Out and About

Having decided to try and muscle my way through the viral mishaps I’m currently suffering I went out to our local ‘mountains’ to make some images. I’m not sure it was the best thing to do, as far as the ‘mishaps’ are concerned, as I feel a bit knackered now but it was nice to be out in the fresh air making some photographs.

As to the photographs these are part of a long running project I’ve called ‘Deep Time’. I’m interested in just how do you capture geological time on a photograph. I’m not sure I’ve come up with an answer yet but I’ve only been thinking about this for around two years now so not surprising I’m still up in the air about this.

Those of you who don’t know my local ‘mountains’ are the Pre Cambrian Charnwood Hills which form some of the oldest rocks anywhere on earth. They clock in at around 560 million years of age, pretty old. To find rocks which are much older you have to go to the island of Lewis or Greenland. These are much older and they clock in at over 3 billion years old. I may visit Lewis but not Greenland.

Another aspects of this project is the Pre Cambrian life forms which were named after the first documented example of this life form Charnia, because it was found in the Charnwood Hills.

Enough Geological information for one day. I think I’ll go and have a lie down to recover. Good day but tiring.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Geting a grip

After reading the last blog entry I had had enough and so I’ve forced myself to do some work and this is the result…the start of a painting of a face that has haunted me for a while. Amazing what you can do with a bit of a kick up the bum.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Virus Virus oh how I love you virus!

Day four and I fell shit. Well actually I just feel totally washed out with no real energy. Now I’ve been through this before so I know, in time, things will get back to normal. It’s just that when you’re going through these periods you really want to do things but somehow there is no energy there to do anything. Only a week ago I was full of energy but now I’ve crashed. So much for enjoying spring!

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Time for reflection…no lets just move on…please.

So ding dong the witch is dead…seems to be the unofficial anthem to mark the passing of Lady Thatcher. Whether this is a fit and proper sentiment to have is really moot. To be quite honest I just don’t care. The news channels have at least had something else to report over the past couple of days, nothing gets the news rooms blood rushing than genuine breaking news and the outrage at Boston, Mass was just that.

But today we will be back to wall to wall coverage of the funeral. We can also expect some form of outrageous protest from someone who will claim that they are doing it on behalf of this or that. Hopefully it will only be outrageous rather than anything more dangerous but you never know. Then she will be gone and perhaps we can get back to the 21st century rather than reliving and fighting the battles of 30 years ago. I guess this is one of the great faults of this country in that we always seem to be looking back. Perhaps it is because we think things were better in the past – they were not. If I hear one more ageing left wing politician claiming that things were better before Thatcher I think I’ll scream Equally if another right wing politician claims that we need to be more like Thatcher’s Britain then god help me what I’ll do.

Both seem to forget that they are looking at a foreign country, one that they may have lived in at the time, but has now changed. We should try and look forward to influence things that we can rather than wishing things were like they were in the past, when we didn’t live as long, we didn’t have as much opportunities (yes they are still there) and were not part of a connected world. Here is just one example. In the 1980’s I couldn’t see photography from ordinary people from around the world. I couldn’t experience, however remotely, their lives as I can today. My world seemed much smaller than it does today, so closed and grainy.

Perhaps the witch’s death we should be celebrating is the past. Ding Dong indeed.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Only one cinema

Such bliss…and it’s the directors hall…this how cinema should be. Lets hope the film isn’t too bad.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Going nowhere fast

Oh the joys of a cold or is that a virus or …. Ever since I had a bit of a heart scare a couple of years ago, which was put down to a virus rather than anything mechanically wrong with my heart, I’m always very wary of viruses and so I tend to close down a little when one strikes. Out goes the daily walks, although at the moment I don’t really have the energy for anything other than a walk around the block, and other strenuous exercise. So in short I’m going nowhere very fast.

However, it does have some advantages. The first is that I can go and watch some of the latest movie releases – today I’m going to see oblivion which I have every confidence is going to be watchable rubbish – that is the conclusion of the reviews I’ve seen. Also it does mean that I can spend some time drawing or painting – which is good. What it doesn’t mean is that I can go out and play with my new toy the way I would have liked to…boo hoo.

I’m sure things will be back to normal after a few days but it is frustrating being stuck in the house with no real energy to do anything.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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I’ve got a cold…you know who you are who gave it to me!

I’m feeling a little sorry for myself this morning as I’ve got a bit of a cold…not full blown man flu but we’re getting there! I suspect I know where I caught it as well but I don’t hold grudges…but you know who you are! (Ha Ha)

Actually it has meant that I can trawl through the achieves yet again to find photos to cheer me up (actually I’m not that bad but why let the truth hinder things) so this photo is from 2011 and when of my last ‘nature photography’ expeditions to Bempton Cliffs – a wonderful place if you want to see sea birds. Just put things into perspective – in 2011 I only kept just over 1400 images – which is a fraction of what I previously produced. This really shows why I sold all my ‘nature’ photographic equipment – I just wasn’t using. Still I enjoyed it whilst it lasted.

Now where is the tissue…

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Getting Close to Complete….Maybe

I have been watching the extra’s for the Hobbit and one of the things I found amazing was that the film was only ‘finished’ on the morning of the world premiere – long gone are the days of having to make prints on ‘real’ film. In one sense this painting of Tom Cruise is finished and yet it isn’t and I suspect I’ll never know when it is finished – like everything else I do. Months, maybe years latter I’ll come back to work on it. Still if it is good enough for Titian who am I to argue.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Can you tell who it is yet?

After a few days of messing around with photography it is nice to get my Wacom tablet going on something more painterly. Of course in one sense there is no difference between the photographs I make and the digital paintings but in a real sense they are miles apart. And it is really nice to work on a different aspect of my creative urges – my that sounds rather disgusting.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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There is a place for everyone

Saw this last weekend on the south bank near to Tate Modern…London clearly provides for every need.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk

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