Monthly Archives: June 2013

Tuesday With Vous: Matt Senior

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Name: Matt Senior
Location: Alton (Hampshire)
Occupation: Church Administrator (in the mornings), School IT Technician (in the afternoons).
Camera Used: Nikeon D60

As usual, my morning starts by being woken up by this guy.

Before leaving for work I need to wrestle my iPad from my daughter.

At my desk at the church. The piles on it have grown. That’s what I get for taking a day’s leave yesterday.

I take a stroll to the sound desk. Time for Sunday’s sermon to go online.

This fly has been buzzing around in an annoying way this morning. No longer. Indiana [the best bit of lost property ever to come into my office] thinks it may hold some archaeological value.

My colleague’s new desk fan is still amusing us in the office. A multi-lingual USB fan. Bleib Cool. Good advice.

Looking somewhat disheveled as I arrive at my afternoon job. That’s what wearing a motorcycle helmet does to you (that and not having got round to shaving for quite a few days).

In the library checking if a laptop has the relevant software.

Sorting through a tangle of headphones to see which work and which don’t.

Primary school science experiments: Sometimes they work, sometimes they really don’t.

Riding home through rural Hampshire.

Tea time.

Looking out the bedroom window, waiting for the kids to fall asleep, and I spot the first hot air balloon of the season.

Making bread and listening to Bellowhead. Excellent.

It’s definitely time for coffee now.

Time for some uke practice. (We ukelele players never use its full name. Maybe? I don’t know, I only really starting playing 4 days ago).

This guy is up again. And he’s hungry.

So with tomorrow’s lunch cooling, I reckon it’s probably time for bed.

Many thanks to Matt for sharing his Tuesday with us. Maybe I’ll rope him in for a bread recipe post one of these days, too. Yum!

Artists Unveiled

I’ve been far away and distant. Like a lover who you can tell is uninterested in the relationship but won’t admit they’re uninterested. ”No,” they say, “I’m happy, I’m cool. I still love you… Wait, is that what you asked?” You know how it goes.

Anyway, my friend Liam, my other man, and I are starting an art festival, my other preoccupation. It’s called Artists Unveiled and it’s coming to Tunbridge Wells in June of next year. I’m really excited. We’re both really excited! So if you’re an artist in the area, get in touch ’cause we’d love to talk to you! Oh, and follow Artists Unveiled on Twitter, too. Don’t ask questions, just do it.

Speaking of artists, I have a really exciting Tuesday With Vous scheduled for tomorrow so be sure to come back and check that out. <3

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

An enormous congratulations to my older brother Neal and his wonderful fiancée (!!!), Kate. I’m so happy for the two of you and, in my opinion, there can never be too many Kates in one family. <3

I LOVE YOU BOTH & WISH YOU ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD!

Tuesday With Vous: Samuel Marlow

Remember my friend Samuel? Well, he’s basically one of the coolest people ever. And not just because he’s my very first two-time contributor to Tuesday With Vous… All-around, he’s an awesome filmmaker and person and I’m thrilled that he’s sharing his day with us for a second time. Because he was shooting film and because he wanted to show you a day in London, these photos are actually from last Friday, not Tuesday. I know that’s kind of like cheating, but when you’re a two-time contributor here on LKS, the rules don’t apply. Now, take it away, Samuel!

Friday, June 14, 2013

I had such fun on the previous Tuesday With Vous, I jumped at the chance to have another go, if for no other reason than try my newly-acquired (though in itself very old) Halina 35X.

This is only the second roll of film I have put through the camera, and the first colour film, since replacing the light seals in a DIY fix. It’s an old camera (1959) with many quirks that I’m still getting used to.

As a result of one of these (a sticky rewind wheel) I thought the film had fully rewound and exposed the first few frames to light by accident. Luckily only a couple of shots were lost, and I could work around it.

