the flandrien challenge

it being the holy week of classics cycling what better way to kick back before/after the ronde than this. the flandrien challenge is definitely on my tick list of things to do but time is definitely running out as i want to do it on a proper bike, not an ebike, but equally not a modern bike. my modern bike, geared as it is for younger racers just wouldn't work for me but my old workhorse, once it's refurbed, will eat these hills. but not the cobbles - there's a lot of modern technology i'm neither here nor there about but fatter tyres is defintiely comfier and i hate a cobble! lol

i actually lost a friend over this trip a while back for, in his eyes, having the temerity to suggest he might want to do some proper training as the route isn't for the faint hearted. i was right then and watching this i feel even more right now. equally i do love the sight of those frituur. as does benji i reckon, who's representing those of us wiht a more normal body shape! patrick does very well but looks like his ageing process stalled at about 19!

entertaining vid. love the classics. love flanders. 

*at the time of writing i'm waiting for the ronde to start. given the weather and the crash at dwars earlier this week here's hoping that it's great racing and everyone gets thru without incident

planet fungi

 can't go wrong with a fungus 

build a pond

it's handy if you've got land, a bunch of money, and time, to build your own pond. land is the essential and, even if you don't have a lot of money it's possible to create environments. time is often forgotten as, wiht many of these things, they need a bit of care and maintenance. outwith that, even here, there's lots of local initiatives to be involved in and it's definitely something i'm going to be getting more involved in as life goes on.

  

making a change

 i was out the other day doing a bit of fieldwalking and noticed just how close the farmer was panting to the field edge. no particular surprise given the margins they're having to deal with these days but there are some really interesting projects out and about at the moments to utilise edges and nooks in a manner that directly benefits the farmer as well as being good for nature. sadly, we live in a binary world so it's far easier, it seems, to take sides than explore solutions 

fools and dreamers

 not much cheering in current events at the moment so had a look for some more inspiring documentaries 

output

came across this purely by chance and there seems a lot of value in it, not least children learning their parents' behaviour. i'm doing lots of work these days where i'm wanting to push the boundaries of what i'm trying to do, partly because what i do well i feel like i've been doing for a long time but also, not unlike my cycling, i want to get back to my childhood state of just mucking about. that said, right now i feel like a recharge - i've never been less keen on cycling and constant making is just tiring. so the struggle now is not to be onvolved in the process of making, but to realise where it's time to have a rest. with cycling, i'm just not going out, still doing a few trainer sessions and watching my numbers dwindle (data and social media truly are the mind killer! lol), but the hard part is with all the rest, and persuading myself that putting my feet up, staring into space and having a nap, is an essential! 

*and yes, my practice pieces do not look good. but that's why i'm practicing!

hiroshi sugimoto

 hiroshi sugimoto  

the doing of art

 this, just this 

bikepacking the a1

 bikepacking definitely not for me but a big long cycle thru england? you'd never be bored for sure! 

dorothea rockburne

 another loft dweller. this time dorothea rockburne who, again, as well as being a fabulous artist, shows the way well into old age - books, light, material - what else could you want? lol inspiring! 

carmen cicero

 getting filmed in his loft. along with it being great to see someone at his age still working and creating, it is a thought that this has been made possible by rent protection. here, without that,  exorbitant rent increases, crippling rates, along with a ludicrous increase in utility prices, it's easy to see a real diminishing in the culture, from small businesses, performance venues and studio spaces. 

cosey fanny tutti

i love this picture of cosey fanny tutti, there's lots of issues around this but as it's the internet, which never forgets, caution is best. what i will say is i remember seeing images of the prostitution show from back in the day and finding it all very disturbing, not least because i hadn't learned a context to put it in. even then tho, i was aware of men in the same field getting less bad press for doing less. that aside, i'd love to see more of my female acquaintances of this age getting up to this sort of caper. they seem so few and far between and that has to be such a loss.

here's this 

macro and more

here's a vid about macro photography which, given the whole botany thing, has always been something i've been interested in. but it's not just about macro, or photography. the stuff he's on about can be applied to any endeavour. i'm doing it with drawing, different methods of pigment aplication and collage right now. just for a break, just for a laugh, but at the same time pushing my boundaries 

octave mandolin

 am getting to the end of my music buying and i think this could be my last instrument 

*okay maybe a tr8s and some electronics but my last acoustic instrument. maybe! lol

commute

the first step is to get out.... 

chris watson

 it's true that i'm doing a fair bit of photography these days, which is great, and i especially love the analogue work, and being out and about outside, but it's not a patch on sound recording. sadly, these days, i just don't have the time. here's chris watson and why slowing down and listening is great

contact printing

 it's true i'm a bit too lazy to get round to contact printing, plus i like the magic of a direct positive, in contrast to many of my pinhole colleagues who, currently, are really getting into it. this ilford guide, as usual, is super useful. me, i'm going even more old school and have a fiddle with cliche verre! lol 

lee madgwick

 i love this image from lee madgwick. browse his portfolio here

raül refree

 some dialled technique from raül refree but, for me, i was mesmerized by núria andorrà's percussion 

shooting in flat light

i feel very fortunate these days, as i'm playing with my digital camera (every frame a saving! lol) that my initial education re shutter speed and aperture came with my fully analogue zenit that i inherited back in my teens (initially with a light meter but then, sadly, not). there's nothing new or surprising in this video other than what's in this video needs explained. i guess if you can take a thousand shots, rather than 12/24/36, and then sort it in photoshop, it doesn't really matter. me, i've never given up the notion, that the shot is what you take at that moment in time and no jiggerypokery after! but, each to their own! this  is handy if you're not familiar whether it and, if you are, maybe a motivator to get put when the light's less good and challenge your technique 

*i'm looking at getting an old zenit again, not for film but so i can make mini tintypes. watch this space!

millie mckee

 more of this sort of thing...

donwella

 my analog journal on fire of late 

getting the most out of that mixer

 nothing startling but useful 

draw a face

 i'm doing a thing just now where i need a drawing of a face that's broadly anatomically accurate and repeatable. while i've got all the stuff in the house, drawing isn't something i do much more than once a year so i needed a simple method that i could do quickly. this fits the bill. so much so i'm tempted to do more drawing! lol 

*i respect the lad's commitment to a heavier paper but, for practice, i'm going much lighter and cheaper!

long exposure

 as i do a fair bit of pinhole photography (anthotypes on hold due to a chronic lack of sunlight!) long exposures are nothing new. but, seeing as photographic paper is such an effective way of emptying my bank account, weirdly enough i've been gravitating back to digital. point and shoot, beyonf my phone, doesn't interest me much, but getting my cameras on full manual and having a play certainly does, and i've finally found a way of enjoying digital that feels something like play. this vid's a decent intro

plan b

 as the new doc about jumbo-visma's dominance last year is about to drop, here's the old one 

piero piccioni

 maybe you have to be in just the right mood for this but, right now, i'm in just the right mood for this. (and a big lebowski connection i didn't know about!) 

the divide

 more cycling doco - and equally lovely to look at. as with laurens ren dam, i've got loads of time for lachlan morton. plus, as some wag in the comments points out, for this sort of thing - mechanical is better! for me personally, gravel bikes, one by and electronic shifting have ruined my cycling this last couple of years and i'm struggling to refind my desire as a result of it. but a decent doco, with some great vistas and big, open sky, that'll help!