4. half an hour in the psychiatrist’s chair - or ‘revealing what’s hidden’

it went something like this…..

toni: how is revealing what’s hidden, going? I have many concepts (in my head) and no photos (in my camera)

jenny: I have a few potential pics - was just outside with camera in fact.....

toni: even knowing <you> have something has inspired me! am on train to London, to meet BF post BM (business meet) - we are lunching at blueprint cafe and get free design museum ticket thrown in; am hopeful something hidden will reveal itself somewhere in process!

jenny: was initially thrown by the ‘revealing what’s hidden’ photo in i-porn book - which, to me at least, appeared to keep that which was hidden - well – hidden (although perhaps idea was that small child in photo felt because head was hidden, bare bum also was)…..had had an idea to do with walnuts.....but there are so few left on trees after high winds and crazy storm last weekend that I have pretty much abandoned that; went for head-clearing walk round grounds of 'chateau' near place of work on Tues - looong day with presentation (to present) at 6.30 so had to get out in order to breathe - switched walnuts idea for beech mast (crap photos though); at same time, got murky shot of tennis player through gauze netting.....fab idea (well I thought so!) but light let me down (or maybe I let it down); had also snuck outside during morning lull and had jolly fun with puddles and shadows - but no stretch of imagination can turn any resulting pics into solution to the week's challenge; however - had foggy start to this morning (which is why I was outside earlier).....police car stopped on road beside me as I was poking camera through fence to take pics of neighbour's dusky roses; le gendarme rolled down his window and asked me what I was doing - I looked at camera.....and said I was taking photos (duh!)  he then asked me where I lived (thinks - should have pointed to someone else's house!) - and then on they went; surely I didn't look as though I was casing neighbour's place for potential break-in! must have looked a tad odd I suppose in PJs and husband's shoes)…..

jenny: um - is there a name for people who enjoy hanging out in cemeteries?

toni: dunno - but if there is, is it the same word as is used to describe 'people who hang with dwindling hope around misty woodlands'?!  am not sure if is…’revealing what is hidden’…

but it’s what was revealed on misty walk to lake, friday morning... and all other photos a 'pile of pants' as we say oop north [ie beach revealed by receding tide, yawning dog, cake coming out of oven, child looking through binoculars - and even the embraced moron of 'walking man shot through movement of water in fountain...'

as for me – the half hour in the psychiatrist’s chair worked its wonders – although the incredible stress of choosing (even now I am procrastinating…..) means I should almost certainly hop straight back in; or at the very least sign up for another session…..

(talking of which: just wondering - do we have a next week's challenge? 

toni: ooops! that's <me> isn't it..?!  one moment - will get dog to put paw on page or some such…..no 7 'seek out light in the dark'...hmmmmmm... that'll be the dog's hi-viz collar on his pre-bed pee walk...)

sorted!

3. so – not ‘study’ rubbish after all…..nor yet studying it

for some obscure reason, I had in my head that the week’s challenge had to do with rubbish; NO idea where that came from (other perhaps than a run of ‘rubbish’ photos…..)

helpful suggestions from my chief-picker-of-the-next-week’s-challenge even had me wondering whether I should actually be on my elbows and knees by the waste paper basket in the study than spotting discarded Marlboro’ ‘fag’ packets left in less than artsy disarray by the roadside

fortunately, a last-minute flick through the i-porn ‘bible’ had me doing a panicked rethink; I should not have been studying rubbish after all – instead the challenge read – and I quote – ‘study (I got that bit right at any rate!) a collection of discarded objects on a table…..’

which has led to a dilemma; 'discarded' objects on a table top would by this time have to be casually ‘discarded’ by me.....you certainly don't want to witness the disaster-zone that is supposed to be the place where we eat; as well as my laptop, it now has a week’s worth of laundry ‘discarded’ there too, plus a duster, some tea bags, an empty coffee cup, my uneaten breakfast empty breakfast bowl (the latter two almost bona-fide dining table items)....and He (my chief-picker-of-the-next-week’s-challenge himself a very practised ‘discarder’) has thoughtfully tidied the desk in the study (and probably also emptied the waste paper basket) – and gone and left the country…..presumably to ‘discard’ oh-so-casually his detritus all over some other table

BUT – this timely reply to an email “I would say that the photos you say you <could> use were ones you were <unconsciously drawn to in the light of the challenge>, and hence - ha! - absolutely bona fido (as dog owners like to say!)” gave a glimmer of last-minute hope

the photos in question being the ones I was obviously ‘unconsciously’ drawn to taking at lunch on Wednesday…..(thinks; maybe it was the glass of wine that added to the lack of consciousness)

whatever…..

(PS artful leaf casually ‘discarded’ by a thoughtful sycamore tree…..)

and now to my i-porn buddy, who bemoans, “my heart-tug photo…

is not nearly so beautiful without the effects of the vin rouge.”

I beg to differ – but am all for a glass of wine anyway

and so to next week’s challenge – which – and I took the precaution of reading it at least three times – is to ‘reveal what’s hidden’; sounds like half an hour in the psychiatrist’s chair to me (not a bad idea in view of the week I’ve had)

2. embracing ‘moron’

toni, on embracing ‘moron’…..

5 september; I think my bath has brought me inspiration…I have a teeny, tiny, germ of an idea...just need sunshine and a biddable assistant...

(sometime later on) 5 september; the sunshine I ordered has come packaged as wind and grey clouds... ho hum... time to think on toes, girls, think on toes

9 september; BF has proved to be most biddable of models [not <before> lunch, only <post> un demi de vin rouge...]. and i have now captured motion...

although at one point he retreated to 'ministry of silly walks' so have also captured 'moron' too...

  

and as for me…..in spite of an unexpected cycle race whooshing through the village yesterday afternoon (tempted here to bewail, ‘if only I’d known early enough’ – but actually I would still probably not have had wit enough to ‘pan’ – thinks; do I even know how???) no blurry (bronzed, sweaty, muscled) cyclists made it here; instead you’ll have to make do with rather amateurish attempts at long exposure of the mighty Rhone thundering (yes, it did thunder, although the photo makes it look more like the sea of tranquillity) by…..

a small child chose a number between 1 and 50 for next week, and they chose '28'; apparently, it is a cinch compared to embracing ‘morons’...

time will be the judge of that!

1. silent in a cemetery

we have lift-off – OK so the one photo each has turned into two – but “hell yes! our blog? our ROOLZ!”

                                    

                

and now to the challenge for next Sunday; to coin an unfortunate predictive text muck-up, we shall spend the week embracing ‘moron’ (or if you prefer, embracing motion)

personally I am not entirely sure quite which is the lesser of two evils…..but I guess we’ll find out soon enough