Water Light Time

I haven’t been on holiday this summer. I don’t have any postcards from exotic locations to send anyone, but do I let this stop me from mailing my friends pretty pictures? No I do not. Especially since Phaidon have published the very beautiful ‘Water Light Time’ collection of postcards (Phaidon Books, £15.00). Based on a series of 15 photos by renowned underwater photographer David Doubilet, these 45 postcards are great for pretending you’ve been off somewhere unspeakably exciting, swimming with the sharks, dolphins and skates, wiggling your toes in the warm sand and, um, watching turtles shagging.

If you’ve ever sat in a doctor’s waiting room and flicked through the National Geographics, you’ve probably seen Doubilet’s work already. He began having his photos published there back in 1972, having started taking underwater photos off the New Jersey coast when he was 13, and since then he’s built an awesome reputation as the world’s leading undersea photographer. Naturally there are lots of images that capture the creatures of the ocean in all their glory, but there are also photographs that are wonderful painterly compositions of pure colour and form. The images on the postcards all come from the book of the same title (also Phadion Books, £35.00), and they’re highly recommended for anyone with an interest in oceanic life and fantastic photography. Or, if you’re like me, pretending you are somewhere exotic.



Stingray and sailboat in the early afternoon,
North Sound, Grand Cayman,West Indies, 1990



posted by duke harringay at 11:59 AM

Road Trip

I used to kind of enjoy road trips, but now I don’t. Now I just tend to get kind of grouchy and fed up. I think it’s my age. I get uncomfortable sitting in a car for too many hours, and besides, most other motorists are idiots. Of course I know this from my cycling experiences, but on Big Roads it seems even more obvious. This is the nature of life, however, and I suppose I ought really to get used to it: most things are spoilt by the presence of people. Or at least, too many people. But can I get used to it? No I cannot.

Oh well.

This road trip was up north to Yorkshire, and on the way up the rain just came down pretty much incessantly, which was fairly typical for an English August. Or at least for this English August. We decided to take a route that went via Manchester, so we could take the M62 across to Leeds. This decision was partly based on Bill Drummond and his championing of the M62 both at the event at which we bought bits of his Richard Long artwork, and in his How To Be An Artist book. Bill reckons the M62 is a bit special. I have to disagree, however, since on our experience last Friday it was just plain miserable. I expect on a fine day it’s a whole lot better, because after all most things are enhanced by a bit of sunlight. Or at least by the lack of impenetrable cloud and rain. The other reason to take the M62 was so I could play ‘The M62 Song’ by The Doves. Before I put it on the stereo C asked if it was fast. I said, um, no, it’s slow. It suited the pace of the traffic perfectly. The lyrics go ‘waiting for my love, waiting for my love… waiting for a love that never comes’. The natural assumption is that the love in question was caught up in the traffic and the rain. But what do I know? Playing the Doves album as we traversed the M62, C noted that some of it sounded like The Sea Urchins, and I have to admit she’s right. It’s the vocals. It’s not all the time, but it is there… believe me. I think this is a good thing. It also struck me that at times the Doves also sound like Adorable. Again, I think this is a good thing.

On the way home on Saturday we caught hordes of traffic around Bristol that slowed the three lanes of the M5 to an almost standstill. There never seems to be a reason for these tailbacks, just bunching of masses of vehicles causing everything to grind to a halt. My theory is it’s all to do with people going too slowly in the wrong lane, like everyone wanting to get into the ‘fast’ lane because they think it means they move quicker, no matter how fast your car will actually go. Or something. The other theory of course is that all the tailbacks are caused by cars towing caravans. I really don’t understand caravans. What are they about? If you want freedom to roam, take a tent and a sleeping bag, or if you’re really hardcore, take a bivvy bag. And if you want your home comforts, well, in the words of Mark E., ‘get a hotel’. Caravans just seem to be for people who can’t decide what they really want.


posted by duke harringay at 12:25 PM