In Betweens

Taken with Canon 5D

I am writing this in transit back to the HQ, where the relative level of activity will drop so severely as to mimic that of someone suffering a fatal heart attack during a particularly boisterous session of sex. To maintain some resemblance of order, I will continue the posts as they were planned during the remainder of my stay in Europe. I had organized in my head each post, although sadly time (and internet access) was too limited to actually get the posts done.

A particular phenomenon occurs when visiting the mother land, which I believe is common to all. That is that unless you are doing something specific, you have nothing at all to do. You don’t really feel this when you are on holiday, as they are usually taken for the specific purposes of doing little, and you usually find yourself in suitable places to do nothing in. However, when you are a visitor to your own country, times arise when you are in between planned activities and you find yourself at a loose end. You don’t own any property so you are not surrounded by little things that would otherwise absorb this time, and most people are unavailable due to work responsibilities. Sure, you can spend these times shopping, or visiting galleries and so on, but there are days when that just doesn’t fit the bill.

After returning from Dartmoor, and before heading to France, I had a couple of days such as this. So what do I find myself filling this time with? Well, inspired by new regulations on passport photographs that I had read during my own application for a new passport, I set about trying to make a set of self-portraits in a passport style that would be so ridiculously unsuitable as to cause offence. It may sound strange, but there are people out there, whom are quite content to blow a couple of hours playing with off-camera flash, and I am one. I am so pleased with the results of my little shoot I am considering sending them in with a bogus passport application.

I also had time to consider some things that strike me about my country-folk. One thing that immediately stood out is they way that even in a very busy street no one ever looks at anyone else. It is as if nobody is aware that there are any other human beings around, there is no eye contact, and people march around with a sense of purpose as if contemplating life changing decisions – permanently. It is a strange contrast to what I am used to where, almost in stark contrast, people can be annoyingly interested in you as you walk down the street. Quite often the exchange ends with a smile, but even when no smile is forthcoming, you are left with the feeling that you are sharing that part of the universe with other human beings, who recognize your existence.

So, with an obvious over abundance of time on my hands, I began to prepare to head for France, to take in a photographic overload of potential shots, and unfortunately be unable to take hardly a shot.