Woke Up In My Clothes

Bernard Dunne

(c) Bernard Dunne

In my work and travels I have been fortunate to visit many corners of

the world. I have lost count of the number of times that I have woken in

my clothes as breakfast is served on an airplane about to land in some

far flung destination. But the title "WokeUpInMyClothes" means more

to me than just some morning hypnopompic thought. It also refers to

those moments of clarity on an idea that comes at any time of the day.

Those moments as the book cover portrays when “the light goes on”.

With this collection of images I am looking to capture and share with

you the representations of some of my thoughts as they occurred in

July 2011, or to present images that captured a moment for me during

the month, or simply to share images I captured that might give the

observer pause for reflection.

This photo book was created during “SoFoBoMo 2011”

enjoy,

b

Cover Image – A Self Portrait (the light goes on)

Exposure 0.01667 sec (1/60)

F-Number f4.5

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Fossil

While cleaning the flagstones in the garden with a power washer I revealed the

fossils of some leaves ingrained in a few of them. It got me thinking about how

we endeavour to leave our own immortal print on this world.

I remember when working with architects in the construction industry that they

wanted their work to have a lasting impact, something to be appreciated by

generations to come. Maybe that’s why I enjoy photography – an opportunity to

capture something to be hopefully enjoyed by others in the near or even distant

future.

I don’t know if publishing this photo book will give me any kind of digital

immortality, I just trust that like these fossils, this work might be seen and leafed

through by others in many years to come.

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)

F-Number f16

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Western Minaret

The sun is out and the sound of children playing brings a joy to all that hear it in

the suburban gardens of Ireland. But there is another sound, more distant, also

vying for our attention. It is the sound produced from these modern western

minarets.

I find myself suddenly engaged in their call to prayer. It’s certainly a new

religion. “Give Me Everything” implores Pitbull, Katy Perry tells us pictures of last

Friday night are online and “I’m screwed”, and the ever classy LMAFO tells us

“I’m runnin’ through these hoes like drano”.

If this is their religion then maybe I’ll find solace by switching off from this noise

and giving my own thoughts some space to breath.

Exposure 0.0025 sec (1/400)

F-Number f5.6

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Copy Cat

In pulling together the approximately thirty five images required for this photo

book, I was struck by the magnitude of doing so in just one month. Would I

revert to some older images, would I avoid copying the works of others. This is

one such “copy cat” idea that made me pause for thought. It is a photo of a

lantern departing into the night sky.

We had watched the Disney movie “Tangled” with the kids the previous

weekend and I thought it would be super to capture one of the central images

from the film, that of lanterns floating into the sky. But in the same week a

friend published such a photo! Could I now do likewise?

After some consideration I decided that every composition is in fact unique.

Unless someone sets out to simply copy your photo then surely it is perfectly ok

to produce an image which contains some of the same elements.

Or so I think...

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)

F-Number f6.3

ISO Speed ISO-125

(c) Bernard Dunne

Simple’Phi

I was listening to Groove Armada’s album Black Light in the car and found myself

caught on the track “Just for Tonight”. There was something instantly familiar, in

fact gemütlich, about its hook. In reality it’s a simple repeating riff, but how

could I capture the idea of something so comfortable in an image.

After some thought, accompanied I must admit by the same track repeating in

my ears, I deconstructed the idea. I would need a photo where I would have to

really simplify the composition.

It’s probably my liking of the absurd that morphed this into “Simple”+“Phi”. The

Phi bit being easy – the “magic ratio” in mathematics (1.61), I would simply crop

the photo to this ratio. But it was a while before I settled on a cloudscape as a

good representation of something simple. It turned out that something as

simple as a cloud-scape took a lot more work than I expected in particular

getting the blue right, and to give the clouds any sense of depth.

Exposure 0.00156 sec (1/640)

F-Number f8

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Diversity

I was reviewing the design of a technical solution for availability and diversity

while sitting in the back garden of our home in Naas. No failure-mode-effect-

analysis had been applied to this business system architecture, but as I analysed

the dependencies in the solution I started to think about just what diversity

really means.

This quickly evolved to thoughts on a different form of diversity – that of the

diversity visible to us every day in nature.

This collection of photos are all from the above back garden, celebrating the

variety of grasses, shrubs and flowers to be found in a small sun drenched

garden in Co. Kildare, Ireland.

Exposure (typical for set) 0.002 sec (1/500)

F-Number (typical for set) f4.5

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Dangerous Dreams

Our memories of the past can be a fickle thing. Do we really remember events,

or is it hearing about them subsequently that registers them as “real” in our

minds. I don’t remember the specifics of any summer camps that I participated

in, but I can definitely recount that I enjoyed my experiences of them.

For Myles, this year, he is off to enjoy a “Dangerous Camp”.

