I am an obsessed i-phonographer who loves the fact that having something so great means you never have an excuse to not be able to capture a moment (unless of course you are the subject of it)! I also have just recently bought an Olympus Pen, which apart from taking great photographs, also is beautiful so makes for a good necklace too!
I muse,
Hopefully amuse!
My i-phone is the most unique and special of all the cameras I have to choose
Which for me, in photography, has made some very special breakthroughs!
I am also a terrible rhyming poet (you don’t say!), work full time, and do this as an obsessive hobby as it is a way of me diarising all the lovely things I see and share with my loved ones who are also (and very luckily for me) very photogenic!
Here are Joanna's submissions in order of newest to oldest.
Inspiration #34 - Family
"Family"
This word prompt inspired me to produce a series of images. If you want to see the project so far, it is on my website.
"In considering the bonds associated with the word family, for me, are fascinating, and all encompassing. As a badge of honour and a name tag, it instills such complex and fundamental emotions that no matter where your social origins originate from the ties associated with them come with certain expectations." (An excerpt from Joanna's new series, check it out!)
Inspiration #33 - Found
"Found"
“Keep your eye on the high mark and you will hit it. Not the first time nor the second and maybe not the third, but if you keep on aiming and keep on trying, you'll hit the bull's eye of success.”
― Annie Oakley
― Annie Oakley
Why am I showing a quote from Annie Oakley? Well, Anders found this hat that he thought would suit me. The first I felt/saw of it was when he plonked it on my head and looked at me saying "that's cool, you really suit it. It makes you look like you could be a cowboy like Annie Oakley"! Dexter too said, "yes Mummy, it's a great hat you must get it", so I did :-)
It is a gents brown bowler hat called "The Cityman" and was in pristine condition and for sale in Anteaques where we went to have a nice cup of tea and cake, very civilised :-)
One of the guys that own this great tea shop agreed and said "it does really suit you" and then went on to say "we sold the black one earlier this week, they were both from the same place". This one is brown, and fits me perfectly, and for me turned out to be a great find, and I didn't even need to look for it so it definitely.
Inspiration #31 - Light and Shadows
"Light and Shadow"
Photographs and words by Joanna
Smile and the world will smile back.
I love how light and shadow dance with one another.
Inspiration #30 - Haunted
Haunted by...
Inspiration #29 - It's All An Illusion
"It's Just An Illusion"
{You can read a post about this photo on Joanna's blog as well}
If you stare long enough, you will see lots of things in this image, because your mind wants you to. The illusion is all in your mind though, or is it – ha, ha, ha?
Inspiration #28 - Seeing Red
"Oath & Loyalty"
Even without the colour you know you are seeing red, oath and loyalty - promises are meant to be kept.
Inspiration #27 - Perfect Timing
"Perfect Timing"
Circumstances, events, collide on precise cue, forming a perfect eclipse,When impatience is what at my heels continuously nips.
Virtuous patience, creates loves greatest sonnet,
Whilst it's a fire in the disco that has ignited what is under my bonnet.
"All in good time", what for, whiskey or life's greatest dance?
My dutiful eyes see what my flighty mind tells them to, in their artistic romance,
teasing, enticing with such extremes, dreams and desires,
Whisking me round like ice in a glass, until melting, exhausted and shining with perspire!
"I know", I know, that timing needs to be perfect, so I practice and practice,
Realizing perfection is fleeting as timing is patient!
Inspiration #25: Falling
"Falling in Love"
{To see this image along with a video please visit Joanna's blog}
Permanent Inspiration: Joy
"A Fleeting Glimpse of Joy"
Looking for something good to not pass by
Making you think what if, maybe, or why
The g-force of joy spreads across a face as it begins to giggle
These are moments of joy I never want to rush by
Theme 23 inspiration: Space
There is not a day goes by where I don't see some form of space that I want to capture. I am an addict, there I am declaring it for all to hear! Whether it is capturing an expression, moment, situation or actual space it seems that there is something in any situation and space, even a dead end one that I find something that interests me!
