paparazzi

I was almost entirely unaware of it until late in the day on our travels around the Tower of London and then Trafalgar Square on the Wednesday after Kyle arrived, but whilst I was snapping off shots of the sights around London, often Kyle was snapping off shots of me [as well as myriad shots of the sights].

Only when going through our shots on our respective computers or on the LCDs later in the day did I realise exactly how many shots of me he was taking. Mostly captured as I was taking photos, or perusing what I'd taken on my LCD, or wandering ahead of him here and there. He was actually shooting me here as I shot him, I believe.

I usually dislike being photographed by other people, especially candidly, but he managed to capture quite a few that I really like [including some very odd ones]; though there are also many of me, as I turned to find him aiming his camera at me once more, with an "Oi! Quit that!" look on my face.

Between his recent visit and his random screenshots from our Skype conversations, I think his collection of photos of me might now have exceeded that of my parents, though would still run second to my thousands of self-portraits.

He also captured some excellent images of subjects other than me during his stay, including some taken on a reconnaissance around the cottage we stayed in, that I didn't go on [I was enjoying a rare lie-in, savouring the warmth of our cosy bed as the sun rose].

Admittedly I was a bit rubbish on the exploration side, as the cold was getting to me, and my trainers really weren't appropriate footwear for clambering over fences and clomping through mud and snow. Add to that the cold I came down with [and still have!] on the Monday after we arrived in County Durham, and I was a bit reluctant to venture too far from the car if I didn't have to.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't even manage any self-portraits whilst we were away. We were so rarely at the cottage we rented as we had long days exploring the local regions, and were usually knackered by the time we finally returned in the evenings, with only enough energy for imbibing a few cans of cider and Guinness, respectively, and a few quick games of Monopoly.

But sometimes you just need a holiday, right?

^{now playing: lady gaga - paparazzi}

fucking tourist

I've been a little absent from the online world the past few weeks, primarily because Kyle arrived for an all-too-brief visit, albeit approximately 25.5 hours later than scheduled, making it even briefer.

A technical hitch delaying his flight from Mackay in Queensland to Brisbane by two hours (originally cited as being due to bad weather) caused him to miss his connecting flight from Brisbane to Singapore; and though eventually Qantas found him a seat on corresponding flights exactly 24 hours later (after feeding him and putting him up in a hotel overnight), by the time he reached Singapore, snowfall in London had impacted on flights landing at Heathrow, causing his British Airways flight to be cancelled, and him to be placed on a Qantas flight another hour later.

Thankfully the brevity of his visit didn't take away from the excitement and enjoyment of having him here with me in London, and getting to show him the sights, as well as a trip up north for a week to explore Yorkshire, Cumbria and County Durham.

Having snowed here on the Friday night, by the time Kyle arrived in the early hours of Monday morning, a lot of it had turned to slush and ice, but having never seen actual snow before, seeing the houses, train tracks, and parks coated in the stuff, Kyle felt it was all a little surreal [not dissimilar from my own experience around Christmas 2000 when I woke to find it had snowed overnight].

He had also been led to believe it would be extremely cold here, being midwinter and coming from midsummer Queensland humidity and heat; but being still fairly mild here at that stage, he was wondering what all the fuss was about.

So after a relaxing pub lunch [the first of countless consumed by us during his time here], he insisted I photograph him barefoot and in a t-shirt at a nearby park, showing him enjoying the mild weather. The original image is below.

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fucking tourist

As luck would have it, the following Thursday night it once more snowed, allowing him to wander out in it with his camera almost as excitedly as I had done the previous Friday night, and for us to take a second shot the next day of him enjoying the 'mild' weather, this time going for full effect with him donning shorts, a 'wifebeater', and armed with a can of Carlsberg.

All he was missing was a barbecue.

After 'basking' in the morning sun, he also decided to do a barefoot lap of honour:

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kyle

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kyle

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kyle

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kyle

^{now playing: jason segel & walter - man or muppet}

100 people - #25: Kyle

One Friday night in September last year, my then housemate, Nicole Jensen, caught up with a friend who was visiting Brisbane for his brother's wedding the next day. They had met in a pub nearby, and decided to adjourn back to our house for more beers.

I was home editing photos and indulging in some ciders, and Nikki knocked on my bedroom door to invite me to come out and join them, as Kyle had been admiring the print of truth lies beyond hanging over the couch in our lounge room.

We ended up spending most of the remainder of the night talking art, photography, ambitions, travel, etc.

We then stayed in contact through Twitter, and met again about a month later when Kyle boarded with us for a week to do a course in Brisbane. We hung out much of the week watching Terriers, drinking cider and beer respectively, and going to the gym. On his second last morning in town, as we caught the bus together toward the city, he asked me if I wanted to catch up for dinner that night.

Having asked if Nikki was coming with us to dinner, I surmised from his answer in the negative, that he was asking me on a date; though, in case I was unsure, he confirmed my suspicions when he met me outside the gym, giving me the option to decline at that point.

Given that, were we not to go to dinner, we would just end up going back to the house and chilling on the couch watching more Terriers and hanging out together, I figured I got a good deal either way. However, I did chuckle and ask "You know I'm leaving the country, right...?" 

Suffice to say, the date went well, and knowing we had only a short time together before I left for London, Kyle came down once more from Winton on Boxing Day and we spent an intense, indulgent and utterly wonderful two weeks together.

On New Year's Day I photographed him, from which this portrait is taken.

Despite my initial reluctance to undertake a long distance relationship, ten months later here we are (though officially we've just passed our eleventh month anniversary, agreeing in retrospect that first date marked the beginning of our relationship; and we won't mention that 2.5 hour break-up...)

We video chat almost every day on Skype, for hours at a time, to the point where it's almost like we live together, despite the vast distance between us. Thankfully he's a morning person and I'm a night owl, so our mornings and evenings overlap. Through the various ups and downs we've both had over the past year, we manage to keep each other going and make each other smile (though admittedly he's usually the one who has the more difficult job with this, as the past few months life has been getting me down a bit), and his encouragement and his own achievements with his weight have definitely been an inspiration in my weight loss.

This weekend he has made the move from Winton to commence a new job in Mackay. A job with more opportunities and that will give him more experience relevant to the IT degree he is currently undertaking.

All going to plan, he will visit in February for a few weeks, and I can't wait to see him in all of his high resolution, non-pixelated goodness. It will also give me a chance to take updated portraits of him as, like me, he has lost more weight and toned up more since January.

Maybe he'll also capture me in illustration, as he is a talented artist himself, though not practicing.

^{now playing: natalie imbruglia - that day}

clutch

The imprints of your fingers leave their mark on my neck like a psychologist's ink stains.

I still feel your fingertips, gently but firmly holding me. My neck, my waist. Exploring, investigating, supporting, caressing, teasing.

In the darkness I can imagine they still sear my skin; still seek me out.

That you're not thousands of miles away, and so far from my touch.

Why, sometimes I've imagined as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

^{now playing: bjork - aeroplane}