A translation based on a 2026 Jiangsu Gaokao essay by an anonymous examinee, reproduced here as a non-commercial translation exercise.
Copyright in the original remains with its respective rights holder(s). I format this note as a translation attempt, and some cultural footnotes. Note that this essay (and my commentary surrounding it) deals with death and personal losses.
(more…)This is not quite an Aperiodical, but I make a note ahead of — both scheduled and now, open to, surprising — changes.
(more…)12 prompts and one journey.
My score sheet is updated and I missed the top 30% cut again. Thanks to anonymous reviewer 3 (why’d this title sound familiar) for a few 8/10 ratings.
The event results for the year are here
https://www.fotomarathon.at/galerie-2026/beste-bilder/
Numerical findings aside that none of my work even cleared 6.5 this time, despite some marked spreads (4 and 8 for one photo speaks more to personal preference but that is how art works), I do remark the winners are often better commercial photographs than my set, sharp, easy to read, and bright. At the same time by participating as a tourist in Vienna and limiting my role to one that discovers and interprets rather than one who constructs or even illuminates might be compromising. Still, that’s no reason not to take photos the way I always do.
(more…)A personal supplement to the MPS / UniGoe IAG Night of Astronomy. This website used to do non-photo journal posts …
Giant, otherworldly balls scattered along north Otago’s Moeraki Beach, the Boulders look as though they were handcrafted and placed by design. These massive concretions are a geological marvel. Formed originally within ancient sea-floor mud through the slow, steady crystallisation of calcite over millions of years.
(An express section of the NZ 2026 Photo Journal)
A note on these: the images are mine and sit outside this site’s CC-BY-NC terms.
What’s here is capped at 3 MP, which is plenty for a screen and no use at all on a wall. If you’d like a print, or a licence to hang one, say hello.
(more…)Last night at Liffey Toastmasters table topics I was invited to respond to the prompt, “Say if you can ask nature one question and get a definite answer, what would your question be?” Thematically, the evening gathering was titled “0th Law of Robotics” with a tint of discussion over trends in AI and thinking machines (Herbert). This is the flushed out version of my response for the record.
(more…)I’ve passed FRA quite a few times now but until this trip my 300mm lens was always in the checked baggage.
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