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Archive for the ‘photography’ Category

The heart of the flower

Posted in from the dark room, life, perception, personal growth, photography on August 24, 2007| 1 Comment »

The heart of the flower, originally uploaded by bobsee.

There’s a whole world in there isn’t there?
In Leisure, by Joseph Pieper, he refers to the act of contemplation as a way of perceiving without effort. In Eastern religious traditions meditation is a common practice (and scientific studies support the claims that meditation practice can bring many health benefits). However, for those of us from different cultural backgrounds to those where such spiritual practices are taught, meditation can seem alien and difficult.
Contemplation as effortless perception however is accessible to all of us. First you have to notice something. Then you have to slow down, stop and gaze, letting the object of your gaze fill your thoughts. You don’t have to figure out exactly what you are looking at. You shouldn’t ask yourself any questions about it.
Just take a few moments in silent contemplation.
It’s good for you.
Flowers capture me. On so many levels. From catching my attention, to contemplation, wonder, awe and curiosity.
What captures you?

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Black Boy fountain

Posted in from the dark room, photography on August 24, 2007| 2 Comments »

Black Boy fountain, originally uploaded by bobsee.

I was born and brought up in Stirling. I left in 1972 to go to Edinburgh University but about 6 years ago I came back. A home town changes a lot over a decade or two but some things stay the same.
This fountain is called “The Black Boy” and I would see it every day as I walked to Primary School. Its good to see it still alive with cascading water. It’s one of those physical points in the world that gives me such a strong sense of connection. The familiar can become invisible to us of course and we just stop seeing. That’s the benefit of carrying a digital camera with you everywhere. It’s kind of a catalyst to seeing again.
I was really struck with the brightness of the sun sparkling the water in the fountain this week.
Then I looked again at the photo later and I noticed the surveillance camera in the background. All of a sudden I had such a strong feeling of lost innocence. When I was a child the world seemed a gentler, kinder, safer place.
Can we make it that way again?

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Noise kills

Posted in from the consulting room, from the dark room, health, photography on August 23, 2007| Leave a Comment »

I made up a wee mindmap of virtues for myself which I pasted into the front page of my moleskine. I survey it every morning so I can have one of the virtues, or areas of virtues, in my mind as I go through the day. This morning I settled on the “Calm” area – slow, silence and tranquillity are my three virtues there, so imagine my surprise when I see this article in the Guardian as I travel through to Glasgow on the train.

Coronary heart disease caused 101,000 deaths in the UK in 2006, and the study suggests that 3,030 of these are caused by chronic noise exposure, including to daytime traffic.

This is quite astonishing. I know that noise can be really irritating but I hadn’t thought through the idea that chronic noise levels induce chronic inflammatory (“stress”) responses in the body that might actually lead to death from heart disease!

So, tranquillity and silence turn out to be even more important than I had realised.

dscn0843.jpg

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Interview with God

Posted in creativity, from the viewing room, life, photography, video on August 23, 2007| 1 Comment »

One of my colleagues emailed me this link today.

OK, so I’m prepared for the fact that you might be put off by the religious slant, or you might find it a bit cheesy, but, hey, I think there’s way too much cynicism in this world. (I DO enjoy satirical comedy but that’s not the same as cynicism)

So, go on, take a chance, go watch this little presentation. The photography is really beautiful. The poem “An Interview with God” (anonymous poet apparently), which provides the text of the presentation, I rather like, and the music, by the way, is from the Forrest Gump score. As a whole this is a very touching work (have your tissues ready), and, you know what? It made me feel good!

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Shelter

Posted in from the dark room, photography on August 19, 2007| 1 Comment »

Shelter, originally uploaded by bobsee.

You never know where you might see the light!
As I passed this empty bus shelter the other morning I was suddenly struck by how it wasn’t empty at all – it was filled with LIGHT.
Lovely effect I think

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Health-related images from the Wellcome Library

Posted in education, from the dark room, health, photography, science on August 17, 2007| Leave a Comment »

The Wellcome Library specialises in the history of medicine. It’s based in London but has recently put online a collection of images which you are able to use freely under the Creative Commons License. The Head of Wellcome Images says,

Wellcome Images is an invaluable tool for teachers and researchers of medical history, health, clinical and biomedical sciences. Through visuals users are able to develop a more profound understanding of human and animal biology, and can use them in their research and teaching. What is unusual for a picture library of this nature, is that the online service is completely free.

The collection is grouped into six sets (each starting with the letter “W”!) –

  • Wellcome
  • War
  • Wonderful
  • Witchcraft
  • Wellness
  • World

Some of the images are startlingly beautiful. Go have a browse. This is an especially useful resource if you teach biological or health sciences.

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What do you think this is? (no.2)

Posted in from the dark room, photography on August 13, 2007| 3 Comments »

green, originally uploaded by bobsee.

If you enjoyed doing the previous “What is this?”, here’s another one.
You’ll have to look very carefully

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What is this?

Posted in from the dark room, perception, photography on August 11, 2007| 9 Comments »

What is this?, originally uploaded by bobsee.

What do you think this is?
I took this photo recently and when I uploaded it to my computer I thought…..what on earth is that??!!
I remember now.
But what do you think?
Can you figure it out?

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Golden sunburst

Posted in from the dark room, photography on August 11, 2007| 1 Comment »

Golden sunburst, originally uploaded by bobsee.

We’ve had a lot of rain in Scotland this summer.
But sometimes the sun bursts through the clouds.
Just like this.
And it makes me gasp.

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Solid as a rock

Posted in from the dark room, photography on August 7, 2007| 3 Comments »

Sandstone, originally uploaded by bobsee.

Everything changes.
We say “solid as a rock”, don’t we? Well, over time, even rock doesn’t stay the same.
Look at this amazing sandstone. I saw this in a wall at St Andrews. Isn’t it incredible how soft and malleable it appears? And isn’t it amazing how as the wind and the rain interact with the stone this web-like structure emerges from would’ve initially been a smooth-surfaced stone?

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