Another of the camera’s idiosyncrasies is that the focus, shutter speed and aperture must all be guessed, meaning the exposure can be a it hit-and-miss.

Getting to bed late is nothing new for me, but I am particularly aware of it with the Solstice just a week away. I took this as a souvenir.

This shot was exposed when I took the back off the camera. I’ll know for next time…

The greenery has exploded the last few weeks. Combination of rain and sun.

The bus dropped me off opposite Tunbridge Wells’ war memorial.

Getting close to Charing Cross.

Underground, overground, Monument free.

An ugly photogenic urban oasis amid new buildings going up on Leman Street in Tower Hamlets.

New and old. Clean and dirty.

View West down Oxford Street, looking gratifyingly quiet.

The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. Sadly prophetic as Michael Llewelyn Davies, on whom the statue was based, died in a suspected suicide pact at the age of 20.

People on Westminster Bridge in rush hour.

Southbank in the evening sun.

Soft focus.

Visiting the NT Prop Store reminds me why I initially trained as a production designer.

Still enough light in the sky to photograph outdoors.

Selfie in the train window.

Home by midnight to a nice green glow.

Be sure to check out Samuel’s website, take a peek at his work, and follow him on twitter, too. He’s a real Tunbridge Wells talent and I’m forever grateful that he took the time to share his day with us… twice! xx

The Badlands

And the Worst Blogger in the World Award goes to Kate Sims!

Seriously you guys, I’m sorry. I’ve been everywhere but here lately and, now that I’m booking clients, founding events (more on this another time) and moving my business forward, I’m not adjusting to the life-work balance quite as seamlessly as I’d hoped. In fact, I’m happily drowning in work, but every second that I’m working means I’m not writing for myself and maintaining this space, and no matter how I cut it, that just doesn’t work for me.

So let’s play catch-up and look at some photos from my Wild Wild West adventure. Today, let’s focus on The Badlands.

Badasslands* is more like it! Seriously, it’s like going to Mars. How are those land formations even real? How do they go from looking like extraterrestrial craters one moment to melting creamsicles the next?

As we drove through the Badlands National Park, my head was poking out the window with my camera to my eye as I snapped photos of the strangeness all around. After hours (and hours and hours) of the flat expanse of Pro-Life billboards and never-ending fields that is South Dakota, I was amazed by how starkly different and unique the badlands are. It was eerie, this sudden change in scenery, but it was beautiful and welcome, too.

Whilst winding along the wall and around hills, we saw a coyote (or was it a wolf?), scampering prairie dogs with screams like chirping birds, bighorn sheep (above), wild turkeys, bison and deer. At 244,300 acres, the Badlands are vast, and desolate, any every time we saw a living creature I was moved by their fortitude, ’cause whether you’re a beast or man, living in a place like The Badlands can’t be easy. As we wove along, my mind kept flashing back to games of Oregon Trail and I imagined how soul crushing it must’ve been to pull a covered wagon up to The Badlands, wipe the sweat of your neck and let out a low whistle thinking, Damn, we’re going to break so many wagon wheels and lose at least three kids to snake bites and dehydration on this here stretch. Those pioneers were brave people– if I’d come from Virginia and set my eyes on The Badlands, you can bet your butt I’d have turned around and gone back home.

Or maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I’d have ridden through The Badlands on the back of my pony and thought about how the patterns in the sand looked like melting creamsicles and daydreamed of petting a bison. Some things never change, after all, and my attraction to The Badlands will always endure.

*I almost made a sheep-noise pun about the Badlands but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. You’re welcome.

Tuesday With Moi

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

As I was going about my morning yesterday, I completely forgot it was Tuesday and therefore forgot to take my 9 o’clock picture. Silly me! Anyway, the new Vampire Weekend album has been on repeat ’round these parts lately. Their music always reminds me of summer and this release could’t have come at a better time.

Oh, except that England hasn’t really gotten the memo that it’s summer.

