Hipstamatic - my new favourite app

Hipstamatic - It's well Hip.....

This is a great little photo app for iPhone. Interchangeable lenses, flash and film allows you a multitude of combinations for creating that vintage look.

Northern Eyes and Northern Skies - we were meant for each other

I've been a fan of the Manchester band I Am Kloot for a couple of years now after seeing them in Bristol. I've bought all their albums and I was excited to hear that they used a good friend of theirs' - Guy Garvey of another favourite band of mine - Elbow, to produce their latest album.

This is a track called Northern Skies. These Northern Eyes regularly miss you.

Elena Anaya

I first saw Elena in a film called Sex and Lucia and she blew my mind. In a film that enjoyed a fair amount of explicit sex featuring a very talented and sexy Paz Vega, Elena stole the show for me as the bewitching seductress - Belén.

I saw Elena again in Almodovar's Talk to Her and more recently in Mesrine Pt 1 in which she played a very different role as Sofia. Sofia is the beautiful Spanish girl who falls in love with the very charismatic Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassell), at the beginning of his career as a bank robber, gangster and ultimately France's public enemy no 1. It's a great role for Elena and demonstrates her ability as a serious actor not just a very watchable lady. I think this role as Sofia will cement her position as a leading actress in Spanish cinema and put her on a similar footing as Penelope Cruz. I certainly hope so cos I want to see more of her.

Good times

I'm a very lucky person to have really good friends all over the country. I recently had a chance to visit some of them and take advantage of their fantastic hospitality. Firstly, I indulged myself whilst visiting Howard and his family at their wonderful home in north Devon. Their swimming pool is fantastic.

Next, I joined Roland, Simon and Giles on a trip to Llangorse in mid Wales for some watersports fun using Roland's ski-boat and toys. I've done this trip with them several times over the past few years but the conditions on this trip were the best so far. The photographer was Simon and he managed to cut off my upper body as I took off. It was the biggest jump of the day and if it wasn't for my distinguishable fat arse, you wouldn't know it was me. Nice one Si.....

Fish Food

Digging for worms on the bed of the river Torridge between Instow and Bideford. It's a solitary pursuit.

Midsummer

Sometimes the flow has to be ridden.

As guilt resurfaces like bubbles from a bottle.

I escape to a World of simple pleasures.

To a green land that time has forgotten.

Scott Matthews - Sweet Scented Figure

I'm currently "enjoying" a period of unemployment. During this time I've been working on a couple of pieces of art and furniture inspired by the traditional art of the North West Coastal Indians. This is the name given to the indigenous people who lived along, and still inhabit parts of the coastline that stretches from Alaska south through British Columbia to the north west coast of the United States.

The first photograph is of a Wolf's head painted on a piece of Oak. I acquired the wood from a reclamation yard for a quid. "The Wolf is revered by the North West Coastal Indians because it is a good hunter and it is often associated with the special spirit power a man had to acquire to become a successful hunter".

My Brother reckons the Wolf looks like Muttley, the canine companion of that Dastardly Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races.



The second photograph is of an Otter painted onto a reclaimed bench that I liberated from the tip. Cost = £0 excluding paint. It's amazing what people throw away (including me, I'm sorry to say).

"As the legendary Transformer journeyed about, transforming people into creatures of the animal world, word of his coming preceded him. When he came upon a man sharpening a spear for the purpose of killing him, the Transformer took the spear, attached it to the man's rear like a long pointed tail, and turned him into an Otter".

I can think of a worse fate than having the spear simply attached to my rear but that would probably spoil the innocence of a simple fable.



The final photograph is of the mythological Thunderbird which is painted onto a triple layered piece of plywood which I made into a small garden table.

"To the West Coast people, this great bird living high in the mountains, was the most powerful of all the spirits - the personification of "Chief". Only the most powerful and prestigious of chiefs has Thunderbird as a crest.

