Friday 5 November 2010

The View From My Couch.

Ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to travel.  For me it was always places like Morocco, Chile and Cambodia that were always high on my list.   I've always wanted to experience the more exotic locations that were so far removed from my normal existence.  I've travelled in Asia, thanks to it's close proximity when we lived in Darwin (Bali was only an hours flight).   From Vietnam which was truly breathtaking and far more diverse than I could ever have expected.  Bali beautifully exotic.  To Singapore, and it's juxtaposition of the ultra modern and the historic.  Each country had it's own charms.

Going off the beaten path was always my preferred choice of travel.  That's where you have the best experiences, and sometimes the most scary.  Having a machine gun trained on our small boat in Vietnam whilst the men on board demanded cash was a tad unnerving.  However, sitting having tea with a family of Dragonfruit farmers in the middle of nowhere, was bliss.  Travelling to other countries opens your eye's to other ways of life, it can be confronting and exhilarating at the same time. 

Now those experiences are unlikely to happen again unless I can get Bob to bugger off somewhere in the future.  My physical world is now reduced to a very, very small space, sometimes no bigger than my couch.  I can't drive far.  I can't walk far.  Some days my backyard seems as remote as the Silk Road I had always planned to walk.   

Part of the joy of travel is photography.  I'm one of those obnoxious people who is not above tying you to a chair, propping your eyes open with matchsticks and forcing you to look at hundreds of photos of my adventures. Unfortunately for me, but not my future viewing victims, my plan to photograph my way through the casbah and beyond is not going to happen.  Time to reinvent and think outside the square once more.

Every day we overlook the beauty that surrounds us.  We seek outside ourselves and our regular environment to find beauty and excitement.  We miss the small stuff.  The little moments that are all the more precious for their simplicity.  There is beauty all around us, if we take the time to notice.  If we take the time to refocus our vision until it naturally seeks out that beauty.

So I have a plan.  It may not be a good plan.  It may verge on mad.  It may be teetering on the edge of 'watching paint dry' levels of boredom.

So what's my plan?  Well thanks for asking.  I plan to find beauty in my immediate vicinity and more importantly take a snap.

I'm calling it "The View From My Couch".  There is beauty out there people and damn it I'm going to find it, even if it kills me.  I'm going to try once or twice a week to post a photo of something that screams beauty to me, or just simply gives me joy. 

So here's the first one.  I took this on the steps at the side of my house.  The flowers are actually a weed, but they are so cute I just can't make myself pull them out.  I love that even something that is supposed to be worthless can still have beauty.


'Lawn Daisies'

Just call me Ansel Adams.

Cheers
Michelle :)

What other musical accompaniment for a blog about photography could there be but, Girls on Film, by Duran Duran.  I still remember giggling at the 'naughty' version, think girls wearing clear plastic undies, whipped cream, and lots of boobs, when I was a child.  I look at it now and think how the hell did they ever get that on TV?

8 comments:

  1. Hi Ansel, I like your approach. I think illness can help us appreciate less obvious beauty. It seems you are a nomadic person trapped in the body of a sedentary person. Sorry about these restrictions on your life. I really hope you get to make your travels at some point. In the meantime, I hope your humour helps you get through it all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think this is a brilliant new campaign! Two cheers and a box of wine brilliant!

    Looking forward to more snaps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think being sick makes you look at things in a different light. I love your lawn daisies and I wouldn't pull them out either. I love things too that others probably wouldn't notice. I love morning dew,how it glistens and shines in the sunlight,and droplets on my roses. I also love watching a little lady bug walking along my window sill.You can see beauty all around you if you just take the time to look. Thanks for your post---enjoy reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The world's not going anywhere so once Bob does eff off, you will be ON THE RAMPAGE. And I have only one thing to say on this. Can I come? Please? :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great idea. I love daisies, and the little yellow buttercups. They stay in my garden too.
    I do sometimes miss the everyday beauty. I take for granted my beautiful hills surrounds that people take the time to drive to every weekend... I see tourists blocking my road, they see the beauty of it all.
    Thanks for reminding me to stop and look.

    Bring on the next pic. I have my matchsticks ready.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay attempt number 25,000 to try and respond to comments. Are you trying to drive me mad Blogger casue all I have to say is "don't push me casue I'm close to the edge" (sounds like a really cool hip hop song in my head, looks insne typed out, but hey.

    Loveable - being ill does change your perspectives. Mind you I could happily be ill on a beach in Barbados right now, or on the shores of Costa Rica. Not piccky.

    Elly Lou - can I make that one cheer and two boxes of wine?

    MJ - OI love the dew too. If it can make even a spider web a thing of beauty it is truly magical.

    VA - come please come. Oh and bring your airstream, and teh cylon painting, they are pre-requisites.

    Nomie - I'm a hills girl too. Though I am more nature girl than stand in line for two hours for scones at Miss Marple's kinda girl. Tourists are a little weird sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I thought I'd commented on this yesterday, but apparently it didn't take. Meh.

    Anyway, I think this is a lovely idea. :) It's a very pretty picture. Besides, I've always been that person that looks around and says, "Oh, what beautiful flowers!" To which someone often replies, "Alyson, those are weeds."

    Well! So what if they are!

    Thinking of you, love.

    ReplyDelete
  8. OWo - personally the fat we can see the beauty in the weeds is what makes us the coolest poeple inthe world. Suck on that naysayers!

    ReplyDelete

All who are lovely enough to comment should be showered with cup cakes, glitter and macarons. I promise to use my spoon bending mind powers to try and get that happening for all who are lovely enough to share their words. Those who go the extra step to share posts should really get a free unicorn. Or at least the gift of finding the shortest and quickest line at the supermarket on a regular basis. xx

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.