You know when you rummage through your drawers...

...and underneath all the bank statements and junk mail you find the hand-drawn Pokemon Information Booklet you made over 10 years ago?

Yeah. It's a good feeling.

We overestimated the pages we'd need.

[Item not for sale]

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A Casual Tuesday Tea-Time Photoshoot

My OM10 seems to be getting all the attention these days so it was nice to get out my trusty Nikon and open up Photoshop for the first time in yonks! As usual, click on the above for a larger, juicier version. There's a couple more on my Flickr too.

Teehee ♥

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Blip

A few weeks ago I was metaphorically kicked in the balls, I received an elbow jab to the kidney and a simultaneous slap in the face. It was painful to try and comprehend things that were said to me and consume the resulting emotions I experienced. Fast-forward though, and somehow things have reverted to how they were before. I (think I) like to refer to it as 'the blip'.

Weirdly, that short period of panic and uncertainty has had a massive positive effect on me. Perhaps I would feel differently if the conclusion that played out wasn't so tidy; if those words hadn't been such a 'big mistake' and 'the blip' had in fact turned out to be 'the end'.

Nevertheless, it's helped me realise a lot of things: mostly that friends are blooooomin' marvelous and even when there's trouble and tears they'll feed you good quality chocolate and tell you to get on with it - in the most loving and supportive way, of course.

In the grand scheme of things, rubbish things happen all the time, and what seems like a big deal to one person is silly nothingness to another. Luckily, I have perspective on the situation and in retrospect I guess I'm glad it happened. I've welcomed the harsh realisation and I believe I've changed for the better.

YAY.

So, thank you to everyone who's given me the confidence to get through the dramas of late - I would've been a bit useless without you x

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Are 'Wii' Fit?

Taken from my final year photography project. Click on the photos to enlarge and see blurb below. It's one year old now, so perhaps a little technologically out of date considering the invention of the Xbox Kinect. Yet, the message is still just as important to remember when you consume those ads with the virtual personal trainers in virtual training environments. Don't waste your time trying to interact with your tele - it'll give you nothing back.

The overwhelming success of the Nintendo Wii and the fitness genre in digital gaming has fuelled a change in the media representation of women’s exercise. Modelled around traditional ideals of ‘femininity’ rather than physicality, the game’s approach has gradually transformed the way audiences think about exercising and skill, as well as the role women play in a sporting environment.

This visual piece contrasts how the virtual world presents an idyllic, simulated concept of exercise opposed to the natural, physical exertion we should be encouraged to experience in the real world; each portrait represents an opposing binary ideology.

With initial inspiration from Mona Brooks’ creative work on female athletes and Catherine Balet’s exploration into the dominance of media screens in our everyday lives, this project investigates more than just a game. The photographs symbolise an increasing reliance on technology and its substitution for real experiences. In today’s society, we should recognise and celebrate the reality of true female athleticism.

Words and pictures - Kathryn Beadle © 2010

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Congradulations

It's been a year since I graduated. Wowzer.

The overpriced framed portrait is stuck on a shelf in the dining room and only gets dusted when we happen to have guests*.

It is a rubbish photo anyway; wonky hat, creased cape, forced smile and big embarrassed rosy red cheeks.

I've no idea where my degree certificate is but it's bound to be somewhere 'safe' with all those other 'important' things that end up in the same drawer.

I love my little mortarboard charm though - a present from my mum and sister a few months after the graduation ceremony. It's tiny and shiny and lives in its box all secretive and shy.

(I won't let it get dusty.)

*Christmas.

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A small post dedicated to Andrew Castle

That is Andrew Castle. Earlier he was trending on Twitter. As thousands of Wimbledon viewers hunted for the remote to hit mute during the Nadal/Murray semi-final, the twitterers that endured his commentary still found it infuriating, embarrassing, ridiculous, or a combo of all of the above. Personally, I found it quite hilarious. See highlights below:

Thinking out loud during the classic BBC super slow motion shot of the tennis ball with spin on it:

'That ball is full of irony...'

On Nadal:

'This is a man not lacking in the work-out department.'

'He cooks as well? Is there nothing he can't do!? Such a good bloke...' ♥

Having a giggle and getting too excited following Nadal's fall on his bum, throwing his racquet up in the air only to catch it pretty neatly in one fluid motion:

'Look! He's a juggler in his spare time. You could see him at the Moscow State Circus as well as winning these Grand Slams couldn't you!? Hehehe!'

Murray throws hat on ground in a grump. Andrew naturally responds with:

'Hats off to Murray.'

And finally:

'Murray is being beaten by the force of Nadal's personality.'

*

I think Andrew should make his way back to the GMTV sofa...

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