On mastering the art of indolence in a hot country. 11/2/2024 0 Comments   ​OH ( my other half) and I are just returned from a trip to Mauritius. We met in Mauritius 44 years ago as students, and OH was keen to revisit the beautiful island that holds many happy memories. Memories of spending afternoons on the beach snorkelling over an incredible coral reef, listening to a young boy lying in the sea playing his trumpet. Of a bed and breakfast accommodation complete with cockroaches and geckos, and a cyclone that brought 60 inches of rain in just 14 days. It was so wet that we ended up travelling around the island in our swimming costumes, as there was no point wearing clothes; we were completely soaked within seconds. many years ago....... I am not a fan of heat, or of beach holidays. I am no longer able to lie for hours perfecting an unhealthy tan. I am a restless individual who can cope with no more than 30 minutes lying on a sun bed before craving some action. OH, on the other hand, likes nothing better than to lie for hours reading a good book, barely bothering to swim or to stray from his lounger. We are incompatible in this respect.  ​ In the past we have chosen activity holidays such as hiking or sailing. But this was to be a regular beach holiday. The potential for activities was there, but the heat of the tropical sun is more than I can bear on my ageing skin, and I can only be happily active before the sun reaches any significant height in the sky. So, determined to get some daily exercise, I got up at 6.30 every day to walk before sunrise. I left OH in bed and crept out with my camera and a desire to explore.  Our first location was a beach hotel. I was not the only one walking very early in the day. The sand was heavily foot-printed, and the beach pleasantly shaded. ​ Early morning walkers at Flic en Flac, Mauritius.  I searched for things to photograph. Mostly I was drawn to the dead corals, lying on the white sand along with sea urchins and a few shells.  Sadly, most of the Mauritian reef coral died after an extreme heatwave a few years ago. Snorkelling over it made me feel very sad, as I have memories of extraordinary beauty just off shore in the shallow waters protected by the outer reef. ​But the remains of coral washed ashore held me captive with their extraordinary patterns and variety. remains of coral reef, Flic en Flac, Mauritius It is illegal to remove coral and shells from the beach, so I took only photographs.  ​ sea urchin and seaweed  Every morning I walked, often passing the same people going in the opposite direction. When i tired of the sand I walked on the road to the village. A village that didn't exist 44 years ago. Everything was so different. A large part of me prefers to remember it as it was rather than how it is now. I passed  many coloured food trucks beside the road, closed up for the night. I was thinking of Ed Ruscha's photobook entitled '26 gasoline stations'. I envisaged my own version...... '26 food trucks'..... But I never completed the series. I was with OH, and we were on the move, so the opportunity didn't arise. After a few days at a beach hotel we moved to an airbnb in a small town. I was beginning to feel restless and frustrated with the heat. My morning walks became even more important. This time, along a busy road with no pavement until I reached the beach. I passed gateways to homes of many types, and tried to avoid being killed by the crazy bus drivers hurtling along the road  at break neck speed. ​ gateway, Pereybere, Mauritius scene from a morning walk, Pereybere, Mauritius gateway, Pereybere, Mauritius Here was another potential series; the contrast between the old and the new,  but I would have needed much more time walking the streets before breakfast., gathering more images. We were only there for 4 days. Not nearly long enough. ​ food outlet, Mon Choisy beach I started taking videos instead of photographs. They seemed more able to capture my mood. The word 'indolence' kept passing through my mind. I was conscious of a slow changing of my mood. Seven days into the trip I was irritable and wishing myself somewhere cooler. But as we settled into a routine of beach visits and snorkelling, people watching and novel devouring, I started to feel calmer. I spent long minutes watching palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the locals standing in the shallow water chatting for what felt like hours.  beach corals, Mauritius We moved on to our final destination; a fancy hotel in the east. Fancy and expensive. This was a birthday treat and another chance to revisit old memories. The son of our B&B hosts all those years ago was a chef at the hotel, and we dined there as his guest as students. I just remember a clean, white modern dining room, far beyond our budget. I have no idea what we ate. This time we were able to stay and make use of the beautiful surroundings, but my morning walks took an unexpected turn for the worse. I could either walk up the long drive of the hotel to the main road in blazing sunshine ( no thank you), or stroll along the local beach , which was not very far. I gave up this option after one day due to encountering a large amount of litter as soon as I left the main hotel grounds, and the distance not being far enough to call it a 'walk'. So I settled into a state of indolence, and carried on making videos and some cyanotypes with paper brought from home.  I got better at it day by day.  I watched clouds, and the weaver birds building nests. We took a boat to an island beach and lay under the trees drinking ice cold water. And when I got home I made a very short video of calmness. It is far from perfect, but my first  photobook course is starting this week, so I wanted to make it while I had time and was fresh from the trip. No more indolence now........ OH won't like it, as the music is too melancholy, the sun isn't always shining. there are no pictures of our adventures together, and it isn't a rip roaring ride through 14 days of sun and sand.  For that he will have to wait......... patience is a virtue. Some of us have more of it than others!

