Head Space Daily Words...

For over a week I have been like a member of the techno Taliban, holed up in a loft extension in darkest South East London, teaching myself how to use Adobe Premiere. As a result, cabin fever has ensued due to lack of contact with other people and the outside world in general. This solitary state of mind came to a head last night in bed, when, in a semi conscious dream state, I tried to remember and mentally recall – like a human Google street view – the name of every street in the Hunter’s Bar area of Sheffield, which I used to inhabit when I was a student up there. At one point, in my minds eye, I even followed a frog up Frog Walk and took a detour into the cemetery at the bottom of Cemetery Avenue. Strewth. This happens to me every now and then as a freelancer, when I am not working. I get bogged down in some work related mission, before having a funny turn which makes me realise that I am not a hermit; at which point I wash and shave and head out into the big wide world. This is what I did this morning. The sun was shining, people were out and about and life had continued during my self-imposed exile. What I needed was to look at things, hear things, re-invigorate my brain and taste something other than cheese, ham and salad between two slices of whole meal bread. As I walked along Brook Street, I gave my usual passing nod to the Handel and Hendrix houses, as I made my way to The Photographers Gallery. There is an exhibition featuring photos from Andy Warhol, William Burroughs and David Lynch. Lynch’s pictures were of an eerily abandoned industrial site but the other two collections were snapshots of what inspired Burroughs and Warhol in their day-to-day lives. Warhol would generally shoot a 36-frame reel of film a day, taking pictures of what he saw going on around him. Considering the attention to detail involved in his framing and composition,due to shooting on film as well as having to get the film itself processed and developed, it told me that I, with the disposable ability to take multiple shots digitally on my i-phone, had no excuse to not take enough images each day to cover this blog. So, off I went, with Berwick Street, as is often the case, being a creative centre for my pictures. One of my favourite HSD Images from last year was taken outside the Berwick Street Islamic Centre – HSD Image April 26th 2013. Anyway, I digress. The record shops, Sister Ray (formerly the legenday SelectaDisc) and Music and Video Exchange were visited, although nothing was purchased, as with no cash flow, the purse strings are pulled tight. Those old Master Cuts albums are looking a bit tasty for a future raid mind you. A fajita was bought from one of the street stalls - no cheese sarnie for me today - life was observed and several pictures taken. Today, I ceased being a hermit...