tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142481082008-06-14T15:23:51.556ZDonJuannanoreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-59721422738178339552008-03-16T15:45:00.002Z2008-03-16T23:02:13.884Z

We "need sometimes," the Harvard philosopher [George Santayana] wrote, "to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what." by Pico Iyer - foreword to Wanderlust I once bought a card to send to a friend as an apology for

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-79152916532397946452007-12-27T11:08:00.000Z2007-12-27T11:10:19.205Z

Not quite ready to come out of hiatus yet, but had to post this one - a photo of mine is currently featuring in Yahoo's! Best-of Flickr 2007 images I accompanied Donna to the Boston Marathon back in April of 2007, standing at Mile 25 as the course passed near Fenway Park. Many marathons I've attended in recent years have had a group of soldiers marching in with full gear, often in support of

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-35213990613956247462007-11-29T07:28:00.000Z2007-11-29T07:30:31.153Z

As you've doubtless noticed, my commitment to the blog in most of 2007 has been, umm, variable shall we say. This is due mostly to the best of reasons - too busy enjoying myself to write anything. It is also true that our life in London has been in a state of flux for the last six months or so; in those circumstances I find it very hard to devote the mental energies towards creative output.

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-1997403137535929452007-11-09T07:21:00.000Z2007-11-09T09:50:00.419Z

In a Trekkie's life one's greatest hope would be to see, meet, talk to one of the famous Starship Captains. I know that there isn't really a Starfleet and there isn't really a crowd of ridge-headed and pointy-eared aliens wandering around the universe somewhere (in the Alpha Quadrant, actually) waiting for us humans to get our act together, although the girl with the horribly misshapen teeth on

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-72973950619780131512007-11-02T07:30:00.000Z2007-11-02T07:36:29.146Z

You can read Seattle, part one here. I'm a bit of a cynic about weddings. Not about people deciding to formalise their union and announce it in a ritualised manner to their family and friends; but despite my best efforts I tend to feel removed from the action, watching a human ritual that I have little desire to be a part of but feel obliged to put on the outfit and say the right things and

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-27217489261226709142007-10-10T07:39:00.000Z2007-10-10T06:42:35.152Z

A few weeks ago I flew to Seattle for my good friend Naomi's wedding. I was looking forward to being back in the United States, and in particular in the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Donna was unable to join me, so it was a nice opportunity to miss her, to have time to myself, hiking and gathering up my thoughts from the last eight months. I've had some of my most memorable

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-53215125954972226842007-09-09T12:16:00.000Z2007-09-09T12:17:32.821Z

Castilla and more, Spain An unusually cool summer gave us in return these cloud-scattered skies, a gift for anyone trying to photograph the wide-open spaces of Castilla y Leon. On a morning walk The textures of the land - hard granite and furrowed pine bark. The rituals of the fiesta - pig chasing.. .. and the procession with the statue of the village saint Mary Magdalene through the

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-29155231362040013412007-09-03T19:01:00.000Z2007-09-03T19:05:39.847Z

Metronet strike action until Friday

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-35626197556109671182007-08-28T17:18:00.000Z2007-08-28T17:20:23.193Z

This is an image in my portfolio. Los Angeles, like many of its inhabitants, tries its best to pretend that it is a spry young thing devoid of history, traditions and wrinkles. From time to time, however, the facade cracks and you get a glimpse of a more storied interior. Cinco De Mayo, a regional holiday in Mexico, has taken on much more significance in the United States than in Mexico

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-50437482971759600742007-08-23T11:51:00.000Z2007-08-24T14:01:01.931Z

The formality of this portrait, and something about the pose of the subject, his regality, recalls to me early portrait photography from the 19th century. I think of old politicians, businessmen, that sort of thing. Let's just ignore that it's a dog with a runny nose for a moment. This was Vincent, or as we called him, Vince. When I moved to Los Angeles, John was one of the first people I met,

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-34638694984351606802007-08-16T11:36:00.000Z2007-08-16T11:41:12.301Z

When I was putting together a portfolio of photos, this image of a waterfall on Mt Tam, taken in 2002, was first on my list. Of all the things I miss most about Marin, Mt Tamalpais is at the top of the list. The Cataract Trail, on the mostly un-crowded north side of the mountain, has not just this waterfall but a whole chain of them, and is a treat from February through May. It's also a

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-9295954329764043162007-08-16T06:29:00.000Z2007-08-16T06:31:24.421Z

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune of having the above photograph included in the San Francisco Marathon. They solicited work from a number of San Francisco artists to adorn the mile markers of the race. My photo was Mile 5, at the end of Crissy Fields on the hill towards the Golden Gate Bridge. The picture is one of a set that I took of Donna while she was training for her first Boston

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-67287772918255053992007-08-14T15:44:00.000Z2007-08-14T16:52:51.784Z

new directionsMy new website juanluis.com, created to focus purely on my photography, is up and running. It's been active for a while (I bought the domain in 1998), and one of my goals last year when I left ILM was to get it up and running. It's only in the last week that it was presentable. Amongst other things, it includes a portfolio and a blog, to keep people abreast of my latest projects