A book about Burma - Myanmar

The snow has had some benefits; stuck in for 2 days I have had nothing better to do than make a book about my recent trip to Burma in order to keep my other half happy. I am very behind with holiday books, mainly because I don't really enjoy making them. Too much effort remembering names of places and editing images to the right colour space for print. Japan has been top of my list for 2 years now, but the information I needed to make the book wasn't available in my snowy abode, so I got stuck in with Myanmar.

These are the holiday snaps. Next I can work on the offerings project, which I shall enjoy much more.

So here is a link to the book. But don't get excited and think you will see me or other half in action......... you won't!

Burma by Caroline Fraser | Make Your Own Book

making books on a rainy Sunday afternoon

Still Waters © Caroline Fraser 2010

I finally got around to making a record of a holiday taken in New Zealand in November 2010. Better late than never.

This book is for my other half. My next task is to make another book with all the photos that my other half doesn't really rate as holiday snaps........... something a bit more arty, without text, and definitely without people.

I agonised over one or two images; torn between creating a holiday album and something more aesthetic....


........this one is definitely not suitable for today's book ........ ( but I put it in anyway)

Okarito©caroline fraser 2010

This one maybe............. but not enough blue sky or people

Okarito also; ©caroline fraser

I was going to show you the book, but in order to preserve the anonymity of those who wish to keep it, I will have to abstain.

You'll have to wait for the arty one that is people free.

Sorry!

travelling light ..............an experiment with my Panasonic Lumix

bunchberry © caroline fraser 2011

I have just returned from Western Canada on a trip from Vancouver Island across the coastal ranges that include the Rockies, to Calgary. We were 11 in a far too small minibus, and had been advised to keep our luggage to less that 14kg, as it was to be carried on the roof of the van. I duly obeyed the instructions ( and was glad that I had, as we had to lift our luggage up high on an almost daily basis as we moved from one location to the next). Normally I travel with my Canon 40D plus several lenses, and my Panasonic Lumix for back up/hiking up mountains. On this trip I was challenged to cut back on weight, and in the style of Charlie Waite's dvd 'Travelling Light' http://www.charliewaite.com/store decided to travel light with my trusty Panasonic Lumix only; with no extra lenses, tripods, extra hard drives or external flash.

I have fallen in love with my Panasonic, and my only concern was the lack of zoom; as we were on a tour there would be no time to get a tripod out, or fiddle about with lots of lenses.

So how did it go..........?

Firstly, I have no regrets about my decision; every time we stopped the bus to get out and see something I was relieved not to have to decide what kit I needed, and in the tight space of the bus there was nowhere to put all my usual equipment without using up space for someone else's arm/leg or bottom. I kept my camera around my neck, and therefore was always ready to grab a shot.

The Lumix is brilliant for landscapes providing the light is reasonable and you don't need a tripod. I am not that interested in capturing sunsets and sunrises, so that was not a problem. When hiking, it sits around my neck, and I was able to take shots while others were worried about getting their cameras out in the rain or from their back packs when climbing up mountains. My first love is capturing the intimate landscapes below my feet, and for this it is perfect, coping best when the weather is dull or just after rain when the foliage is fresh. The one thing a landscape photographer doesn't really need is harsh sunshine, and we  had little of that. Shadows are a problem in intimate and larger landscapes;  a lesson I learnt from the talented landscape photographer Joe Cornish whilst at Inversnaid in Scotland a few years ago.

The down side of the Lumix came to light when capturing wildlife; it really isn't suitable for wildlife photography, as the following images show.

wild life photography with a Lumix

This is a wildlife image of a Pica; a small Canadian animal a bit like a guinea pig. You may be wondering where it is.........

Pica

You may also be wondering what is looks like..........

as you can see, it is kinda cute

Final verdict is that it is totally not suitable for wildlife photography, and because of that ( and the prospect of 3 hours feeling sick) I skipped the whale watching tour, and went for a wonderful walk in the rainforest instead, where I had a  chance to capture a very large slug at close range ( not very well, as it's head is out of focus and it's tail is missing). My excuse for this transgression is that I was all alone and worried I might meet a bear!