Anyway, Dear Reader, I want to introduce you to someone who is very important to me, Lucille. Lucille, meet Dear Reader.

One of my clients gifted Lucille to me after we had a spirited conversation about taxidermy over lunch one afternoon. Next thing I knew, Lucille came into my life. I couldn’t be happier.

Now, Lucille, play nice! Do not bite Dear Reader.

And then the postman came and surprised me with a package.

Which turned out to be my Wild Wild West themed photobook from Yophoto!

Now, let me be straight: I’m actually doing some work for Yophoto so I didn’t have to pay to make this book. Regardless, what I’m about to say is 100% the gospel truth: I ordered this book on Monday and received it the very next day. The book was easy– and fun!– to make, it looks and feels awesome, and it’s been very exciting to actually see my photos in print. When I showed David, he said, “How cool! You’ve created your very own coffee table book!” so that’s where the book is going to live, on the coffee table. Cool, indeed!

Anyway, if you have any desire to print some of the pictures that are undoubtedly just sitting on your computer, being viewed by no one, I cannot recommend Yophoto enough. They do a range of photobooks in addition to canvas prints and calendars and they ship internationally. Now that I’ve experienced making one, I want to make a photobook for everything. Like a Tuesday With Moi photobook– how cool would that be?!

Anyway, Lucille again. Hi Lucille!

And hello to England again, too. I asked David what the weather was like this morning and his reply was, “Autumnal”. :(

But I suppose this is great weather for snails, so hurrah for them!

Lately, David and I have both been working on a pretty non-stop basis. When I came home last night, I decided that we needed to spend some time with each other without our computers in front of our faces so we went to The Trading Post.

Of course, all the location change actually did was prompt us to talk about our work in a new environment, but regardless, it was nice to actually spend some time together. Alone. In public. Drinking wine and eating some food. You know?

On our way home, we did some window shopping and daydreamed about owning things like decorative lions and arm chairs.

And then we had a night cap and went to bed. I’ve been very tired lately. I think it’s largely due to the fact that I hit the ground running when I came back from the US and haven’t really given my body the time to rest the way it would like to. So last night, I went to bed early.

And it was glorious!

The End.

Tuesday With Moi

Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Jet Lag Edition

You guys, I am so tired. Though my trip to The States was fantastic, it’s great to be home and I’m thrilled to be falling back into my daily routine. My mom sent me back to the UK with a suitcase full of handmade pottery and now, every time I eat off one of her plates or sip from one of her mugs, I think of her. She’s sweet. Also, amazingly talented.

Back at work, one of my office-mates left me a little smiley face to come back to. Tunbridge Wells Talent, indeed!

Like I said, I’m tired. This is my brain on jet lag. And yes, my brain greatly resembles a pile of yarn. These days, it’s about as functional as one, too.

To keep myself awake, I pracercised around the office to make the blood flow back to my brain. If you haven’t seen Prancercise, you’re missing out. I love it. All of it.

After spending over two weeks away from David, we’ve been trying to cram as much catch-up time in as possible. Yesterday, we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the sidewalk at Basil where we pretended it was actually warm enough to eat outside and that I was actually not grumpy, which I was. Because I’m jet lagged.

You know, there is no elegant way to eat popcorn. It’s a simple fact of life that always, no matter how ladylike you try to be, you end up looking like a total savage if you endeavour to eat more than one piece at a time. Alas, my love for popcorn conquers all so here I am: Kate Sims, Popcorn Savage.

I moved my workspace from my desk to the Barcelona chair and, whilst getting some stuff done, I checked in on the Federer/Tsona match. Oh Federer. OH FEDERER. Le sigh.

Another work of art by my office-mate. He should open an Etsy shop or something.

By this point, I could barely stand, I was so tired. Gazing out the office window, I dreamed of feather pillows, duvet cocoons, and hours of endless slumber.

And I trudged home sadly, knowing it would still be many hours before bedtime.

