The city series….
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility (Recovery Remix 2011)
8 a.m.
tell me the lies
say that you love me
come back to haunt me
for days without end
and nights without rest
the bittersweet siren call
the addict’s sad song
3 a.m.
This post is dedicated to a dear friend, may he rest in peace. It was his kind, centered, and wise words that showed me the way to a better tomorrow.
The city series….
The Playground (Recovery Remix 2011)….
Take me away from the place where all this started…this desire.
The playground
The city series….
Smoke Stacks….
Smoke stacks from the city series
How Can I Undo the Things I’ve Never Done….
Sometimes we see ourselves as a reflection of our past,
present and future. The lenses in which we view our lives in all its complexity
are often distorted by the noise of our thoughts and the subsequent choices we’ve
made.
At times I ask myself, how I can undo the things I’ve never
done. Because in my mind, through those very lenses, I will with visceral
uncertainty see things not as they really are.
So in conclusion—living within the sphere of ambiguity—I’ve
come to realize that you have to bring something—something significant to the
table, and if you don’t, you may discover that your invitation and acceptance
speech has been rescinded.
But then that’s life—trying to undo the things, you’ve never
done.
How can you undo what you have never done
Mountain biking and Fall weather go hand in hand. My Trek taking a break.
Fall weather and my Trek
The color of Fall is always an intoxicating experience. I love to find new locations where the colors, smells and ambience of Fall enhances the day.
Fall colors in the trees
The second image in this series has four elements composed as one. The primary effect used for this piece is the displacement map. It takes a little effort but on a closer look you will find a host of faces.
Family faces via the displacement map effect
Here is one of a multiple collection of family portraits for this series. I wanted to use a variety of color elements and effects to express uniqueness in their faces.
The primary effect used in this portrait is colored edges.
Family faces via colored edges
Sunshine by director Danny Boyle
The sun at less than 1% sunlight filter
Sunshine is a 2007 British science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
In 2057 the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device, a massive stellar bomb with the mass equivalent to Manhattan Island, which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.
The crew is made up of an ensemble cast consisting of Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Chipo Chung, and Mark Strong. The script was based on a scientific back-story that took the characters on a psychological journey. The director cast a group of international actors for the film, and had the actors live together and learn about topics related to their roles, as a form of method acting. To have the actors realistically react to visual effects that would be implemented in post-production, the filmmakers constructed live sets to serve as cues. Previous science fiction films that Boyle cited as influences included Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1972 Tarkovsky’s Solaris, and the 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien.
Sunshine is one of my favorite films of all time. I have seen it several times and it never ceases to entertain me as I embrace its stunning beauty.
I was first introduced to the filmmaking of Danny Boyle in 2003 with his kinetic, apocalyptic and frightening horror film 28 Days Later: In the film a powerful virus is unleashed following a raid on a primate research facility by animal rights activists. Transmitted in a drop of blood, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the virus is not the only thing that threatens them.
28 Days Later by Danny Boyle
The only other film in recent production, I feel parallels Sunshine in its originality and vision is District 9 by Peter Jackson and Neill Bloomkamp.
District 9 synopsis: Over 20 years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA.
The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the
world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.
District 9 by Peter Jackson and Neill Bloomkamp
The roundup in District 9
All three films are distinctly different in their subject matter, but are so well acted, produced, and directed it is difficult to choose one over the other as a favorite.
So what do you think? Are you a big fan of the Science Fiction genre? Have you seen any of these remarkable films, and if so do you have a favorite? And what is your favorite film of this genre and why?
a passing moment
child on a bike
a contemplative thought
fleeing the hopelessness
to the touch it is
like glass strewn urban decay
and dreams
that are shattered by the morning light
waking to nothing
ever being perfect…
Waking to nothing ever being perfect
Here is a detail of the cover of my new published book of digital abstract art, poetry and prose. Available in hard and soft cover at Blurb publishers. Select picture to link to my bookstore. A preview of the book is also available online.
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 