When Thunderbird was hungry he ate whales. On the West Coast, he grasped the two Lightning Snakes which lived under his wings and threw them down onto a surfacing whale. The snakes, striking with their lightning tongues, killed the sea mammal; then Thunderbird swooped down, picked it up in his strong talons and flew with it to the mountains, there to devour it.

The Lightning Snake has the head of a Wolf , an animal also revered for its hunting prowess".

Danny Macaskill

This is a great video of Danny Macaskill doing his stuff. If I could learn just one of these tricks I'd be more than happy. I can balance stationary (relatively) while waiting at traffic lights which is about as good as it gets.

Erland and the Carnival

Just heard Erland and the Carnival performing a live session on Lauren Laverne's BBC 6Music show. They played this song called "My Name is Carnival" which is a bit Scott Walker crossed with Neil Hannon from Divine Comedy.

They play the Louisiana in Bristol in May and I'm trying to get a ticket before they sell out as they most definitely will. This is a great venue to see them.



They also played "Trouble in Mind" which has a very good promo film (some call it a video) to accompany it.

Like a Lilo Losing Air

Foals could be a band to watch out for this year. A melancholy song and video to remind us that unfortunately winter ain't over yet.

Un Flâneur

I prowl the streets,

a catcher of shadows,

in a box of tricks.

I am a stroller,

a wanderer,

a lounger.

I saunter,

then linger,

a slow swagger:

un Voyeur.

But preferring:

un Flâneur.

Poem by John Morgan

Here Comes the Bear

I bought Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear on the basis of a review in Uncut magazine. I loved the album with Southern Point the real highlight for me. However, this is a great tune too and a wonderfully original, freaky video. How amazing that colour can be used so disturbingly. I love this.....
"

North West Coastal Art

I've been interested in the art of the North West Coastal Indians (First Nations) of Canada since I visited British Columbia nearly 10 years ago. Whilst there, I bought several books and also a couple of prints from local Artists. Recently I built some garden furniture for my home and I was looking at ways of decorating a plywood table that I had made. I thought about mosaic tiles but my friend Wendy suggested I created a stencil of my favourite First Nations print and use that as an image for my table top. So I thought I'd give it a go and this is my table. The picture is of a mythological Thunderbird.

A Recent Treat

I recently had the opportunity to visit my good friends Howard and Laura and their kids Hector and Rosa in Devon. They moved (again) recently to a new abode in Abbotsham near Bideford. For people who have had more nice homes over the years than David Beckham, this really is a special place and I hope they are very happy there.

I had a great few days with them enjoying their company, being away from home and escaping the normal tedium that is my life these days. I managed to get my creative juices working again which was such a relief as I thought they'd abandoned me for someone more worthy.

I took some photographs while I was away. The main subjects were: the Homeblown surf board factory, my friends and their new family home, coastal landscapes and views along the Tarka trail following the River Torridge past Instow to Fremington Quay.

I used my old Leica M6 which was a joy to be reunited with, and my newly acquired iPhone which has a simple to use application on it called camerabag from Nevercenter. This is my new favourite app for the iPhone. Camerabag uses filters to apply affects which emulate some of my favourite cameras and processing methods. The main camera filters I used where Helga and Lolo which emulate Holga and Lomo cameras respectively. I also use the colorcross filter which emulates the cross processing method and saturates colours. Any combination of filters can be applied to give a range of effects. While this is not going to convert me back to using colour, it is a lot of fun to use and see what can be created.

The iPhone is a very clever machine. I don't think I'll be looking to replace it anytime soon.

Some results below:

Lolo and Colorcross = Lomo + Cross Processing

Colorcross (Cross Processing)

Helga (Holga)

The Acorn

Another up and coming band from Canada. You might like this band Howard as you're a big Sufjan Stevens fan.

Job Envy

I've taken to talking to pans.
They sit smug with job satisfaction.
Cooling after another long shift,
emitting noises of gentle contraction.

Job envy has many manifestations.....