Wednesday

Portrait: Charles Chaplin


4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:20 pm

    An inspiring photograph and an inspired written portrait. Nice one!

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  2. I love your thoughtful, well-expressed posts. As a user (though not so effectively as you) rather than a collector of typewriters, I also appreciate your blog's subtitle. As a photographer, I love the way this post turns that still of the young Chaplin into a frame in a motion picture film.

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  3. I was very tempted to passively g+1 this post, however I paused as I reflected upon the ineffective means of absentminded 'liking' and clicktivism (1) and the rather barren circles which I roll in, which would have rendered my well meaning distribution of your post useless.

    Instead I shall apportion suitable praise. You know you write well, you don't need me to puff your feathers about that, but I would like to acknowledge a stimulating and poignant piece of text when I read it, particularly when not a pretty penny has left my pocket. Perhaps it should.

    I read a lot as I pass the hours till I time travel once more to the breakfast table and it's wondrous to stumble upon a piece so deliciously random (2) that when it crosses my browser it diverts my predetermined course onto something far more interesting (3) - Chaplin without a moustache? Now that's an image my young eyes have not glanced upon until now; how we take characters from the past on a certain level of accepted face value. And what an oeuvre over many fruitful years! (4)

    Thanks again and I do hope you have a swell day,
    Sal

    (1) Sarah Burnside in the Overland Journal http://overland.org.au/2014/01/of-despair-tampons-and-clicktivism
    (2) We know the egg came first, but may I inquire as to where you get inspiration for these portraits?
    (3) how stupid the cat was to be killed by curiosity - it's a delightful thing that all good writing should inspire
    (4) 1977 was a terrible year for movers and shakers

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  4. thanks for the comments all!
    Sally - a swell day was had. The idea behind them was to try and do portraiture in a small-prose way (ie to make it stand if read without the image). There's something unique about images created in the mind rather than through the eyes, maybe. Also, it's a such a unique photo - I found it in one of those 'amazing historical photos' emails that do the rounds - and you're right about the mustache. And to write some value/interpretation back to the image - more than just 'an image' amongst millions, to read into it. Something like that! cheers, rino

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Nice comments are welcome!