Friday 3 September 2010

And here, a year...


A year ago, Heather mentioned an exhibition she had seen where a number of artists had taken photos of the same view throughout the year. It's so easy to not notice the gradual changes to our surroundings as the months roll by! We have an amazing view from the front of our house, and yet the house was not designed for it's occupants to admire it - to my amusement, the best view to be had is from the small window in the upstairs toilet (at around 6pm - see above). I resolved to to take a photograph from our front door on the first of each month at around 10am, for a whole year, resisting the temptation to wait for the clouds to pass or the the sun to come out properly. Of course, me being me, I did forget a couple of times and so a few of these snaps were taken a few days late (OK, August was nearly 2 weeks late, but it was the summer holidays and I had a lot on my plate...), but please enjoy the view from here - from October to September :-)

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9 comments:

  1. I love it! Especially the progression of the rice field, it's a real marker of the seasons here. I always used to get depressed when all the lush green around my apartment suddenly vanished when I was in work one day...

    What a shame that you can't enjoy it from inside the house but I bet it's a good feeling when you walk outside.

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  2. Beautiful photos and lovely idea.

    It amazes me that from your very front door you could clearly capture all the seasons from the freshly planted rice to the farmer harvesting it!

    I don't get why people don't think about house design...it is so important.

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  3. Oh wow! You did it! It looks amazing. Damn. I never did get my act together. I think my problem is that my favourite view is half way up the mountain in a place it's a bit difficult to stop the car. I may have to choose a second favourite (and more accessible) view. Seriously impressed.

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  4. this is great!

    like everyone else, i love watching the rice fields over the seasons. here in tokyo, my views consist of a parking lot, the side of my neighbor's building (about 20cm from my window) and the alley in front of my house.

    i might have to go digging through my old photos when i worked among rice paddies in saitama and took photos from the bus stop occasionally.

    inspiring post, to say the least!

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  5. Hi umebossy,

    I couldn't believe it when I went to take this month's photo and they were out there harvesting the rice - an hour later and I would have missed it! xxx

    Thank you achan, but it wasn't really my idea! Strange, isn't it, that they don't seem to want to take advantage of the views - back home you pay far more for a property with even a glimpse of mountains or sea! xxx

    Hi Heather! Your post really inspired me! I chose this view, not because it is my favourite (not by a long shot!), but because it would be easy to do! I just had to open my front door - I'm sure that had I needed to walk somewhere or make a special trip, I would never have managed to complete a whole year! Perhaps that should be my next challenge... xxx

    Thank you, j! I think it would be interesting to take a series of photos of any scene, even urban... perhaps a local shrine, as they often have beautiful old trees, and the decorations/people visiting vary... I enjoyed a really good read of your blog - what interesting things you have done! xxx

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  6. It`s amazing what everyone notices (and what I don`t :P) I spent the whole time looking at the mountains and the clouds and only when I read the comments did I realise there was a rice paddy there too!

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  7. I love that idea! It's so clever! Like one of those flip books but a more gradual one! :)

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  8. I liked seeing the trees: one month green and gorgeous, the next, bare and twiggy. The rice paddy is great too, of course!

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  9. Wow, very cool! Looks like you're living in a pretty beautiful place!

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