Cold Cold

Define: Cold

/kōld/

Adjective

Of a relatively low temperature when compared to the human body

Adverb

Completely; totally

There is much to be said for the cold. I think that the first thing that comes to mind when I think of coldness is 

beauty. Stunning snow capped mountain range vistas, delicately formed snow flakes and white gilded leaves.

Winter is an amazing season, I have fond childhood memories of going for walks all wrapped up like the

michelin man. The crunch of frozen ground under foot. That feeling of crisp cool air against your cheeks and

the satisfaction that I still get of being able to see your own steamy breath reminding you that you are still

warm on the inside.

However there is another very prominent association with the cold. Death. Those white gilded leaves are not

on trees, they are on the floor. The reason I am able to enjoy walks in the cold is because I know that it will

be followed by a warm house and probably tea. If that was not the case then a definite sense of fear would

accompany the cold bite of Winter knowing that before long the cold begins to hurt and if left untreated is

irreversible.

Cold has also long been aptly used to describe our spirituality and emotions. There are many parallels; the

brittle nature of things that are cold, numbness or lifelessness, close associations with darkness and of course

pain. 

The difference in the parallel is that we don't always know where home is. This kind of cold is internal, we

can't just run away from it because we are it. We start to dislike our reflection and muffle the sound of warm

words.

And before you know it you are cold cold. Absolutely, completely, totally cold. Dead. Like a leaf on the floor.

 If you are reading this and you are cold cold then know this, Winter is a season, that's good news. And just

like the seasons you are not in control, no matter how you strive they will last as long as they do.

Fortunately there is one who does control the seasons and he knows you. You might not know him yet but

he is inviting you into the warm to have a cup of tea with him. The choice is yours.

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Bokeh

If your memory serves you and you have been following this space for any length of time then you will know I'm a pretty big fan of the unpronounceable Bokeh caused by out of focus light sources so it is about time I posted on it.

Why is it that only now a post is being made you ask? Well if ever there were a season for Bokeh - this is it. Christmas lights are the go to Bokeh source for their numerable sources, convenience and variety. Perfect. That and I also came across some inspiration recently (I would have linked the 'inspiration' but the artiste does not yet have a web site (if you're reading this get on it! (also brackets within brackets within brackets!?) ) so suffice to say it's a fellow photographer that used it to great effect.)

The above is also inspired by a shot I saw and this is a fairly poor attempt at a reproduction, though there are enough pictures of this concept on Flickr for it to have a category of its own anyway.

So I raided the Christmas decoration supplies in my flat (whos' existence I was completely oblivious of until today) and forked out the lights as well as a couple of focal points.

About 2/3 of the way though the shoot my flat mate arrived home - I don't think he has come back to the flat before while I have been mid swing in a session so I think he got a bit of a shock when he realised I had rearranged the living room to take some photos - which is surprising cause it happens fairly often ... He will get used to it I guess.

I also found this in the box and thought it rather lovely so needless to say I got on the case despite the need to utilise yet another piece of living room furniture to suspend it from, totally worth the effort.


Also - a particularly unhelpful shot of the setup ...

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