These camps aim to equip boys with a range of ideas with which to enjoy their

‘free-time’. Partly inspired by “The Dangerous Book for Boys”, the camps

familiarises the boys with games, outdoor adventure, hobbies and skills, as well

as providing a strong educational flavour.

I wanted to capture the feeling of dreaming about what the camp might be like,

or what it might be like recalling the camp in time to come with this photo of

Myles reading from “The Dangerous Book for Boys”.

Exposure 0.01667 sec (1/60)

F-Number f4.5

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

I Want A Pony!

In every girls dreams I believe there is the recurring idea that they want a pony,

or at least that’s what the stereotypical images say. But how do we distinguish

what we “need” from what we “want”, and how good do we feel when we make

those dreams come true for others.

Faye’s first experience of horse riding came courtesy of the local Girl Guides

Brownie troop. She enjoyed it so much that she wanted her “Summer Camp” to

be a week learning to ride a pony. The photos here are of Faye riding Jackson

one of ponies at the Little Oak Equestrian Centre.

Seeing her smile on the final day of the camp when they put on a show for us in

the pouring rain it struck me that sometimes making what they “want” a reality,

and not just what they “need” can have spectacular rewards.

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) (all pictures)

F-Number f4.5

ISO Speed ISO-250

(c) Bernard Dunne

Can we really control nature?

Are we simply part of nature, just like other animals crafting the environment to

their own purposes, or is there something different about our approach to

controlling the living world. What happens if nature is left to its own devices?

This thought came to me in Marlay Park where two different images caught my

attention. The first was that of a tree around which stones had been placed, the

second of a gate over which nature was reclaiming its territory.

As humans, I think we have a particular accountability about how we treat the

environment. Unlike any other species we seem to have an ever increasing

appreciation for the long term impacts that we can have. So I would like to

believe that when we mould nature to our needs that we keep in mind how we

return it to its original condition. That we follow-through on our exit strategy –

unlike the gate in the image, a rusting remnant of some transient need long

forgotten.

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) (both images)

F-Number f5

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Let Me Entertain You!

I remember in my teens being jealous of the lads who could strum a guitar in

someone’s kitchen. They always seemed to get the girl. In fairness, a piano or

keyboard would have been much too big for me to cart around at that time!

When walking around Dublin at the start of the “Made in Temple Bar 2011”

festival the variety of folks providing the entertainment reminded me of those

long past days.

However, today’s buskers provide a much broader variety of entertainment than

a simple guitar. From the artist scribing the words of Shane McGowan’s

fairytale, to the dancer caught in a hypnotic drum beat, to the folks playing pan-

pipes on a Dublin street, long may it last.

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) (all images)

F-Number f5

ISO Speed ISO-200

(c) Bernard Dunne

Magic

Sometimes it can be the most innocuous of things that can really switch on our

brains, and what I am certain of is that the emotions created in those moments

are always painted on our faces and in our body language, if even just for a split

second, for all to see.

Here Fays is watching her brother Myles perform magic tricks for some of their

cousins. The venue is the walled garden of a city park, the shadows providing a

perfect cover for the deft hand movements of his card show.

The shadows of the walls also provided a lovely background on which to see

Faye’s face – and that moment the magic became reality.

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) (both images)

F-Number f7.1

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

DJ Play-Doh – How Adaptive Are We

A child’s imagination is an incredible force. When presented with a few pots of

play-doh the permutations they can create from this malleable compound are

endless. The versatility of what can be achieved is evident in this model of a

play-doh DJ spinning the disks on his mixing desk.

As I work through a reorganisation with my company, I’m also struck by the

versatility of our folks. Their resilience in dealing with ambiguity. We avoid

getting into a spin and stay focused on the business result. But how will any of

us be if faced with redundancy or a change in career path.

I like the idea that even as we get a little older that we can keep our flexibility

and our imaginations alive, that we see all the possibilities. I am sure this must

be key in the attraction photography has for me.

Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)

F-Number f4.5

ISO Speed ISO-100

(c) Bernard Dunne

Third Law

The law of reciprocal actions says that to every action there is always an equal

and opposite reaction.

It may be true in physics, but I was thinking could it also be true in how we act

and behave. So what is the philosophical equivalent? A quick read would

suggest that the same ideas can be applied to “you reap what you sow”,

although I wonder could the same principles ever demonstrate the pure balance

of Newton’s third law of motion.

Although I would love to capture a photo that clearly articulates “you reap what

you sow”, I thought I might go for something much simpler. Graphical

representations of Newton’s law of reciprocal actions frequently use a

“Newton’s Cradle”, but I’ve gone with just an image of two pens whose forces

on each other are keeping them in equilibrium.

Exposure 1.6 sec

F-Number f8

ISO Speed ISO-100

My WokeUpInMyClothes Photo Blog

http://wokeupinmyclothes.wordpress.com

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This Photo Book was created during Solo Photo

Book Month (SoFoBoMo) 2011.

(c) Bernard Dunne