097 - I am

097 - I am
Originally uploaded by gingerpig2000

I think having people around who challenge you is good, if sometimes frustrating, because it is hard to think of something new when everyone around repeats what you already know or believe. I read today on my Facebook someone who was angry because a naval ship had given food to Somali pirates rather than shooting them. Well, anyone can be frustrated by such a situation, but this I happen to know that this guy does nothing for anyone but instead bums around in foreign countries with enough education to teach English but not enough vision of humanity to understand that he is part of the problem. I probably annoy him to the same extent with what in comparison to him are my liberal ideas

Whatever, earlier in the day I had seen some TV program about sharpshooters and, having had two recent photo sessions in basements, they all combined into this idea for an image. Ania took the pictures, and we were really casual in the direction department. I had to draw the gun in later as we don't even own a water pistol, which I was happy to do because I believe in not owning many things but instead making sure one gets the best out of what one already has. Note the bright white light above the victim and the darkness partially shrouding the aggressor, the arm in parallel to the gun, the muzzle flash like the spread hand, with the shadow of the hand being at the same time the shadow of the muzzle flash, and the grey arm shadow reaching out for the dark of the gun. I could go on, but I'd rather stop and let the image just BE.

This is why I like challenging people: they so often help to produce interesting picture ideas!

062 - driving force

062 - driving force
Originally uploaded by gingerpig2000

There has been a massive slow-sown in the service sector where I work, largely because of an overly high reliance on tradition in the methods used. I took a relaxed photo of me in the car and twisted it to up the energy as an attempt to resist the natural loss of confidence when you see things slipping away due to circumstances outside one's control.

It's hard to explain your reasons for decisions, especially when the situation is risky and there is too little experience around concerning this type of situation. The good thing is that I have been warming up some new sidelines, and since each time this kind of thing has happened before I have ended up doing new, unexpected things, this time I am not going to worry too much about hanging onto past activities.

096 - Fly south from Winter

096 - Fly south from Winter
Originally uploaded by gingerpig2000

This, my latest blog, is about the pleasure I get from creating things, a chance just to think about them and not trying to justify anything.

Today was about -20C in the morning, and had warmed up only a little by the time we ventured out to go to church. At times like this I wish we lived in warmer climes rather than near the eastern border of Poland. I wanted to take a picture to meet today's challenge on Flikr Group Roulette, for a photo taken in a car. I took quite a few pictures, but this was the first and the least prepared since the traffic lights had changed to green by the time I had fumbled my gloves off. However, I was impressed by the angle and the fact that I had managed to get it in focus, given the rush.

The view through the windows is from a photo Ania took from the plane after taking off on our way back from Turkey. I removed both the interior and door mirrors from the image to tidy it up, to give the look of a sleek aircraft interior.