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How Lucky We Are

November 20, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

One day we’ll get outta this shitty apartment
One day is all it takes for things to turn around now
All I know is I got you and you got me, babe

And when that morning comes
I’ll make coffee and you’ll read the paper
We’ll talk about our plans
And I’ll keep saying how lucky we are

One day we’ll get in the car and drive anywhere we wanna go
And then we’ll stay in a five star, mini-bar, luxury hotel room
Cuz all I know is I got you and you got me, babe

And when that morning comes
I’ll make coffee and you’ll read the paper
We’ll talk about our plans
And I’ll keep saying how lucky we are

How lucky we are, oh oh oh
How lucky we are, oh oh oh
How lucky we are, oh oh oh
How lucky we are, are, are…

One day we’ll turn on the tv and we won’t see nothing ’bout war…

And when that morning comes
I’ll make coffee and you’ll read the paper
We’ll talk about our plans
And I’ll keep saying how lucky we are

How lucky, how lucky we are
Oh how lucky, how lucky, how lucky we are
Oh how lucky, how lucky, how lucky we are
Oh how lucky, how lucky, how lucky we are

—Meiko

Everytime I’m listening to her on Itunes I think back to last july; to Livvy; to a damn lot of things. Afternoon light on the ceiling of my apartment, late afternoon summer blue sky, the pine tree that I see through my window…

The day we spent together not doing a lot of things.

Sunbathing.

Waiting.

Wandering in downtown Rouen.

Holding each other.

Days that ended too quickly but began slowly.

Waking up at 10AM and getting up at 1PM.

I love Meiko’s songs.

Categories: Expresso, Lyrics

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November 20, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

”Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart. The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.”

I thought I’d give you a little glimpse of the Tao Te Ching. This one’s my favorite thing-that-has-a-number part of the book. It’s a very small book but I didn’t take the time (nor had it anyway) to read it entirely. I’m procrastinating on my blog instead of working on my essay ’bout Shakespeare.

Take some time.

So I’ve explored some new techniques of edition for color pictures. It’s about time, I know, and I feel that I really needed it; but above all I had to realize that my color shots were too gray. Now that it’s done, I’m starting having a little fun with them. See below for more details.



I’m having fun. I’m planning on taking more pictures of her soon, so be prepared.

Oh, and she’d kill me if she finds out that the 1st two pictures are here, but since it’s a confidential blog with confidential traffic, I’m confident enough to tell you I’ll post more pictures.

;)

hope you’re all good guys.

P.S. A big holla for my homey Erwan; he knows why.

Busy as one can be

November 13, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

Ouais, plutôt occupé ouais, et ce jusqu’à décembre; c’est dire!

Je n’ai rien de nouveau à dire, puisqu’hormi la routine, rien ne se passe vraiment.

Horreur, me criez-vous?

Eh non, malheureux, la routine ne m’aime pas tant que ça, et ce que j’appelle routinier ne l’était pas ces derniers temps. Néanmoins, je n’ai rien à dire car, hormi le fait d’être malade jusqu’à mercredi, je n’ai pas grand chose à dire.

Je suis resté 2 jours chez Livvy, 2 jours qui sont passés trop vite, malheureusement.

De même, j’ai l’impression de ne plus prendre de photos, et cela m’attriste un peu, bien que j’ai quelques projets photographiques qui mériteraient d’être menés à bien, mais pour cela, il me faudrait du temps, et ça…

Peut-être quelques photos dimanche soir, si j’ai le temps de faire quelques clichés de ma récente acquisition, à savoir une lampe en sel d’himalaya du plus bel effet.

Mais pour ça…

you got it.

cya round guys;

sya’s busy.

Categories: Expresso

Hige sceal þe heardra…

November 7, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

“Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre,
mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað”

Beowulf

“Heart shall be bolder, harder be purpose,
more proud the spirit as our power lessens”

J.R.R. Tolkien translation.

Categories: Expresso

Roll #7: Mona Lisas

October 30, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

The title has nothing to do with the photographs…

I just (finally?) put a name on a type of girls; along with muses and succubus.

Monalisas.

I’m sure you know the kind guys.

The so-called “hard to get” kinda girls. The ones that are here and there and back.

The ones you know are available, and yet … won’t be until a long, long time.

At least for you.

monalisas.

never know if they are friendly, emotionally attached or simply… distant and uninterested by you.

万緑一紅

Banryoku itsukou.

Translated “One red flower standing in a sea of green vegetation.”

Got my red flower.

Her name’s Liv.

And she ain’t no monalisa.

Anyway, let’s cut the chit-chat and look at the pictures, shall we ?

01

Grannies buying french cheese.

Three eagles skimming over their preys.

Funny thing is that these eagles generally hunt in groups when there are preys in an open field.

08

Granny at the Monoprix

I have this theory that you only encounter original (to say the least) people in Monoprix

It was hard to get it done, especially with all the guards, cameras and people watching you, the guy who has a camera.

Stealthy but steady camera.

Oh, did I mentioned the picture was taken in july with a perfect summer weather that doesn’t require a raincoat nor a hat.

Sunglasses, I understand.

Reminds me of Chungking Express’ (重慶森林) character Ching-hsia Lin played by Brigitte Lin and her famous sentence:

“Somehow I’ve become very cautious. When I put on a raincoat, I put on sunglasses too. Who knows when it will rain, or when it will turn out sunny?”

