New Year in Valencia

2 January, 2021 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

For nearly a decade, every January, beginning of a new year I make a video to remind me of the year gone by. It’s made of one second clips (1 second per day) I film through the year. I don’t always remember to take them. Especially this year, many of the days under the COVID lockdowns and quarantines have merged into one with whole weeks gone missing. But even with missed days and seconds, it’s been a fantastic way to look back in time.

Many of us navigate a day through a constant stream of information, the news, updates from friends, meetings, deadlines, shopping lists, reading lists etc. Reducing a whole day to a second can be oddly liberating. Personally, it helps to place a messy year in my head, highlight what I enjoyed and valued, forgotten moments. It also helps to reflect on memorable things left out of the seconds. They say creativity is subtraction. The benefits of subtraction wisely certainly extend to the non-creative parts of our lives, to help organize our thoughts and days.

For nearly a decade, every January, beginning of every year I make a video to remind me of the year gone by. It’s made of one second clips (1 second per day) I film through the year. I don’t always remember to take them. Especially this year, many of the days under the COVID lockdowns and quarantines have merged into one with whole weeks gone missing. But even with missed days and seconds it’s been a fantastic way to look back in time.

Many of us navigate a day through a constant stream of information, the news, updates from friends, meetings, deadlines, shopping lists, reading lists etc. Reducing a whole day to a second can be oddly liberating. Personally, it helps to place a messy year in my head, highlight what I enjoyed and valued, forgotten moments. It also helps to reflect on memorable things left out of the the seconds. They say creativity is subtraction. The benefits of subtraction wisely certainly extend to the non-creative parts of our lives, to help organize our thoughts and days.

Today, that video takes me back a year ago to the new year in Valencia, Spain.

Happy new year everyone! I wish you to make it happier than the one before.

Hong Kong waterway sunset in black and white

30 June, 2020 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

Hong Kong is one of my most favourite places I’ve been to. It’s been coming up on my newsfeed these days for worrying reasons, unfortunately. Although, I’ve only been a few times, each time it has left a sea of impressions. Whether it’s dense city life, food, people, the outdoors, the hills or the sea, the city hits it out of the park with what it has to offer. Living so close, I should really be making my way there more frequently…. once one can easily travel again of course.

Jungle Hike

27 June, 2020 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

This weekend I joined some friends on a hike, about 2 hours north of Yangon. The city has a small reputation for not having lots of options for day trip getaways, particularly in the rainy season. A short jungle hike certainly is an option if spending time outdoors is your thing.

Not necessarily a challenging hike but the monsoon, the changing weather conditions and the (at times surprisingly pleasant) weight of constantly being wet add a flavour to the walk. In an odd way, the mud and humidity reminded me of hiking in the rainforests of British Columbia. Except for fewer bears and more machete wielding to make way.

Eiffel tower from the metro

25 June, 2020 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

This was a lucky shot. I was in a Paris metro chatting away with my friend when the wagon slipped above ground. I quickly grabbed my camera and tried to capture the view. The autofocus did its job and fortunately the Eiffel tower got into the frame, top to bottom, right before it disappeared again a fraction of a second later.

Viewpoint in Lisboa

23 June, 2020 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

The new world of travel restrictions has put a break on cross-continental travel for now. On the other hand, it’s been a good opportunity to organize myself and sort out albums from previous travels.

Lisbon is a hilly city, getting on top of some may require more effort than others … depending on how hot the day is. But it’ll most likely guarantee a nice view. This one was a hot and colourful day and provided for a warm and colourful view.

Post lockdown stroll

21 June, 2020 by Curious Lines Leave a comment

As cities around the world are slowly starting to ease their lockdowns, so has life started to return to Yangon. Having spent most of the last several months cooped up alone in the apartment, there is a well-developed itch to spend more time outdoors. Case loads in Yangon have been low and life has been rushing to “normal” for several weeks. Traffic feels like it’s almost back to its usual chaotic self, street vendors have taken back their corners, construction workers are back to laying bricks.

An upside to having my routine disrupted is that it rendered time for reflection of what it is I enjoy and don’t enjoy spending time on. Photography being one of the former, I rushed myself out for an aimless wander … for the first in a loooong time. I first thought I’d challenge myself to try something new and stick to shooting only in black and white. But it turns out I had missed colour more than I thought – a black and white wonder around town will have to wait for another day.

There was little deliberation about where to go on my first outing outside of the regular shopping trips – downtown, no question. Maybe it’s the lockdown effect but even after 4 years of living here, a few hours of an afternoon sun interrupting the monsoon rains are still just as exciting. On days like today, it’s hard not to feel that downtown Yangon is just magic. It’d take more than than a short blog to muster a description worth the city’s energy. You’d have to content with what comes out of the back of the camera.

Stay safe and take care of others, wherever you are!

P.S. I’ve been testing a vintage 50 mm Minolta lens. If you find some pics out of focus, it’s because I’m still feeling my way around its focus ring 🙂