Travellin' Penguin

A Little Bit of Winter Fun

Posted on July 24, 2018July 20, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

On these darker, colder, rainy days it is still important for me to get my walks in for some exercise. I have been trying to motivate myself so I find things that are entertaining. Yesterday I went into town to do a couple of errands. Mr. Penguin dropped me in South Hobart and I walked the 20 minutes into town. I took my camera and decided I would look for art work as I went along.

I did my errands and then of course ended up at Fuller’s Book Shop for a hot coffee and a warm apple turnover that was very nice. Their winter guide to books is available now so I sat down with that and ticked the books that looked good. I’ll see if the library has them as there are just too many to buy. I have been reading my TBR from my shelf but I do like to support the library as I believe they are important to a community. Even if I don’t get time to read everything I still like to check the books out.

I digress….. the walk turned up the following photos:

3N3A1309 — I always enjoy walking past this old advertisement.

3N3A1315 — This mural is on the Artery Art Store wall. I love the Japanese theme.

The following art work is in frames on the back wall of the art store.

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3N3A1327 — I passed these dog sculptures while walking back to the bus. I have always enjoyed seeing them.

I got the bus home just before the skies opened up with rain. Snip20180527_1

Pam's Photography

Photographic Treasury- Vivian Maier

Posted on July 23, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

cover I love photography so I was more than happy I was able to check this wonderful book Vivian Maier, Street Photographer out of the library. Ms. Maier was born in 1926 in Europe and died in 2009 in Chicago. She worked many odd jobs but nobody really knew much about her. She was most known for her work as a nanny, working in various homes. What people didn’t know was she took photos. Not just photos. Excellent photos. She took her camera everywhere she went. When she worked as a nanny she dragged the children everywhere on excursions so she could take photos. I think at times the children were quite the inconvenience but she had a place to stay and some spending money and three freedom to roam the streets of Chicago. One day she took a couple of her charges through the slaughterhouse in Chicago, a very in appropriate place for children I would think but she wanted the photos. (I have not included any here!)

In 2007, the author of this book, John Maloof of Chicago was at a large sale and came across many boxes of her film, much of it undeveloped. He had his own interests in photography and bought the lot. Over the next few years he sorted them, catalogued them until the job became too much and he turned it over to others to help him. He was responsible for establishing biographical information through her photos as much as he could.

Most of her photographs were taken during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Although she continued to shoot pictures into the 1990s.

I recently watched the biography documentary of her life on Netflix that went right up to her death. She was described as exceedingly private and eccentric. She also had mental health issues. She never married, she didn’t always get on with people and in the end she spent her time surrounded in her apartment by hoards of things she kept. She was a classic hoarder. No one knows how the thousands of film canisters came to be sold.

I enjoyed both the Netflix documentary and this book. I also looked her up on line and read quite a bit about her. Now I will share some photos of her work with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. kids thumbnail old man beach man curlers police workers

Scavenger Hunt

A bit of fun to share in this little book…

Posted on July 20, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

Today I took the dogs out for a walk. I get bored walking up and down through the same neighbourhood but we all need the exercise. I came across this book in some review I read. Many of you would be familiar with Keri Smith’s “Wreck This Journal” in bookstores that sell journals. It is a journal with pages that you can destroy according to the directions. I have never been interested in it but she has this one that might be a bit of fun over the winter months.

First off, I have always been a scavenger. I have organised a scavenger hunt for next Saturday in the historic town of Richmond (Tasmania) for our photo club. That is a story for another day.

I am the kind of person that picks up paper clips or buttons, and reads invoices and notes

that I find in the gutter. I have this weird curiosity to know what people throw away or lose and I know there are others like me. There are web pages and books of things people find.

So it is not surprising I am attracted to The Pocket Scavenger by Keri Smith. It is a pocket paperback, sized A5, and has lots of things to look for. I’m sure I’m on the spectrum at times.

The Pages

On the right hand page is what I am to look for and on the left hand page is a place to paste my photo of it once found or to draw a picture of it. There is also a space to write the date, the location found, the time and to write a short paragraph about the circumstances I am in when I found the object. There is also a bibliography in the back.

pods — Seed Pods (from the list) from a gum tree. I will attempt to draw these on the page.

The rain is moving in this afternoon and it is quite cold and blowy out. I thought I’d go out on a couple of kilometre walk with Odie and Molly and see if we find anything along the road or through the bush. I limited myself to just a couple as several items will be easy to find and I don’t want to rush it.

I am sharing the pages of the book with you and if anyone is so inclined to follow along I’d love to hear about it. You could use a blank journal, copy the items posted here or make up your own. This is something fun to do while walking to keep me moving when I’d rather be curled up in a chair with a hot drink and a couple of cats or dogs.

Do you ever pick up things in the street to see what it is?

dogs — Odie and Molly, my fellow scavengers. My Best Friends. They love to sniff around the stuff I find. No one else does 🙂