Some of the first available images of a (very) temporary street exhibition this month. Perhaps "ephemeral" would be a better description, as very few are up for more than 2 or 3 days.

There's something great about that though. There's a sense of freedom in creating something that you know for "almost" certain will be destroyed. You no longer have the fear of damaging anything, or even of getting it wrong - you can simply do it again next time. Which, of course, doesn't necessarily mean that you don't do it right. If anything that audacity gives you a heightened sense of creative freedom, which in turn brings out the best in you.

To be continued... ;)

Taken from promotional video (see below) of NovaGalicia Banco, unofficial sponsors of the exhibition.
Translated from Galician by me.

Inspired by various videos and exhibitions by French artist JR and his Inside Out movement, I have just started a new project which I'm tentatively calling "Ollos que non ven..." - meaning literally "Eyes that don't see.." in Galician. The meaning however, really only makes sense in the context of the expression "Ollos que non ven, corazón que non sente" (Eyes that don't see. Heart that doesn't feel), which is the equivalent of Out of Sight, Out of Mind in English.

No, it's not blind people but it does send a powerful message to the relevant people.

Unfortunately, I can't go into more detail for the time being because part of the project involves an element of anonymity.

What I can do is show you a few of the raw photos I've been taking and the different styles I've been playing around with.

more to come shortly...

My latest project "Ollos que non ven" has been directly inspired by a now very famous French street artist called JR. I'd seen some work he did in the slums of Rio de Janeiro but it wasn't until a friend sent a video link of him being awarded the TED prize, and the presentation that followed, that I realised how to go about setting up my new initiative.

Here's the video.

So, although the project I'm undertaking is slightly different in the way I've decided to present it, what JR and his art did was to open my eyes all of a sudden to the potential of street exhibitions. Why not exhibit in the street? It's certainly the best place for people to see your work. It's certainly the most "democratic" way of presenting art to the public.

If you want to get involved in the Inside Out Project, take a look at their website here.

The original photo was just me playing around with a bit of geometry (can you work out what it is?) but as I was looking for the best places to crop the photo, I started noticing the people on a few of the balconies.
So I cut them out of the photo to stand alone, forever looking overboard.

My first foray into food photography has been very pleasant. Not only do I get to consume the food afterwards (no toxic lacquers for presentation used here) but it has also made me realise that one of the key ingredients to good food photography is extremely simple, yet too often overlooked...

.. good food.

So this is pretty much my first go at the latest fashion in digital/web-based photography - the moving GIF. GIF files are just image files that move, or rather, a serious of image files that run continuously. You'll most probably have seen them used to show humorous clips from films that repeat themselves over and over again.

Well, someone had the great idea of using this file format to produce moving pictures. What's great about them, and what differentiates them from video, is that you isolate an area of the image that you want to show as movement, whilst everything else remains as a still photo. This allows you to draw the viewer's eye to elements of the photo, something that you would normally do through composition, lighting or focus, for example. 

The principle is quite simple but in practice it doesn't always come out as smoothly as you'd like. One of the most important factor is a steady camera, so make sure you use a tripod. The effect works best when you choose a movement that is, by nature, repetitive (e.g. swinging, flapping, dripping) because then the final result won't look unnatural. Some things simply don't work well, others do. It's all about trial and error.

Imprisoned on the desolate Atlantic island of St Helena, Napoleon probably had plenty of time to rue and regret his fall from power. Where had it all gone wrong? Trafalgar, the French Invasion of Russia, or Waterloo?

Vigo?

Back in 1809, the men and women of Vigo took up arms and chased the French oppressors out of town. Simple as that. And about as quick.

However, the recapture (or reconquest) of Vigo marked the beginning of a bad run for Napoleon and the Vigueses are keen to celebrate it - with ever-growing enthusiasm each year.

And that's the fantastic thing about the Spanish any-excuse-for-a-party attitude. Historical facts and figures (Vigo was occupied for the grand total of two months) are thrown out with the French and the city revels in tradition, pride and legacy.

The celebration mirrors many of the other Galician and Spanish historical festivals, in that the old town, ‘o casco vello’ is packed full of wooden food, drink, bagpipes, hay and trinket stalls and the city becomes a living costume drama for the weekend.

The representation of the actual reconquista is relatively bloodless, although the specially-reconstructed city gates take a decent hacking. The French are suitably arrogant and the whole scene degenerates into some enthusiastic pantomime - with the obligatory audience participation. Plenty of insults fly and after a tide of abuse from the public, the French are forced onto a boat by a handful of mean-looking, but exceptionally well-dressed crimson warriors and a  harmless-looking woman playing what looks like a jewellery box (it's actually a hurdy gurdy).

Of course, the wily Vigueses should really be applauded for executing such a quick, bloodless and execution-free coup – just like thousands of real-life Spanish Mandela’s.

The party though, packs a lot more punch and, with the principal square cleansed of los putos franceses (learn that one if you're planning on visiting), people are free to begin the real reconquest of Vigo. Music fills the streets as tambourines, gaitas (Galician bagpipes) and drunkards dance along, around and about them. Street food and drink is served in the abundance and the crowd washes down pulpo (octopus) and filloas (pancakes) with wines, liqueurs and merriment, invoking the days of rum barrels and hearty laughter.

Waterloo? Great song.

more info at the official Reconquista site: www.reconquistadevigo.com

What an epic battle it could have been...

Lucha a Muerte or "Fight to the Death".

What's the story? Did the two corpses simply find their way ashore on the tide or was there more to it?

This was one of my first photos ever taken on my own camera - a point-and-shoot Kodak Z740 ZOOM.

Taken in Cangas, Spain 2007