Monday, April 23, 2012

Rose tinted.

As Wislawa Szymborska writes of Homer in her poem "Census": "No-one knows what he did in his spare time." - Geoff Dyer on Vivian Maier, Street Photographer.

I read voraciously. I pore over the work of other photographers. I play with films and lenses and images. On friday I picked up a pencil and a paintbrush for the first time in years. Cloud watching. Doodling and canoodling. And before you know it, hundreds of days have passed.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Transience.


I took my friend's mother to the hospital yesterday for chemotherapy. It was a perfect day. Mild and autumnal. She said that she hadn't been outdoors in weeks, how strange it felt. I could see that every little movement hurt. I can't imagine what it must be like: not to be able to climb a step, not to be able to stand up and rush off somewhere. Well-used phrases came to mind - being a shadow of your former self.

Today my throat is tight when I think of her world, but there is intensity in things: every sip of coffee, the smell of the mango I ate for breakfast, a walk to the post office to pick up a parcel of books, wonderful books. And much of what bothered me before seems insignificant.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Sine Qua Non.


Julius Ngoh Etah
24 years old.
Born in Kumba, Southwest Province of Cameroon.
Bafaw Tribe.

In Cameroon, at the technical school, Julius did his Probatoire, or Preliminary course in Electricity. When he couldn't find a job, his father helped him to buy a taxi and that is how he made a living before coming to Cape Town. Here he worked at the Hotel School in Mouille Point, but the pay was minimal. 
"I want to move forward, always forward" always with a smile.
Julius dreams of further study and of owning his own Electrical company.