - ze roof.
Cambridge
Cambridge
Cambridge
I learnt that some things can be pretty, gaudy and pretty gaudy all at the same time. Clearly, it is something that do archer framed into the wall.