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-22220701551211963372007-08-10T17:00:00.000Z2007-08-10T16:15:45.820Z

We recently returned from our annual holiday to Spain (photographs coming soon..), this one distinguished by it being the first time Donna's parents and sister had been there. We hoped it would be a holiday of part adventure, culture and relaxation. It was all those things, not always in equal measure. No holiday is complete without going through a bit of old fashioned tourist-fleecing. Three

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-5005604223521726152007-07-29T19:15:00.000Z2007-07-29T19:41:50.425Z

It's the hottest weekend of 2007 in Spain, temperatures hovering around 40 degrees centigrade. We went out running this morning when they were a slightly more sane (but still sweltering) 30 degrees. Still, in the early morning and after the sun goes down the balmy breezes feel like a gift from above. Yesterday evening we were at the Mirador de San Nicolás, overlooking the Alhambra from the old

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-38827166375359193922007-07-06T09:24:00.001Z2007-07-06T09:34:31.317Z

Tube ticket to Waterloo - £2.00 Waterloo to Wimbledon train ticket - £3.80 Bus to Tennis Courts from Wimbledon station - £3 Centre Court ticket (back row) - £72 Ticketmaster booking fee - £5 Getting stuck at work, arriving at Wimbledon at 7pm, sitting on a wet seat in the cold, to be informed that due to the persistent rain and failing light that the remaining games would be postponed to the

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-37506164613315018412007-07-05T13:40:00.000Z2007-07-05T14:41:55.001Z

Who watches the watchers?My office (two words in, I'm already qualifying them - the room with four walls, a floor, ceiling, and a window that I share with six other people and our computers, that's what I'm calling my office) overlooks an alley in Soho. From my desk I can't see into the street, but I can see directly into a flat across the alley. There are red flowers in pots precariously

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-61885587936394959232007-06-30T14:56:00.000Z2007-07-01T09:01:38.337Z

Apologies for the gaps in recent postings. Life has a way of taking time away from distractions like blog-writing, and as blog-worthy events pile up, it's hard to know where to start to unpack them. This week, the surreal life. University in the early 1990s were dominated by the usual strident leftie politics, especially after a decade of Thatcher, Reagan and A-ha. I didn't feel that strongly

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-86558863945203683252007-06-16T11:40:00.000Z2007-06-16T13:05:33.313Z

How do you get to Troop The Colour? PracticeIt started a couple of months ago. In the Horse Guard's Parade Ground, besides which we walk, run or cycle past almost daily, trucks moved in and built several tiers of seating around the edges of the ground. What was this for, we wondered? My guess was that it was for some season of spring and summer events or concerts, which seem to be the staple of

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-19815808445743351762007-06-01T16:16:00.001Z2007-06-01T17:11:28.376Z

scenes of a commuteI was late for work one day, the Tube was uncrowded. Opposite me sat a woman in full burqa dress. Only her eyes were visible through the slit of the veil. The skin around the eyes was a rich brown. Her hands held a copy of the Koran, which she opened and read between stations. Outside the train, a Hasidic Jew walked past the window. On the 155 Bus from Stockwell, a young girl

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-83027431585803891742007-05-22T11:59:00.000Z2008-02-05T23:09:48.538Z

My commute is better than your commute Cycling to work yesterday I came around Parliament Square to head up Horse Guards road. The police had the road blocked off, and were telling cyclists to walk, not ride. The roads had just a few cyclists and other commuters, busily going to work first thing on a Monday. I heard some faint brass band music, and looking up birdcage walk, I could see a patch

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-25188348745121338132007-05-18T12:38:00.001Z2007-05-18T12:38:12.805Z

Two photos in today's paper made me want to write about them here. The first is one of Bush and Blair coming out of the Oval Office yesterday during Blair's 'victory lap' of the world as he steps down from office. I couldn't find the exact picture from the paper but the one below is very similar. The only difference in the published one is that the columns are on the right of frame, partially

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-52900067026066885142007-05-17T11:22:00.000Z2007-05-17T16:04:20.635Z

England without rain would be like.. a car with square wheels, an apologetic politician, a sequel to Titanic, i.e. something wouldn't be quite right about it. My first office at work overlooked Shaftesbury Avenue from the 4th floor, and with the rain on the window I couldn't resist. London | Soho | England | Rain | Shaftesbury Avenue

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-73060439455066315732007-05-16T11:55:00.000Z2007-05-16T10:56:59.393Z

Early after our arrival, we had a couple days of snow, not exactly rare in London, but unusual enough as to cause the entire public transportation system to grind to a halt. In the first week we had a light settling of snow on the rooftops as seen here from the lovely Travelodge room. A few weeks later in February a deeper snow fell, as you can see here in Clapham Common. I don't quite

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14248108.post-53050314217709809162007-05-15T05:24:00.000Z2007-05-15T05:50:16.783Z

Back to the beginning At last! For a while now I've been getting up early in order to scan, fiddle, organise, upload and tag my photographs. There was a big backlog from the move, and it took a while to get them all done. So, to celebrate, I'm going to try and post every day with one or two photos, starting from way back in January when we first moved to London. We stayed at the Travelodge

DonJuannanoreply@blogger.com