Theme 22 inspiration: Something that frightens you
Untitled
So, this challenge is one that has been a hard one as there are many things that I could say frighten me, but I don’t dwell on them as otherwise they would take over the good stuff. This mulled over (every so often this month) as I have had a lot to think about as you can imagine lately and to me a fear is all in the mind and the mind is a great thing which you are the master of so I don’t tend to think about things that frighten me. Heights can, but then again, I went up last year to dine 100ft above so as to not let it stop me doing things with the people I love. I was terrified, and still don’t like heights, but I know this is all in my mind which I am the only person who really controls it! So, I have given this a lot of thought and so my entry is this image to the left.Theme 21 inspiration: Front page of the news
"Front Page of the Newspapers"
(To see this post as Joanna intended please head on over to her blog.)
Well divine inspiration or what! Your challenge was front page of the news for 5th June, when I will be in Santa Fe, or should be therefore if I am to participate in this prompt I need to get it done well before then. Here is therefore my post in advance as by the 5th of June we will know if I have managed to fly to the Review or not!
The front of the newspapers in the UK are torn between articles of the Volcanic Ash stopping flights taking off and landing and President Obama who is over here visiting and what that means for relations. So the big question, will the volcano decide to stop erupting to allow flight space normality over the UK and therefore allow my flight take off next week as is scheduled which will take me to the US on the first leg of the trip to Santa Fe? Yep, your right, too soon to say!
Theme 20 inspiration: Outside Your Door
"There's a whole world waiting there to be seen you just have to get off your bum!"
Theme 19 inspiration: Spring
"Spring"
(To see this post as Joanna intended and to see additional photos please visit her blog here.)
Went to see the Beltane Fire people do their spring festival on Saturday. It is all about welcoming in spring! A time when we see the death of winter, the end of hibernation to be transcended by the birth of new life that signifies the beginning of new life and Spring.
Theme 18 inspiration: Turn on Your Radio
"Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang"
Please click here to read more about these images and to see the represented as Joanna intended.
Mr Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (Shirley Bassey theme tune with a well known tartan export, Sean Connery as Bond)
Theme 17 inspiration - Lies
Theme 17 inspiration - Lies
When money enters in, - then, for a price, I become a liar, - and a good one I can be whether with pencil or subtle lighting or viewpoint. I hate it all, but so do I support not only my family, but my own work
- Edward Weston
Theme 16 inspiration: At the End of the Rainbow
"At the End of the Rainbow"
When you are not in Kansas anymore you'll embark upon an adventure with a pair of ruby red slippers...
When you are not in Kansas anymore you'll embark upon an adventure with a pair of ruby red slippers...
A special Tin Marvin, a Scarecrow, a Cowardly Lion, a Great Wizard named Oz...
and you might even meet the Mayor of Munchkin land!Or am I the leprechaun that guards a pot of gold?? Scary!!!
(Please head on over to Joanna's blog to see this post as she intended)
If you would like to see this post as Joanna envisioned please head on over to her blog, RMontalban.
ACoLab for March suggested for extra inspiration of looking at the work of Cindy Sherman, Joan Miro or Eugene Atget. All three I think are fantastic and in a way I would like to maybe try to pay homage to all three if I have the time. Assuming I might not, I thought I would try Cindy first, although I can't help but feel a little of Andy Warhol has managed to sneak in here! My dream from last month with him and Basquiat clearly has stuck in my mind and chosen to resurface here, well I never, these extra inspirations are starting to merge and have an effect (ha, ha, ha).
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| Clarice |
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| Catain Amazo |
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| Carly Warhol |
Theme fifteen inspiration: Fill in the Blank
When I think about how my cameras lens is in the moment with me in capturing what I see, I just have to remember that not everyone will see, understand or want to see/understand what I see in the same way. That is just life and yes it can also be a tongue twister!
(To learn more about these images and to see the photos and text as Joanna intended please visit this post.)
Theme fourteen inspiration: Inside the Heart
Top left: "Top Cat", right: "Can't Live Without You"
Theme thirteen inspiration: Page 25 of a magazine
Theme eleven inspiration: A Video (link here)
Video inspiration is not something I had really contemplated until Anika put it up as a challenge! I suppose that is what challenges are all about taking you out of your normal thought process. So for me it felt like having to write an essay (I know, god help us) in a way to justify or clarify in my head what I was doing/seeing!
