Tuesday 26 April 2011

Garden state.

Tex and I went to the Mt Annan botanical garden today. It was ace. We rode our bikes around in the rain and things got very wet and very funny but we persisted and the sun came out and everything was beautiful. There was heaps of space and light and green and a lake and flowers and awesome prehistoric trees and ducks. And there was a tree from the Blue Mountains that had been so encroached upon by humans that it's entire species had been reduced to one single tree and the Mount Annan guys & gals took seeds from the last tree and planted it in their botanical gardens and then took seeds from their tree and started planting back into the wild. How amazing is that?

But that's not all. On the way to the gardens, I was struck with a terrible piercing disappointment because I had forgotten the camera. The disappointment abated somewhat after riding my bike in the rain and eating my excellent picnic lunch in the sun (what kind of birds don't eat lettuce?). However, it was not your standard 'oh I won't be able to take any photos of my handsome husband on this adventurous outing' kind of disappointment. Oh no. It was the 'jesus shit god damn there is going to be some kick arse things here to take pictures of and I wanna take pictures' kind of disappointment. Can you see where I'm going here? I think it's starting to work. By making myself engage with the world in a more creative way, well, certainly in a more photographic way, I am starting to look forward to experiences not just for the joy they bring, but also for the opportunity to make cool pictures.

Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware that I am no great maestro of the photographic medium. But at the moment, it's not doing it really well that counts, it's just doing it! And today I really felt that.

2 comments:

  1. Someone who really notices that they left their tool/s at home is someone who is engaging with their dormant, creative self if you ask me Athena! Awesome :) When I decided to start my 'new work', I spent months painfully noticing when I wasn't doing my 'new work'. Observing this and stepping into the discomfort - but only briefly - creates the motivation that you need to build those habits up. The habit of NEVER LEAVING YOUR CAMERA AT HOME AGAIN. Don't be discouraged if you do it multiple times (leave the camera etc) - it takes weeks atleast ...

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  2. You painted a beautiful verbal picture Thena. Sometimes it's good not to have ALL our tools at our disposal. Having said that: I commiserate. I'm loving your work by the way. LOVING YOUR WORK (I'm not shouting that last bit, just emphasising it). xxxxx

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