I’m pretty sure she’s a jingoist.

but hey, no judging … it’s a judge free zone you’re flying here.

So I have my proof that strange people loiter in this mall.

Moving on…

05

to dogs.

10

Watching.

11

or not.

You know.

Dogs.

Without any forms of transition…

06

I admit this one was a manual + hip shot.

First time I nailed it.

I redressed / cropped it a little.

but I thought that 1/2000th of a second would have been a little too … slow.

Apparently not.

07

First time I made that many street shots with a single film.

But there aren’t that many pictures.

I just didn’t nail that many shots.

Even if they look kinda mundane.

But hey, these are street shots.

I mean.

I’m not a big city right?

Not bizarre/grotesque people.

Just … normal people with normal lives.

boring stuff.

09

Daddy and his children posing for mom.

or whoever.

Can’t recall who was taking them.

I mean, I was, obviously.

Intruding their intimacy.

Just like you fellas.

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Still without transition, here are night shots.

Party.

03

Two friends playing guitar with Livvy listening to them.

She looks interested…

but here I guess she woulda been a monalisa to them.

04

Homeboy here was writing when we arrived at … 8pm something.

Left at midnight.

So did we.

Noticed the two cups of coffee on his table ?

I guess he had a LOT to write…

maybe for his work.

Maybe he’s a writer.

How the fuck can I know?

Perhaps he was creating something between two characters.

perhaps he was writing a short story nobody will read.

perhaps it was about Heaven & Hell.

or not.

The waters of imagination.

02

Darkness and Light.

Life & Death.

The usual.

Anyway, I’m still super-busy between the classes, the friends…

and Livvy of course.

Maybe more later… for now I’m gonna get meself some sleep.

knowwhatImean?

so g’night fellas.

don’t let the bed bugs rape you.

;)

Notepad

October 21, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

written entry, 20/10/09, 9.30PM or so.

“Muses. N. magically reappearing the night before J comes back to Rouen to study with us. Something isn’t right. Or maybe “too” right. Situation has evolved way out of control.

Listening to Calvin Harris “flashback” triggered some emotions.

Putting my best shirt. Being confident walking in empty streets at night… and yet I’m not excited as I was last year.

Situation.

Different.

Similar.

-

Whatever I guess.

I shouldn’t be so attached to the past…

that’s what made me …

Cho Mo Wan’s disciple, in a way.

Going from one girl to another trying to ignore my heart.

Or, perhaps not “trying to”, more “pretending to”

Didn’t work.

Then O., now called Livvy. She’s less than 3 meters from me.

Geometer, remember?

Photographer, always.

Fueled by both electro-pop & women…

I guess I simply have to let go of the past and … don’t focus on the present, nor the future.

just live.

with O.

For the moment.

Enjoy…

let go…

Breathe…

fully…

again…

for the best.”

Categories: Carnet de bord

dRoll #7: Mир-1в

October 21, 2009 Sya Leave a comment

I postponed this note so much I don’t remember when I originally had the idea of posting these pictures.

Not especially with the Mir 1V, but … you know… posting pictures.

T’s been a while.

But here it is, again.

03

First a couple of pictures made with another Russian lens, the Helios 44m-2 58mm … that makes a 85 on my K10D.

So, what’s left to say? I mean, the pictures shows people reserved (hands …) with a “negative” space — I’d say here a blank space — in front of them.

They were discussing what to write in a letter which … somehow show their discontent (our discontent, actually) about some cut in budget and shit like that.

Reserved and black space.

Out of ideas ?

04

Maybe. But that’s a very risky topic to discuss.

Anyway; I had fun with the M mode.

Better than the A mode when you have some frigging time ahead of you.

or not.

So I tested this russian lens.

01original

And of course I paid it only 50€.

That’s how you see how the glass technique have evolved between the 1950s and … the two thousand-ish lenses.

Flare.

Low contrast.

That’s the original picture BTW.

No edit.

01

So OK I fucked the focus … but I need to adapt… it’s one of the first I made with it!

Let’s go back to the problems later.

I was with my good friend Patou who was very near to ruin his camera because of the lens … M42 are bitches, apparently.

But I really like having a 50 on a cropped dSLR camera.

05

06

2.8.

You know.

Interestingly enough, I found the angle really “wide” as I’m mostly used to the 75mm…

for a fast-lens that is…

07

This one sucks, but I like it.

Besides, it’s a bridge between portrait 101 and the guys working to make this fun fair … fun.

08

Left side…

very very near to the docks … to boats … when you think about it, it’s fun to see that most of the fun park and close to rivers without being in the docking area…

09

Right side.

Lots of trucks when it’s not up and running…

speaking of up…

10

I’m pretty sure the “Extreme” will give some extreme thrills to some of its customers…

and I really like how the problem of contre jour disappear to make contrast/vibrance of  colors much more interesting than a normal lens.

Even though the “cruching” on wordpress fuck the colors up.

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Colors.

(fucked up colors.)

Nothing really exciting.

Other problem apart from contre-jour pictures ?

02

Yeah, blur. LOTS of blur on the corner when you don’t do a great focus:

02crop

100% crop.

Anyway.

Guess what I’m looking for is my trip to London…

So see ya later guys ;)

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