Today I am sharing an older image that I took while in the Catacombes de Paris. I had to use the available light from a flood light in the tunnel as no flash photography is allowed. This isn’t because it’s a mass burial site, but rather because the light degrades the bones. So this was taken hand-held, while bracing against a passage frame for stability on a 3 second exposure.
Have you ever heard a song that just makes you stop what you are doing and start dancing? Or a song that compels you to crank up the volume and belt out the lyrics at the top of your lungs? Do you wish your volume went to 11?
Whether it’s a great beat that appeals to your need to ‘dance it out’ or lyrics that beg to be belted out, music can be profoundly evocative and can draw out memories of a long-forgotten time. Socrates said “when the soul hears music, it drops its’ best guard.” I agree. It’s the experience of being transported by the beauty of a song. It’s suddenly finding yourself in tears, not knowing whether they are of joy or sadness. It’s the feeling of exhilaration and the sense of calm. We turn to music for joy and comfort. We need music because of its ability to move us.
Ask ten people to describe a scene and you’ll get ten different accounts. Ask a 100 people and you’ll get 100 different versions. Yet ask those same ten or 100 people to sing you a song and you’ll get one version. This is because our recall of music tends to be close to the original piece. Yes, we all listen with different interpretations and emotions; but we tend to remember the basic characteristics – tempo, rhythm and pitch — with remarkable accuracy. Think of how many songs you can sing right now; or back to the last time you heard a song on the radio that you hadn’t heard in years, yet sang along word-for-word. Basically, we’re hard-wired to respond to music.
I love music. Whether it’s my new favourite “gangsta chick’ Iggy Azalea singing Fancy or my longtime friend Iggy Pop with Candy, music has been there to provide a soundtrack to my life. Here’s some songs that would make the soundtrack:
Think about the songs you’ve loved over the years. If you could only pick ten songs to be on your life’s soundtrack, which ones would best recount your life?
Have you ever looked at the horses on a carousel? I mean really looked? Creepy. I caught this one with a fish-eye lens.
Let me start by saying that I am NOT a hat person. It’s not that I don’t like hats. In fact it’s quite the opposite. I love hats and want to be a hat person. But for those of us with small pea-sized heads, wearing a hat can make us look like a kid playing dress up. And as we all know, the golden rule for wearing a hat is to make sure you only wear ones that fit your head. If you’re in love with brimmed hats, as is the case with me and my fedora obsession, then it’s doubly important to find one that is scaled just right for your face and body. Aside from the obvious functional nature of protecting your scalp from the sun, a hat can change the complete look of an outfit. It can be that one accessory that sets you apart, whether you’re at a formal event or you’re just running some errands.
Thankfully it’s summer; and summer is about hats. Which means there was hope yet for this girl! Here’s what I’ve found to date that fits my wee head:
Nine West: $35
This Nine West brown with gold thread fedora style hat is “packable”, meaning it’s flexible and bendable enough to shove in a suitcase. The sole reason I snagged this sweet hat is that when I tried it on, I immediately felt glamourous – like I should be vacationing somewhere in the southern France … on my yacht. But my backyard will have to do for now.
Forever 21: $15
This fedora is natural straw with a black band and small black straw rim. It even comes in two sizes: small/medium and large. (Obviously this girl snagged the smallest option.) As this is a smaller hat, you can wear it farther back on your head – a la Lisa Bonet in her Cosby Show years – or “normally”. I chose the Lisa Bonet look, because why not?
Interesting fact about the Fedora: It first appeared in 1882 as a ladies hat. It debuted in the play “Fédora” by the French author Victorien Sardou whose main character Princess Fédora Romanoff wore center-creased, soft brimmed hat. The hat was soon a popular fashion accessory for women but after 1924, when Prince Edward of Britain started wearing them, the fedora was adopted by men. (History of Fedora) How about that!?
If you read any books about career, life choices or any type of business book, most will tell you to seize the moment when opportunity presents itself. Here is a picture by photographer Colleen Niska who did just that when she noticed a tornado while taking a client’s wedding photos in Saskatchewan. Thanks to her creativity and quick thinking, she took some pretty outstanding images that have garnered worldwide attention.
On her Facebook page, she posted: “I’ve dreamed about a day like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could NOT wait to post these! Pretty sure this will only happen once in my lifetime!”
I’m gonna have to agree with her on that one. But what a day indeed! When I hear about stories of chance and opportunity that are seized and rewarded, I always feel inspired to do the same in my own life. Do you have the courage to face a tornado (figurative or literally) to make your moments happen?
Here’s five tactics from Tiny Budda for a motivational kick in the derriere:
Carpe diem!
For today’s Picture Perfect Tuesday, I present the edges of Alcatraz. Once home to the likes of Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, today it’s a national park. But imagine what it would have been like for a would be escapee
In honour of today being Canada Day, I am sharing an image that I took a few years ago on this day at Parliament Hill.
One of my goals when taking a picture is to take something we see everyday and give it new life, like this hydrant. The next time you are out and about taking pictures, try lying on the ground for a different angle, or even just tilt your framing. Taking a different angle can add interest to almost anything – as can the PS Express app. I used the “super-punch” filter for this one.
I came across this old cigarette machine while in Maine. I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these… so naturally I had to take a picture of it. Interestingly it was still in use.
This past week I took a walk down memory lane seeing Canadian artist Corey Hart’s final concert in Montreal, Quebec. Corey Hart is not an artist that people talk about anymore, other than to say ‘yeah, I used to love him as a teenager’ when a song is occasionally played on the radio. Yet, there I was with one of my besties, belting out every song along with him, word for word, not missing a beat – just like old friends who easily fall back into a rhythm. Some songs made me a bit teary but all of them made me nostalgic for my youth.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It evokes feelings of happiness and rose-coloured memories of a time when everything seemed simpler – even if it really wasn’t.
In marketing, nostalgia is designed to trigger the positive feelings that we associate with the past. The reason this type of marketing is so effective is because it’s easier to put a positive spin on the past than on the present. With our current social and economic climate still hovering in uncertainty, people want to recreate the feelings of security that the past seems to offer – and they are ready to open their wallets for it.
At the same time, for today’s youth, retro is considered cool. (Yay! I’m cool.) Look at the products we have today: headphones have shifted back to the ginormous look from 70s; acid wash jeans are in fashion magazines again (why!!!??) and new artists are mashing up retro songs to make their name (*cough* PitBull).
The good news is that while our wallets might be taking a hit, research on nostalgia has shown that nostalgic thinking actually increases self-esteem and feelings of optimism. I agree. For a brief moment, I was once again a carefree, invincible 18-year-old as we walked back to the hotel after the concert wearing our sunglasses at night.
The Publicist Diaries 