Theme ten inspiration: Dreamland
Theme nine inspiration: Out of My Element
Theme eight inspiration: Your Favorite Song
Joanna submitted two interpretations. Talk about being inspired! Here is the first entry:
Snippet of the text:
Second entry:
Here is a video of the song should you like to take a listen.
Theme number seven inspiration: Full Circle
"Inside the Heart"
Photos and words
(To see exactly how Joanna envisioned this submission please visit her blog)
Love letter straight from the heart!
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. ~Albert Einstein
Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. ~Rose Franken
A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it. ~Frank A. Clark
Top left: "Top Cat", right: "Can't Live Without You"
Bottom left: "Bubble Love", right: "Messages That Transcend Grave"
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| "So Easy A Robot Could Make It" |
"Page 25"
Photos & Words
(You can link here to see how Joanna intended for you to see her post)Anika set a challenge at ACoLab. Her challenge was to go to Page 25 of a magazine and let it provide inspiration! She did say it could literally be page 25 or to use whatever was on that page to inspire. I have mainly been reading books, and every magazine I flicked through for some reason featured a full page advert on page 25! I didn't find the adverts inspiring so decided to make my own adverts instead!
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| "Wannabe" |
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| "Call Girl" |
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| "Cherry Pop" |
(You can also see this inspired creation on Joanna's blog)
I love Jean-Michel Basquiat's work, it is fantastic. I always have had a thing for the paintings he produced, so when I saw that this was a February "extra inspiration" over at ACoLab, I thought yey!Below top: Basquiat's Brown Spots, (Portrait of Andy Warhol as a Banana) 1984
Below bottom: Homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat; (Portrait of Andy Warhol as a Banana)
This was such a lot of fun doing it that I am going to push myself to see if I can capture some more homages to him and his work as he is my muse for February.
Theme twelve inspiration: Resolution (Link here) "Resolution"
What does it mean to you?
- a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usuallyafter voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club,or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.
- a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
- the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
- the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
- the act or process of resolving or separating into constituent or elementary parts.
- the resulting state.
- Optics.The act, process, or capability of distinguishing between two separate but adjacent objects or sources of light or between two nearly equal wavelengths. Compare resolving power.
- a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem,controversy, etc.
- b. the tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved.
- reduction to a simpler form; conversion.
- Medicine/Medical the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration.
- the degree of sharpness of a computer-generated image as measured by the number of dots per linear inch in a hard-copy printout or the number of pixels across and down on a display screen.
Theme eleven inspiration: A Video (link here)
"Life Is One Big Intertwining Movie"
photos, video, and story
(you can see this on Joanna's blog as well)
(you can see this on Joanna's blog as well)
by Joanna
Video inspiration is not something I had really contemplated until Anika put it up as a challenge! I suppose that is what challenges are all about taking you out of your normal thought process. So for me it felt like having to write an essay (I know, god help us) in a way to justify or clarify in my head what I was doing/seeing! Having really gotten hooked on taking photographs earlier this year my eyes now take on an additional role. They have become my own camera with the gadgets and lenses I use being different glasses for a crude interpretation. My eyes and brain are now desperately trying to get what I am feeling, seeing and experiencing conveyed through whatever gadget I am using, getting my brain to try and process it so it can be shared with whoever might find it of interest in a way that will mean something to them too, not least of all me and my loved ones. I have become more aware of those little moments that can pass you by but are actually in themselves something meaningful (if you want it to be) - good, bad, pretty and ugly as that is life.
So video inspiration is another take on it. The interesting videos you see (the ones that make you feel something), is just an animation of a series of images which make the situation come to life. Movies are images in motion! Without sound you have a silent movie, maybe for some that is a good thing! Photographs too therefore are in themselves interpretations of what the person having taken them has chosen to see. Sometimes they are well articulated and other times not, a bit like storytelling, neither of which I profess to be good at! The above picture as an example your brain naturally process it into something with meaning, but without images before or after it or a narrative it is left to your imagination as it is only one piece of something bigger.
This image because of it's wintry landscape and of course the Christmas Trees, having followed the above picture potentially now give your brain a connection (two pieces of a puzzle), so in effect here is maybe the start of a story.
