Conserving the past

A few weekends ago I fell in love with the Barbican Conservatory.

The girl who stares a trees

This is my friend Rachael. When she isn't taking photographs, she can be found staring at trees.

Focusing on buildings

A few weeks ago I bought myself a Pentax K1000 with 50mm lens off eBay. As much as I love my Diana and Holga, I’ve wanted more control over my photographs, something I  don’t get much of with my  toy cameras.  

The above photographs are taken from its first roll of film. Most of them were of concrete buildings and some were extremely unfocused. It’s going to take some serious getting used to but I cannot wait to photograph my summer with it.

If only I had a bag of magic beans...

After several months of trying to grow flowers on mybalcony, I have come to the conclusion that gardening is not my forte.  While I have been telling myself that it wasmy seed’s, (some with an expiration date in the 90’s) the elements (one months’worth of rain drowning my ‘in date’ seeds) and my tools (pretty yet unpracticalpots with no drainage) I fear this is not entirely the case. If only I had a bag of magic beans. My Granma has suggested I read a gardeningbook and had promised she will check her local charity shop for one for me.  I’m fairly confident that when I return homein a few weeks, I will be the proud owner of said book and that my Father may havedisowned me for my un-green fingers.

Whilst searching for the perfect solution, I have stumbledacross, nee fallen in love with the Terrarium. A terrarium is a collection of smallplants, often ferns or cacti, in a glass container.  The beautiful collection shown above comes from Score+Solders. If I could afford to, I would buy them in a heartbeat.

Terrarium’s remind me of a collection of old fish tanks weused to have when I was younger. They lived in the garden, nestled snugly onbranches between the ivy that grew around them. In one of the tanks lived a toyfish, a homage to Damien Hirst’s ThePhysical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. They would havebeen perfect for my first Terrarium. I fear my search for the right terrariummay take some time…

Another view

"The wall around the window does not create two worlds" Henri Matisse







1.The Lab. 2.Thomessa. 3 & 5.Quince with sugar. 4.G Breath

You're never to old to learn something new

Beginners is proof that it is possible to fall in love with a film after only seeing the trailer. I finally got round to watching it this week. It was a truly lovely film, with among other things, amazing windows (a recent obsession I have got) and the cutest dog I have ever seen. The characters were wholesome and endearing. The use of dialogue and lack of it in certain scenes was beautiful, as was the cinematography. I would honestly recommend this film to anyone.

To summarise, the film tells the story of Oliver (Ewan McGregor). After his mother dies, Oliver’s father Hal (Christopher Plummer) admits he has been gay the whole time. Oliver recounts the final months of his Father’s life whilst trying to make sense of his own and his growing relationship with Arthur, his Father’s dog and Anna, a girl he meets at a fancy dress party.

Zen and the art of finishing what I've started

“But it is our history that makes who we are today, and it is who we are today that makes who we are tomorrow.” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig.








Reminiscence by Brendan George Ko

When I was 16 I started reading The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Two years, two holidays and one A Level photography project later I finished it. I loved the book, just lack the concentration or patience to finish most books I start. To demonstrate my point, I am currently reading four books, one of which I started in 2008 and read a couple of chapters of once in a blue moon. I also have three books on my kindle and only this weekend downloaded another. In my imagination, I will spend my weekend mornings on the balcony, sun shining, birds singing. My coffee will be in one hand, my book in the other. I will devour these books with greed and once I have finished them will be enlightened and wise. The reality of it is they collect dust on my bedside table.

This is not to say that I don’t finish books. Only last month I started and finished The Hunger Games trilogy. Even though I loved them, please note my sincere sarcasm at my reading ability.

All of these home truths lead me to the reason for this post, the above photographs by Brendan George Ko. I stumbled upon them a few days ago and immediately wanted to share them with a friend. I knew she would love them as much I do. I was in the process of doing this when I noticed, accompanying the photographs, were excerpts from Robert M. Pirsig’s, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, one of the books I am reading. The book was recommended to me by a family friend and I trust his judgement. I am now determined to, at the very least, finish this book.