Favourite Photogs: Sebastião Salgado

Sebastião Salgado is another one of those names that popped up quite a bit while I was at Loyalist. Another photographer big on black and white,  his photos all have an intensity I think would be almost too much in colour. He originally started out as an economist and while working for the International Coffee Organization, he would often travel to Africa, which was where he first started seriously taking photos. Then in 1973 he moved from his native Brazil to Paris, France, where he started out doing news before eventually moving on to his current documentary style photography. 

Film Club

When I was younger, I was going to be an actress. And then I was going to be a director and then a cinematographer. I did those ‘When I Grow Up’ school projects on them and everything. Clearly that changed (though who knows, I have time. I can cross off that whole ‘actress’ thing off though because being in front of the camera? Why would anyone want to give up the chance to boss other people around?) I used to watch movies in my spare time, even if that time wasn’t actually spare and was actually supposed to be meant for homework. I’d watch and watch and watch. After I changed my mind and decided that that wasn’t for me (that was during my “I’m going to be a marine biologist’ phase, in case you were wondering), I still found that I still loved movies, that I still loved being able to tell a story with visuals (dingdingding, photojournalism: we have a winner).

I don’t have as much time, but yet have managed to watch a lot of movies in the last little while. The four above are a small sampling of what I’ve watched and either really liked or absolutely loved. Midnight in Paris is the one that’s gotten dumped in the ‘really liked’ category. And I still don’t know if it’s because I’m this whole weird Hemingway/Fitzgerald/Stein/Guggenheim/Paris in the 20’s kick I’m on or because I genuinely like the movie. A little bit of both? The other three however, I would suggest in a heartbeat, with Pelada being my first rec, hands down. It took me about twenty minutes to get over the fact that I didn’t like how awkward the voice overs sounded, but by the end I had embraced the awkward and was instead sniffling because apparently that’s what I do when something gives me all of the feelings. If you haven’t read I Capture the Castle, get up and go do it. I’ll wait for you here. I had that book out of the library so much I might as well have owned the damned thing. I’m normally in the book >>> movie camp, and while that camp still is mine with this book, the movie is one of the better book to movie sets out there. 

What have you guys been watching lately and would recommend? Or else warn everyone to stay away from because their eyeballs don’t deserve that?

(Also: I’ve gotten really witty with my titles, haven’t I? How do people constantly come up with titles for posts? I’m pretty sure that’s why I used to post so sporadically. Coming up with an awesome title really is the hardest part and after sitting here for fifteen minutes it’s like, “Why am I putting myself through this?” I’ll get through this though, I promise. Better titles: coming soon!)

Things I’m Loving:

+ These photographs – (The last one is my absolute favourite.)

+ These advent calendar DIYs – (I’m thinking that I want to do one of these with the next kids I au pair for. It would be such a fun activity!)

+ This post – (The boots, Diana, shoes for travelling. What’s not to love?)

+ This article – (I now want red cards so I can make people slink off, never to be seen again.)

Bits & Pieces

Some photos I’ve left out the last couple of posts that I didn’t have posts for that I wanted to share. Playtime, a walk, the view from my window, food.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen posts popping up about people wishing they were in Paris right now, comments about how people are so excited for their trip and they’re going to be gone for so many days and then there’s me. For once, I’m on the other side of that. I get to be the person who says,”I’m already here,” and you know what? It’s kind of nice being on the opposite side of the fence.

No, the grass isn’t much greener over here, some days it feels like it’s a couple of shades browner, if I’m going to be completely honest, but I still get to be here, while other people want to be here.

(That made sense in my head, while I was writing this post earlier in my head, I swear.)

Things I’m Loving:

+ This book – (I’m on a women’s kick and I miss looking at photography.)

+ This movie – (Most of what I’m doing revolves around football these days. Why not the films too?)

+ This article – (I’m pretty sure I come from a family of neophaliacs. A semi-balanced one, though.)

+ These boots – (It has been raining constantly and I hate having wet feet. Need new boots.)

Summer Jobs (Now)

You know, when someone (aka me) thinks about having a summer job, the first thing that comes to mind is having weekends off every other week and possibly even three day weekends and hitting the beach afterwards or going for drinks afterwards.

One of my sister’s old classmates came in the store and voiced the thought I’d been having for awhile:

“What happened to that idea of a summer job you had when you were high school?”

Which of course made me stop and think and then shake my head and laugh. Because, naturally, all those ideas that you have, from all the books and the movies and just the fairly dreamy we all have of what it should be like.

So no, my summer job(s) aren’t really what I envisioned for myself. Not really even a little bit, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not good. That just because it’s not what you imagined it would be, doesn’t mean that it’s better or worse. It still pays the bills, the way doing anything else would do.

Besides, how interesting would life be if things turned out how you figured they would? That’s too predictable and the definition of life is that things aren’t predictable.

Things I’m Loving:

(Since it’s been awhile, have a link dump for your time.)

+ Top 10 Jobs Children Want To Be – Because they always know where it’s at.

+ 101 Jobs Tips to Land Your Dream Job –

+ Human Colours – Visually compelling.

+ Taking Off a Leg  – That moment when Photoshop goes terribly, terribly wrong.

+ The Bookless Library – The discussion about libraries in our technical future continues.

+ Living In ‘You’ve Got Mail’ – What I want: all of it.

+ Explore Your Neighbourhood  – What’s better than finding out new, fun things in your own  neighbourhood?

+ Test Tube Vases – I want these on windowsills.

+ Baseball in the Time of Cholera – Beautifully shot film about cholera from the view of a baseball player.

+ Floral Flats – These need to be in my life ASAP.

+ Friends With Kids – One of the best movies I’ve watched in awhile, up there with Black Butterflies. And for once I actually noticed how amazing the soundtrack is, which is something I don’t always notice. So, there’s that.