Winter evenings in the highlands can be lovely.
Crisp, clear, cloudless nights are of course freezing cold, but the air is fresh and things seem so much sharper through a camera lens as a result.
I have some couchsurfers staying tonight, so we headed out with our cameras to see what was what. And this was what.
I’m in Perth tomorrow. Wave if you see me.
And apologies if you saw the title of this blog and expected a contribution to the McCoys v Walkers debate.
I went to see Cloverfield tonight.
Unlike Justin’s commentary on it, I might just spoil it, so you’d best look away now if you’ve not seen it but plan to.
But before you go, basically more or less everyone dies.
Anyway. I agree with Justin’s observation that Cloverfield will divide people – the shaky camerawork is not to everyone’s tastes, and while it makes the film hugely realistic and even believeable, it is quite nauseous after a while, which I suppose adds to the realism.
Basically, the film tells the story of a monster attacking New York, as seen on a camcorder. But what makes the film so tense, gripping and edge-of-the-seat is that we learn little about the monster. It is rarely seen on screen and we learn nothing about its origins, and therefore the horror and panic comes from what we don’t know, rather than what we do.
In that sense the film’s philosophy is simple – use the monster as a MacGuffin to explore people’s panic at the destruction of their city.
I loved it. I fully understand why others won’t, though.
In other news, I had a really quick trip to sunny - no, really – Stornoway today. Miraculously, I remembered my camera. Here’s the cream of the crop, such as it is.
After months of waiting, season 4 of Lost hits the screens today.
It seems like ages since season 3 came to an end. Not having Sky telly, I get my episodes from Justin in Aberdeen who records them thanks to Sky+ and sends them to me every couple of weeks when its on.
A few months back, Justin was unable to send me episodes for a few weeks, and so I ended up coming home from work one day – I was still in Glasgow at the time – to find the final seven or eight episodes of season 3 together in the post.
I sat down in front of my laptop without even taking my jacket off, and watched them all, back to back. I took only what food and toilet breaks I had to, and finished some time after midnight. It was a phenomenal cliffhanger and I was left stunned, jaw dropped, by what unfolded.
For anyone who’s not really watched Lost, the story is most simply about the multinational band survivors of a plane crash on a remote Pacific island. The more the survivors attempt to understand their new surroundings, the more they discover the sinister secrets that lie beneath its surface.
Brilliantly acted and written, Lost combines elements of drama, mystery, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and adventure – but it is none of those alone. Above all, it’s about people, their interactions, personalities and relationships – each episode is character-centred, and peppered with “flashbacks” as we get to know the survivors and their lives before the crash.
It’s quite simply got everything you could want from a TV show, and while it can be accused of dragging out the suspense of the various mysteries a little too teasingly, there are only going to be another three seasons: so the answers to the big questions of the show will have to start coming sooner rather than later.
Sad though it may seem, I’ve been anticipating the return of Lost so much in recent weeks, I’ve even had one or two Lost-related dreams. So of course I can’t wait for the middle of the week, by which time the first episode should have arrived in the post from Justin.
Oh, and talking of Justin, take a look at an outstanding photo he took this weekend. I like it for the dark, brooding atmosphere, the kind of photographability Aberdeen has that I wrote about in my previous post. And I don’t just like it because that’s me in the photo - somewhat ominously approaching a sign saying “30″…
I am off work today, so am having a couple of days in cold, dark and intermittently snowy Aberdeen to catch up with friends.
This afternoon was set aside for a bit of wandering around with my camera.
And there were some great opportunities – the imposing granite buildings looking strong against the grey, angry sky, and the graceful spires across the city contrasting with the brutal tower blocks. Aberdeen’s gothic beauty on days like this is a goldmine for black and white photography.
And yes, you’ve guessed it. I forgot to pack my bloody camera.
Ah well. Let me console myself by showing off my existing Aberdeen set on Flickr. The one above is perhaps one of my favourites because of its soft tone, simple composition and melancholic atmosphere.
