Grappling Photo Series

While searching for some other photos in my 2009 folder I came upon these photos that I took during a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training session. I thought them to be nice and decided to share them here.

Ancient Korean Colours and Patterns

Self-Portrait: Fighter

Miao Village, South Western China

Very Random Photos from the Back of a Taxi in a Southern City in China

All of these photos were taken from the back of a taxi. I did not aim or look through the view finder for any of them. I merely had my camera hang from the side, put it on autofocus and clicked as we passed things. That's why some of them are out of focus. They are all completely random shots of this particular city in southern China. All I did now was to crop the more interesting parts of some of the more interesting photos and adjust the brightness and contrast.

This city is relatively close to Laos and there is also a large Thai community so one can see the Lao / Thai influence in some of the architecture. Culturally this city is not what I would describe as typical modern Chinese, although it is a large city.

Self-Portrait: Kukkiwon Gangster

There's a story behind this photo, but I have an appointed I need to rush to it so I cannot tell it now. It has something to do with these people and this event. The title of the photo "Kukkiwon Gangster" makes a reference to this excellent book.

Self-Portrait: Mouths

My previous Afrikaans post concerned the topic of self-portraits. In it I argued that the artist's self-portraits are not by default acts of exhibitionism nor narcissism. For the former the primary audience is someone else. This is not the case with a self-portrait where the primary audience is the self. For the narcissist the primary audience is also the self, but the narcissist derives not his chief pleasure from the process of making the self-portrait. A narcissist is equally satisfied with looking at his reflection. For the artist, however, the creative process of making the self-portrait is the chief enjoyment. Looking at and enjoying the resultant artwork is valued higher than the self-in-the-artwork.

The post also made me realize that it has been a very long time (probably a year) since I took some self-portraits. I have some new material (i.e. clothes I bought in Thailand) that I'll have to try out soon. But for now, here is a couplet of (skew) mouths.

Random Moments in Luang Prabang, Laos

One of the highlights of my recent trip to South East Asia was the short time I spent in Luang Prabang, Laos. If you are looking for a great, comfortable but also inexpensive place just to chill, then I highly recommend Luang Prabang. There're not much to do in Luang Prabang, but that's the point. This is a place to relax. Here are some random moments in images.