Why? Because I was meeting Carolyn at the opening of Art Pull, the new gallery on Camden Road that will host a rotating collection of work and lectures by many talented artists over the next couple months. This painting is by one of the founding members, Mark Paul Perry.

This sculpture, entitled Born, is also by Mark Paul Perry. I was really impressed by the scope of Perry’s work and am excited to see how his presence in Tunbridge Wells shapes the art scene here.

After meeting many new friends at Art Pull, Carolyn and I wandered down to The Black Pig to see the Tunbridge Wells Writers. After missing the last two meetings, it was fantastic to catch up with the likes of Lucy and Rosie.

In fact, it was fantastic to catch up with everyone! Somewhere around this time, my second wind kicked in.

So, though I said I was only going to stay for one, I stayed for three instead. Which wasn’t bad as, after making my way home at the end of the evening, I slept amazingly well am happy to report that today, I’m not quite so tired. But I’m still a little tired. I can’t help it, it’s jet lag.

Anyway, it’s good to be back, dear reader, and it’s good of you to stop by. xx

Interested in contributing to Tuesday With Vous? Find all the info here.

Tuesday With Moi

Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Minnesota Edition

So, it turns out that developing film takes a while. Oops! Regardless, it was a lot of fun to use Brother Luke’s vintage Minolta XD5 and shoot film for the first time. No, really, I’d never shot film before and was terrified that none of these pictures would actually turn out. But they did turn out! So here they are. Finally.

This is the view from the window in my childhood bedroom. It’s been a lot of fun to watch this crabapple tree grow over the years– it’s so big, now!– and it’s especially pretty in the spring.

Jet lag has been a welcome gift these past two weeks. It’s been nice to rise early and get work done from bed before the rest of the house begins to stir and the day falls into place.

lt’s also nice to enjoy a quiet breakfast alone. Avocado toast is my favourite.

The crabapple tree is next to a lilac bush that my grandmother gave my father for his birthday one year. Together, they make our yard smell amazing.

I was beginning to feel very insecure about the fact that the light meter in my brother’s camera didn’t seem to be working, so I re-read the manual and decided it would be best to only shoot in spots that are very well lit. So here’s the floor. And my feet. And some sunlight.

A bird (or a bird couple?) has built a nest on the flower wreath on the front door. I’m terrified that one day, the door will open, the nest will fall, the eggs will break, and the baby birds will die. Silly birdbrains!

It’s been raining daily since I got here. I wasn’t joking when I said I brought the English weather with me. :(

This is my chauffeur, Luke.

He’s also one of my younger brothers and, when I twist his arm enough, he drives me around, fans me with large palm leaves, and tells me I’m fabulous. On this afternoon, he took me to the Mall Of America. Why?

Because I wanted to see this guy: my older brother, Neal. He’s a (fantastic) personal shopper at Nordstrom. If you want to spend way too much money on fabulous clothes that you probably don’t need, he’s the guy for you!

After enjoying a sushi happy hour, we got down to business…

If shopping counts as business, I mean. These are my new shoes. I love them!

After my MOA adventure, I went to visit with my friends Angie (remember Angie’s TWV?) and Marlo. They’re basically the most creative people on the planet and Angie’s house is the perfect place to play a game of I Spy because she has the coolest stuff. Like these photo slides!

Over wine and cheese, we chatted, laughed, and dreamed together.

We also hung out with Angie’s GIANT dog in the backyard where this yellow chaise lounge lives. I think this is a double exposure. I mean, I know it is. Kinda cool though, right?

And then we talked some more even though we were beginning to feel sleepy.

And then we said goodnight to Angie’s antlers and to each other. It was a lovely evening– a lovely day. And it was great to learn that film photography is not as scary as I thought. It’s just kind of expensive. But fun!

So thank you for being patient with me this week, dear reader, and thank you for spending my Tuesday with me. I’ll be back in the UK on Monday and will be back to posting regularly next week. Have a great weekend!