A day in the life of would-be rubbish

A Documentary Photographic Profile by Bryony Symes.

This documentary profile will probe into the ways that simple drinks can damage our worlds, as well as the ways that we can make them beautiful. With people tending to choose bottled or canned drinks over a simple glass of water from the tap, we are becoming very wasteful and the land-fill sites across Britain can attest to this. But it needn't be all doom and gloom, rubbish can be used by some in useful and artful ways.

Another meal, another landfill.

'Junk' can be beautiful in an artist's mind.







Collector's Corner.

The born again piggy bank.

Abstract art or careless wastefullness?

Littering our planet; the gross end of your favourite drinks.



This pretty much sums me up...

Just another Sunday in Winchester...

With both the arts and crafts market, and the vintage and retro fair, its no wonder I spent money today.

 This was a step-back-in-time style photography stall, which had so many amazing things including old-style glass negatives in a case, a type-writer and a tiny 1.5"x2.5" yellow camera from the '50s or '60s (at a guess).

There were so many amazing stalls at the vintage fair, and so many shoppers, that we had to go back at the end of the day so that we could get a clear photo of any of the stalls! 

TOO MUCH money, but isn't it oh so worth it? Shopping gives you a fantastic day out with friends, lots of excuses for sitting and people watching (often accompanied by a hot chocolate or a meal, because we must have sustenance!), and lots and lots of NEW THINGS!!!

I have already had lots of fun with today's purchases, using the scarf as a belt, a headband, a hood, a bracelet, I could go on ...

And having some fun playing around with shadow and high and low angles taking pictures of the scarf and ring. 

Plus, how can you go wrong, in October, buying knits? So what if I bought two cardigans in one day? One is vintage, the other is not; one is navy, the other is purple; one has cute gold buttons, the other drapes nicely and has mixed textures. And they are both cosy and roasty-toasty for the coming winter months. I am prepared for once!


Shopping spree done, right? WRONG! I now need to find some boots... in my size and the colour I like. They are practically found, if only River Island had more sizes and lower prices! So on I shop, such a hard life!

A grave excursion

After a gruesome day of work (fainting while talking to a customer about scarves is not exactly ideal...), I felt I needed a little time out on the walk home to clear my head. For months now, I have walked past a gate and wondered where it leads to, so, ever the intrepid adventurer, I explored. What I found was a charming (though morbid and slightly spooky) cemetery. I took this opportunity to flex my documentary-photography muscles and experiment with angles, high and low shots and framing that we looked at in class on tuesday. Here are the results!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

...lives a little leprechaun guarding a pot of gold.

We all know this tale in one version or another, and it fascinates me how this captured our imaginations. I was reminded a few days ago by an extraordinary double rainbow, which I could see both ends of and everything in between, that rainbows are lovely, beautiful and hopeful (they almost make the rain worth it), but how did someone come up with the idea that if you find the end of it, you will get a pot of gold?

Even though we are supposed to know that, of course, this is impossible, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I saw one of the most vivid rainbows that I can remember. It also happened to seem the closest rainbow I had ever seen;  just a hundred metres or so away, by the swings on the other side of the playing fields. Caught up in the moment, excitedly thinking that I could be the little girl that breaks the curse and reaches the end of the rainbow, I ran full pelt to where I saw it touch the ground. When I got there though, all I could find was litter and grass - definitely no pot of gold - and the rainbow had moved on to the other side of the houses. I was so disappointed at the time, and still see the rainbow in my memory so clearly that I don't think I will ever forget it.

Now, in all my wisdom, I know that you will never reach the end of a rainbow, because it is a refraction of light, and the bouncing of it to your eye (so scientific, huh?) will only work from a certain distance. I feel proud that I know the basic science of it, but it is also saddening that the tiny little joys and excitements seem to have been taken away by growing up. Childhood ignorance definitely seems to be bliss to me now.

Rockin' out to the Beatles!

So there I am, doing some writing for my FYP (finally!), listening to gold radio (how cool am I??) and GUESS what comes on? The Beatles' Please Mr Postman! Of course, I just had to stop working and dance along, I'd be breaking tradition if I didn't!

The Beatles - Please Mr Postman

And I just love the little sketch that is at the beginning of this recording!

You see, this love of the Beatles came about because my mum has the Long Tall Sally vinyl which my sister and I LOVED to dance around the living room to; playing our guitars (old wooden tennis rackets) and singing at the top of our lungs! Such good memories...

So of course, you can't stop at just one Beatles song! Here's a load that I will play allllll evening.

The Beatles - When I saw her standing there
The Beatles - I want to hold your hand
The Beatles - Hard Days Night
The Beatles - Penny Lane

There are so many that I love that I could go on posting links all night... but instead I'm going to listen to them myself!

Loving the new camera!

In celebration of my shiny new camera, I have been experimenting with all the different settings (there are so many, I can't remember how to get to most of them!). On my daily walks down Romsey Road to work or to uni, I have tried to get a 'snapshot of reality' without much success. I would not cut it as a paparazzi!