Book Signing

Book Signing, originally uploaded by Martin~

I can imagine that as an author it could be quite a daunting experience, attending to one's own book signing with what is likely to be a highly personal and significant piece of work. Answering the querying public's polite and possibly not so polite, sometimes inane and other times intelligent questions, concerning something into which one has poured heart and soul. This cheery author however expressed a quiet confidence in the timelessness of her message and its widespread applicability. Whilst initially cautious about being photographed, she readily consented after I explained my interest in street photography and desire to document her book signing.

FYI "Shafts of Light" by Elizabeth Weston is a fictional work and available through the Angus & Robertson bookstore in Post Office Square, Brisbane.

Tympani

Tympani, originally uploaded by Martin~.

The Warwick State High School band performed in the Queen Street mall today, and a highly polished performance it was too. Of all the instruments, on hand, I have to say that these beautiful kettle drums were the most impressive.

Rush Lounge

Rush Lounge, originally uploaded by Martin~.

At the same time as I was photographing "The End is Nigh" these very talented singers in period dress appeared along with a young woman handing out menus for the Rush Lounge, a restaurant located in Post Office Square. The Leica hasn't done a bad job metering given the backlit composition.

The End is Nigh

The End is Nigh, originally uploaded by Martin

It's sights like this that remind me to always sling a camera over my shoulder before my lunchtime walk, even if I'm feeling a bit jaded. People wearing sandwich-boards advertising anything are rare these days. But to see one proclaiming a message of such finality is very rare indeed. Very lucky for us mere mortals however that rather than the end of the world, this was a rather clever marketing ploy by a book store advertising the upcoming release of the final Harry Potter book.

Brisbane Arcade

Brisbane Arcade, originally uploaded by Martin~.

The Brisbane Arcade connects Queen Street with Adelaide Street and arguably contains some of the CBD's more upmarket fashion and jewellery boutiques. With retail spaces on two levels, the arcade is resplendent with beautifully stained wood panelling and has an antique charm well suited to the style of vendors it harbours.

This is the second occasion I have photographed the arcade from the same vantage point, (the first was a few years ago using a Canon 3000 SLR with Kodak BW C41 film). From memory I used the short end of a 35-70 mm zoom, which I though at the time could have been wider. That camera was sold a little while ago and on this occasion I used a recently purchased Leica Digilux 2 with a 28-90 mm (35mm equivalent) zoom, which allowed me to draw back even further.

The Leica was a bit of an impulse buy as I was originally looking for a small SLR style point and shoot digital camera to use exclusively for street photography. The Digilux is a bit like an M7 rangefinder on steroids, although I've never owned a Leica before and I'm not sure whether genuine Leica aficionados would regard the Digilux as a "real Leica", I can appreciate the hype surrounding these cameras. Andy Piper, a reviewer of this camera on photo-net The Leica Digilux 2 - A Review described the minimalist styling as "..basic Bauhaus 'form-follows-function' box, with a lens on one side and a light-sensitive surface on the other. Even Louis Daguerre
would recognize it as a camera." An apt comment, the camera is very cleanly designed, solid without being overly bulky with analogue controls that provide almost full manual control of the picture taking process without having to continually choose from menu driven selections. I am enjoying getting to know my new toy very much as I use it to take more and more photographs with which to grace this and the MB blog.

City Smart

City Smart, originally uploaded by Martin~.

Today saw the official start of the Brisbane City Council's CitySmart program, by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Campbell Newman.

The program is an amalgam of strategies designed to encourage the residents of Brisbane to self assess individual energy usage from a number of different perspectives. CitySmart also provides Information and links to practical advice concerning sustainability at the household level, according to the philosophy that encouragement to act locally will bring about changes globally.

Guages

Guages, originally uploaded by Martin~.

I am definitely a sucker for bright shiny colours and just couldn't resist the reds and yellows sharply contrasted against a dark background. I think that even the lens flare adds something to the composition. Although I must confess to boosting the contrast a little and applying some soft focus.

A picture of the mechanical workings of a fire engine used to deliver water to the seat of a blaze. This photograph came from a series that also generated the earlier False Alarm post

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC Week, originally uploaded by Martin~.

NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week 2007 is being celebrated from the 8th to the 15th of July. Some of the festivities took place in Musgrave Park behind Southbank. A great many of the tents and pavilions housed representatives from organisations supportive of ATSI culture and its needs. Not the least of which was the State Government Department of Emergency Services who provided the “Lil Squirt” fire engine for the amusement of the kids. Very popular it was too, providing rides around the park courtesy of its energetic and enthusiastic volunteer driver.

An interesting aside from earlier in the day, walking to work that morning with a monopod under my arm; I called in to the Daily Grind café located in my building to get a cup of coffee. Another customer, obviously a keen photographer himself asked me what I thought of the monopod and after I replied that I find it very useful for street photography, a general discussion ensued about taking candid photographs of strangers.

I got the impression that he was quite wary, even furtive of doing so because of the suspicion the general public sometimes attach to such activities these days. Well it was very interesting and as I am sometimes not backward about coming forward I took the opportunity suggest to him that in my opinion it was all to do with attitude. Not Joe Public’s mind you but his, mine, and every other street photographer’s out there. We are doing nothing wrong; we aren’t terrorists, deviates, thieves, weirdos etc. So my advice was to be positive, display confidence in what we are doing, ditch the nervousness and any outward display of furtiveness, act like we have every right to be there (we do), and nine times out of ten, people will respect us for what we are doing, give us space, and perhaps even encourage us. If people do seem to have a sixth sense concerning behaviour going on around them, I don’t believe we help our cause by miscuing people due to our nervousness or wavering surety about what we are doing.

So my advice was to get out there, act like you belong, (because you do) and generally people will openly or subconsciously acknowledge that you do belong.

Just my 2 cents.