Powerlines 7

Powerlines and a rainy day in Newtown.

Powerlines 6

I started this blog to get comfortable with digital photography, and to stretch myself a little photographically.

I realised this morning that I was doing something else as well.

When I started this blog, I was in a bad place. I was - and still am - in a lot of pain, and not entirely sure how much it would ever improve. Moving is difficult - getting from the couch to the kitchen is a cost-benefit exercise in pain versus need, and doing many of the things I used to take for granted is impossible. With that much pain, too, thinking or planning is hard - even without medications, it's like moving through quicksand, and so exhausting that usually the effort is just too much.

Life is still a lot like that.

But this blog, though, is one of the ways I transcend that - even make something of it. Take all that pain and frustration and the fear that this is all there ever will be, and... offer it up. Turn it into a mirror of the outside world, all those things with a real, definite existence outside of me, and take comfort in their solidity. And more than that. Every picture anyone ever takes is a metaphor; not just of the things it represents, but of other things - ourselves, our world... so many symbols! The photos in this blog show a world in which pain is a part; but only a part. It reminds me that I'm the same, and I'm the greater for it.

There's more to it than that, of course, but we'll explore it through the pictures.

Powerlines 5

Train- and powerlines, Sydney Harbour Bridge

Powerlines 4

Powerlines and rain clouds, Newtown.

I love grey and rainy days, but the damp creeps into my bones, and the effort of walking on slippery ground aches and tears at my shoulders. Cafes become warm, yellow refuges to breath and sit until the pain dulls back down into the background, while outside the soft grey sky continues to press gently down.

Powerlines 3

Train line, Newtown.

The lines and geometry of this picture come up much more strongly when it's larger. I really need to work out a way of getting around Blogger's habit of cutting off any photo more than 400 pixels long!

Powerlines 2

Powerlines and Moon.

People can be very considerate when you're obviously disabled. If they're not paying attention, they can be absolute asses, of course - there's very little more annoying when you're on crutches than some idiot walking into you and knocking you off balance. It's not like I'm hard to see, and falling over hurts! Most people, however, are very kind. From moving legs so I don't trip over them, or holding doors for me to go through (heavy doors are a pain on crutches). Then there's the people who were nearby while I took this shot. I was lying in the gutter on a very hot afternoon, carefully behind a parked car so no-one ran me over. One guy complimented me on the shot, while someone else called out from the house across the way to make sure I could get back up without help. A passing car even stopped to check that I was ok - they obviously missed the camera and figured I'd fallen.

I'm not sure how much of it is the fact that I'm female. A male friend of mine on a walking stick has the opposite experience - no-one offers him seats or gets out of his way. He's even been knocked down a few times recently, and the ones responsible have done nothing to help. I suspect it's more my crutches, though. I'm very obviously disabled these days, and watching someone hop awkwardly towards you is a very simple visual cue.

Whatever it is, it's a nice feeling of community, when the people you've never met stop to make sure you're ok 'cause you're lying in the gutter, photographing the stars.

Powerlines 1

Powerlines to historic house, Newtown.

The house is a Heritage-listed Victorian-era house, with the original sandstone stables out the back. The tangle of electric wiring and telegraph pole immediately outside amused me; although I suspect the Victorians themselves would have approved - they seemed very much for pragmatism and utility over beauty.

Theme for the week starting Monday November 19th...

... is POWERLINES

This week's theme comes courtesy of the Houseguest, who suggested it while patiently keeping me company last night as I tried to photograph star trails - in the middle of the city, with a wonky tripod and no remote for the camera. Much thanks!

And needless to say, we didn't manage to capture the star trails. Another time!