Journal 
— 04.03.23
RECOMBINANT


“I didn’t steal from anybody, I stole from everybody!”
— Dan O’Bannon, screenwriter. 

If there ever needed to be any more proof that creativity is about taking multiple pieces of inspiration and combining it into something new, look no further than the origin story of one of history’s most pre-eminent science fiction films. 

When you do a deep dive, you discover that Ridley Scott’s A L I E N was simultaneously a) a brilliant piece of work, and b) an amalgam of several previously-heralded pieces of creature feature fiction. From camp monster films of the vintage era, to early comic tales from Weird Science. 

A select few say its a blatant rip off. Others mostly say its clever reinvention. In any case, it’s an iconic film that will go down in the annals of history. Not only as an example of eerie space horror, but also as an example of recombinant creativity. 















Read more here:

ALIEN AND ITS ANTECEDENTS





︎︎︎


︎


























Journal 
— 24.10.22
There is power in misdirection













 


It’s impressive when someone tells a good story. It’s even more wowing when they can tell a story with only few elements. Naysayer by David M Helman is taut as f*ck. At first I thought it was a lyrical music video. Just a nice little film shot as a moving portrait of actor Steven Yeun.  A beautiful tone piece. And that would be fine. But then the main character starts talking, with real emotion. And you get drawn in. And then you take a side. And then you judge the situation. And then things...shift.

So minimal. In shooting logistics (it uses only one location...a moving car, and only one actor on screen). It’s also minimal in structure. The short is essentially one tight but expressive monologue.

A compilation of short stories I read years ago introduced the art of the (well-crafted) compressed tale as “the sudden revelation of character”. Isn’t that a great summation? You’re going down a path when, boom, it takes an unexpected left turn. And you thought you were going right. Or you thought you were going straight. Or maybe you didn’t even know you were going down a path. 

Either way, I enjoyed it. Watch below:

DAVID M HELMAN





︎︎︎


︎


























Journal 
— 20.01.22
A few found frames.






 


I’ve long admired the directing and cinematography work of Director Salomon Ligthelm. He brings a raw and gritty sensibility to his frames, yet they still retain a beautiful sense of grace. 

Every now and again I revisit these snaps of his taken with a simple Panasonic GH2 micro four-thirds camera and a Sigma 30mm lens. Nice tones. A subtle filmic grain. And some gentle shallow focus. Lovely.

WE ARE HUMAN





︎︎︎


︎


























Journal 
— 29.10.21
iPhone Macro Wallpapers






 


Above you can see a selection of photography taken with iPhone 8 and a 10x Moment macro lens and then post-processed.
These are of some natural peacock feathers I ordered online. 

If you’d like to download these as 4K wallpapers for your device, links are below:

001

002

003




︎︎︎


︎























© 2023   
33.868° S, 151.293° E