So this task turned out to push me into trying to articulate what images mean to me in a way that I am still trying to get my head around and that is what makes it an interesting journey for me! I have so many ideas and images which I would like to share and I feel like I am changing because of it. Not changing in who I am, but opening up a part of my brain which I didn't use in this way, and in doing so I am on a journey, innocently meandering and exploring like a child although with the brain of a grown up (at times) - sounding like Freaky Friday!!
Movies and videos are to me are a whole series of images that combined together make up a story. Cinematography can be really beautiful, like a photograph. Each frame, when done right, in itself can be an amazing image and I now am so aware of that when I watch the tv or a film this is also what in some cases I notice and am blown away by - inspired by in the same way that I can be flicking through a story, image, magazine, newspaper, book, blog, blah, blah, blah.
(Video can be seen on Joanna's blog)
Theme ten inspiration: Dreamland
"Serene Dream (land)"
To see Joanna's blog entry for this please click here.
Serenity
Clear, calm, quiet and still
peaceful and tranquil
peaceful and tranquil
No matter which way you see it
Theme nine inspiration: Out of My Element
"Out of My Element"
The following can also be seen on Joanna's blog
My heart is racing, it beats so fast
I hope this moment will last and last and last.
I hope this moment will last and last and last.
I am just so happy and secure in love
I just thank the stars and heaven above.
I just thank the stars and heaven above.
It is a feeling I don't take it for granted
This love which was implanted
by its very being makes me feel out of my element and so deliriously happy
This love which was implanted
by its very being makes me feel out of my element and so deliriously happy
It is an element I cannot control
Pains me to console
Is the very essence of my soul
an emotion that leaves me exceptionally comfortable but also completely out of my element!
Pains me to console
Is the very essence of my soul
an emotion that leaves me exceptionally comfortable but also completely out of my element!
Switch on to it!
Doesn't that make us all deliriously happy and I am lucky enough to feel lots of that.
And sometimes also "out of our element" the theme for ACoLabs challenge!
Joanna submitted two interpretations. Talk about being inspired! Here is the first entry:
"Why start a battle when you don't have to?"
Story and 8 Photographs
by Joanna
(Please see this blog entry for the complete story that goes long with this post. Joanna has laid out these photos with her own style and layout on the blog and it's a must-see.)
Snippet of the text:The song I am thinking about was the year that launched Abba from Sweden! I loved the blue outfit Agnetha wore (funnily enough my Mother-in-law was her double and quite a babe in the 70's from photographs I have seen) and I loved her long blond hair. I (like many other people) instantly started singing this catchy little number, and every time I hear it I get transported back to my childhood and watching this on the TV, thereon after I quickly think about a holiday with my friend and her parents where Dancing Queen kept being played! So what song is it going to be?
Read more here and take a gander at this gem!
Second entry:
"Rocky Raccoon"
Photos and Story
by Joanna
(Please read more and see Joanna's layout by clicking here)
(Please read more and see Joanna's layout by clicking here)
No need to bring in the police, or send me to jail
Will you let me out on bail?
I will keep my thoughts clean, read on and that will be seen!
I was just being a goon!
unless you want to bring in a sheriff at a local saloon
in the form of the Beatles song Rocky Racoon!
That would be just dandy!
Here is a video of the song should you like to take a listen.
Theme number seven inspiration: Full Circle
"Family Generations"
Photographs and Poem
Yesterday is prehistory
which follows history
and comes before a tomorrow's mystery
sounds very blistery
and I suppose it is, as each one is a story in itself!
A cake has some similarity
it doesn't always give satiety
you can be the first, last, or somewhere in the middle
and even when you are the icing on the top, being a slice can be a fiddle
It can be a comfort and delight
a support to tell you everything will be alright
indeed a powerful might
and like generations before, gone in a flash!
"The Shadow"
Two Photographs
I took these shots in a cafe when I nipped out for lunch. The guy reminded me of the comic strip character "the Shadow".
"Like Father, Like Son"
Photograph
Please visit this link to read more about this shot.
3 comments:
Joanna- I love all these shots! The "Like Father,Like Son" image is the best framing! You caught a perfect moment. And the "Shadow" images are beautiful. Great contrast! He DOES look like the Shadow! Crazy characters...love it!
Anika
You are really kind Anika and I love the flattery, who wouldn't! xo
Dreamland comment - Joanna, these photos are so so beautiful. I can't believe it's reality, you know? They look very painterly.
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