first day

well not really....but this week was the 'official' start of my year at artist in residence at cpit. on monday there was a meet & greet for the new budding photog's, those returning from last year & the tutors...oh and me.
i got the opportunity to speak momentarily to the group, introduce myself and say a few choice words. i emphasised the point made earlier by the head of school, Hubert Klaassens, that the students should respect and drink in the knowledge of the tutors. the tutors on the photography course are the biggest asset to the course programme. they give their all and make themselves as available as much as possible for students. they are always willing to offer advice and also take on board comments from the students.
hand in hand with the information that comes from the faculty staff, comes what is learnt by fellow students outside of the classroom walls. during my two years as a student, i was lucky enough to have the very giving john o'malley. john would always be coming into school with information, tools and ideas he had found, generally via the internet. his openness to share enhanced our learning environment, and encouraged others to share also.
working in our industry can be pretty isolating, and so the importance of creating great relationships with fellow students can't be reiterated enough. once you are in the big wide world you need to keep learnign and developing and having fellow collegues you can meet regularly with and discuss is invaluable. john and i often meet up and discuss new things we have learn't and discovered which will help both of us grow.
finally as promised - some more of my work :D






all images ©Kirsty Macdonald

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where have i been, what have i been doing

my blogging seemingly has been blocked for the past near 18 months....whoops. that, or life just got in the way. i'm going for the first option. i was blocked. not necessarily creatively, maybe just a little forgetfully...that is i forgot i had a blog! hence i didn't blog. sad state of affairs that.
but it's a new year (yada yada) so time to start anew and continue with more ramblings about stuff.... plus i i'll try and showcase my pieces de resistance....which i'll start now with a few choice pieces from last year......more will follow

this year i have been chosen to be the photographic artist in residence at cpit, where i studied for the last two years. what this means is, i get mentored, get to use the school's facilities and am surrounded by a whole lot of like minded people(or something close to...actually in some [or maybe most] cases the total opposite) for another year. hopefully this will lead to creating some interesting pieces of work that will make you all think a little more about stuff

that's allthe stuff i have for today....it was hard getting even that much...maybe it will get easier again....gotta get back to cooking my dinner(don't have a heart attack)...making a bean stew, off the top of my head even!!!! maybe this WILL be a very different year

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Moments in Time

Our life is full of moments. So many moments. Some good. Some bad. Some memorable. Most not.

The past few weeks have been FULL of moments for me, which has made me think, about moments. What do they mean? Are they literally just that, moments? Or should more be taken from them.

For all of us, some moments stand out more than others. Some are more memorable, some are less memorable… some just stick in our minds for no other reason than they happened. What is it that makes them memorable, even when they are, just, daily happenings?Back to my earlier thought, should I take something from these moments? And if so, what really is more important than the next?

I have recently had moments that will change me, and my life journey. Exactly how they will affect me overall I do not know yet, but I can feel that these moments were more than just your every day events.

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who i am

I have lived most of my years in the New Zealand metropolis, Auckland. Compared to the rest of NZ it's a fast-paced, vehicle clogged, image-based city. Compared to most other large cities in the world, it is sleepy.
It is where anyone who's 'anyone' lives in this country, because it is where all the jobs are, it's where it all happens, it's just the hub - well that's what most Aucklanders think.
I moved to Christchurch at the beginning of this year to become a student again. It's the most liberating decision of my life.

I think it's easy to get lazy and complacent if you don't challenge yourself every now & then. Everyone evolves, some slowly, some consistenly, some in fits and starts. I'm still unsure as to which category I fall into, but over the past year I seemed to have almost completed a 180 to what i used to believe in, and what i used to 'live'. Moving away from Auckland was a result of this.

The part of society I was intertwined in was a superficial, image-obsessed, and had a 'competing with the Jones' mentality. Life was about yourself and getting the most you could get from it. As a way to live i generally don't have a problem with this, but when it is at the expense of others, I do. Whether this is directly, or undirectly, you should always be aware of the consequences of what you do.

Slowly I am recognising this for what it can be and what it can encapsulate.

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This is me

This is me. This is who i am. Mostly out there for all to see, but keeping part of me hidden. Which part, and where? Who can say? I don't even know which part, until i meet you, judge you, work out who you are, who you might be, and which part of me is off limits to you.
Most people have more of themselves, than less of themselves off limits to the world around them. Only allowing those they know well, and trust to get closer, be closer.
I on the other hand am pretty much you get what you see. It's often unpredictable, but you still see it and get it served up, straight in front of you.
(partly inspired by SHT)

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