M

M
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

I'm going to be away from an internet connection for a bit so it may be a few weeks before I can update blogger again. So here's a photo of my beautiful M to mind the top of the page till then.

G gives us a slide show

G gives us a slide show
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

G came over for a dinner not so long ago and brought along with him an old slide projector he'd bought in a car boot sale for a few pounds. The more dominant digital photography becomes the stronger the counter-allure of analog. (See previous entry about getting out the Leica!)

Ready for a trip

Ready for a trip
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

About to go on a little trip for Christmas. And after a year of using the Canon 5Dmk2 almost exclusively I decided it was time to dust off (metaphorically, of course) the Leica for the event. While the Canon is a lovely camera I'm really missing the fast Leica lenses ... Here's a photo I took of my trusty friend this afternoon sitting on the kitchen bench.

Mystery dog

Mystery dog
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

We were having dinner when this serious and mysterious fellow appeared out of nowhere, stood stock still and stared at us for several minutes, then disappeared again.

Smoker 1

Smoker 1
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

M in a bar on La Manga, Murcia.

I know this photo is a bit out of focus, but I like it anyway. M seems to have especially long, spidery fingers...

Taken with Leica M6TTL with 35mm Summilux ASPH

Smoker 2

Smoker 2
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

Woman at Fort Railway Station

Woman at Fort Railway Station (2nd post)
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

Man on Sea Street Colombo

Man on Sea Street Colombo
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

In Colombo many people approached me to have their photograph taken (in addition to my asking several people to take their photo). This particular man approached me, tapped me on the shoulder and then just stood staring at me. I took two shots; this is the second.

Man selling lottery tickets

Man selling lottery tickets
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

Bus conductor, Colombo

Bus conductor, Colombo
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

Whenever busses stop to drop off or pick up passengers in Colombo the conductor shouts the name of the destination loudly and rapidly for the few seconds the bus has stopped. This guy paused from his shouting only long enough for me to take his photograph.

Keeper of cats

Keeper of cats
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

This guy arranged a family of kittens around a mother cat for me to take a photograph after he noticed me lining up the mother cat for a photo. That photo is not here (even though it's kind of cute, it wasn't a particularly interesting photo). But I asked the cat arranger for a photo afterwards. This is it.

Beggar, Colombo

Beggar, Colombo
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

I took several photographs of this woman, and gave her 100 Rupees afterwards. She seemed pretty happy with that. When I saw her later this same day she gave me a big grin and patted me on the arm. I saw her a couple of days later again outside a temple. I've posted that photograph here as well.

Soldier, Colombo checkpoint

Soldier, Colombo checkpoint
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

I negotiated for several minutes to be able to take this photograph. There was much consultation with higher authority and investigation into where I was from before they would submit to be photographed. Colombo is less twitchy about security now than it was a year ago when I was last there, however there is still a high security presence, especially in the central parts of Colombo.

Un aperitivo

Un aperitivo
Originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana

Before lunch in Madrid we often go out for an aperitif (tomar el aperitivo) in a local bar. Lunch is a lot more formalised than the quick sandwich I usually grab at work in London. I could easily get used to it...

Performance Art 3 (Madrid)

Performance Art 3 (Madrid), originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana.

Here's a shot of Myri being "interviewed" in a performance art piece. I'm told the questions were all very personal and emotional, however it was all done in silence so a bit hard to determine. To her credit the artist Isabel Leon managed to interview almost the entire audience one by one this way. (This took awhile, though. I slipped out mid-way for a drink and imaginary fag).

Performance Art 2 (Madrid)

Performance Art 2 (Madrid), originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana.

Another performance art piece seen on the weekend in Madrid:

This artist did a relatively short piece, where she wandered around the gallery and the audience building up to a somewhat aggressive chant, "I am the winner," as she banged her boxing-gloved hands together and on the gallery walls. It culminated in her bursting out of the door of the gallery and running up the road, around the block screaming, "I AM THE WINNER!!"

Which was all a bit strangely hilarious.

Performance Art 1 (Madrid)

Performance Art 1 (Madrid), originally uploaded by Sapient Iguana.

I was in Madrid at the weekend and saw some performance art in Lavapies. In this particular performance the artist laid out a big plastic sheet, poured herself a glass of wine and set it down, took off some clothes and fetched a hessian sack out of a pile of dirt. After putting on the sack she lay face down in the dirt and spun about for a bit moaning and struggling, then got up and invited the audience to spin plates on the floor, most of which broke.

The description in the flyer (admitedly translated not particularly well from the Spanish) sums it up: "Where would rhythm, space, tension, time and the fact that it is present would remain if you just want to sit and look? Whatever you wish to happen may happen or may be happens what you do not want to happen."

And I think there's something in that for all of us.