Our Art

I couldn’t find a thread for this, so I thought I’d make one. Since tinnitus & hyperacusis is so prone to make us isolated, make us distant to the world, and since the world is best viewed from a distance, I figure there has to be some artists among us. I’m reluctant to call myself one, but I have some pieces of something I’d like to share and hope y’all share some of yours.






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I don’t know if this is considered extreme, I’m hesitant about sharing this. But I’m also bored and looking for stimulating discussions

 

Seriously though @danielthor, you ever read J.D. Salinger?

 

Catcher In The Rye? I love that one.

 

A fantastic thread idea @danielthor!

I've been an illustrator for many years, my art style is pretty similar to stuff like my profile picture. I draw every single day, and tinnitus hasn't put a stop to that - I'll be sure to post my work some time soon.

 

Great! In that case you should read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Stories_(Salinger)

All the short stories in it are great, but the last one "Teddy" is very appropriate to the piece that made up your first post in this new thread.

I won't say anymore, as I don't want to spoil it. But yeah, pretty sure it's up your street (judging by your taste in art).

 

We'd love to see your art!

 

I sang in a band...

Unity

 

Photo series I'm working on right now about dealing with hyperacusis. This is my second round of test shots, so I'm still not 100% satisfied with these images, but I'm almost there. The prompt for these is the phrase "ears made of glass."

 

Both myself and my partner are keen film photographers, we are particularly interested in photos that capture movement.

 

Stared into the abyss and it glared back amiss, unblinkingly./

Thinking we couldn’t be frequenting the same frequency,/

but now the sequencing is much to clear./

How could I possibly become the monstrosity that I fear./

Besmeared, chastised, and circumcised where the serpent lies./

Here certain ties that bind wear a pert disguise./

They’re merchandised so that when the curtains rise/

they’re almost unrecognizable. The observant eye/

has to do a double take, everything doubly faked./

Complicit in the duplicitous with a lovely stake./

Soliciting only viciousness when they trouble make./

Elicited from the dissidents where the rubble cakes/

when the muzzles strafe. There the buzzards wait/

circling overhead, overheard “It’s just their fate”./

Akin to blasphemy. Unhinged, such is life./

When the whole is tinged with a touch of strife.

 

I love these so much. Especially the dog one. it looks a little eerie but in a very cool way. Aesthetically your work reminds me a bit of Francesca Woodman with the black and white and blurry subject matter.

 

These are incredible. Is there a place we see more of your work?


I make lil songs:

 

Thank you, this is a huge compliment, she is fantastic, love her work.

My partner actually has done a great series, where I am walking around the council estate he grew up in. The buildings are the main focus and I am blurred out - a ghost like figure. Out of the 2 of us, he is a lot more experienced, I have more of a click and pray approach.

Unfortunately not, it’s always just been a hobby. Since my daughter was born we had to repurpose our make shift dark room, the chemicals are too nasty for her to be around, and our ventilation system left a lot to be desired! We now have mountains of exposed film to one day develop.

Your songs are lovely, make me feel like I’m floating, I know that sounds a bit silly, but I don’t know how else to put it. Are you singing and playing the guitar? I always wished I could be musical, near enough my whole family play guitar. Unfortunately I turned out to be the one that doesn’t have a musical bone in their body...

 

Oh well they really are beautiful! I really enjoy your style.

Thank you very much! I really appreciate your comments. Yes I sing and play guitar! I taught myself how to play guitar so i am by no means an expert. I kind of just know some basics. I have an ameatur style but I always like artists like Daniel Johnston etc so it doesn't stop me from making music. It's a very cathartic hobby to sing, to write, and create. I love me some reverb and echoy elements so floaty sounds inline with it.

I guess you got the visual art bone in your body haha, which I kind of wish I could cultivate for myself.

 

Not an easy thing to do, but in the long run it’s helpful. My brother is entirely self taught and can pick up any song by ear.

It’s great that you haven’t let tinnitus stop you doing these things. A lot of people on the forum mention that they struggle getting back into music. I only just started listening to it again last week, hearing my internal noise over the music is still pretty annoying, but I figure I’ll just have to get used to it.

Suppose we’ve got to make the best of what we’ve got. A little bit of silence would be nice though, but maybe we are asking too much. Can’t have it all

 

I enjoy doing street photography.

 

The first photo was taken on a mountain trail in the Wicklow mountains. I couldn't find any name on it. The second is the Mrs cooling her feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

The Irish Robin looking for a morning handout, a regular at the local coffee shop.

 

Just out of curiosity, why film instead of digital?

I’m kind of an obnoxious film purist, so I’m being a cocky snob when I say that your photos are a perfect example on why film outshines digital in pretty much all aspects of photography (and cinematography too). From having higher dynamic range which makes it better at capturing detail in whites and blacks, to having better grey scale and color accuracy, but most importantly it has that sacred grainy texture which is just pure nostalgia. There is a certain richness and boldness to the image which cannot be beaten by digital.

Then you have the philosophical aspect of film vs digital. With film there is more pressure to get it right due to the limitation of film stock, therefore it's more of a thrill to get the right shot and limit your mistakes. But even then any imperfections and flaws in the shot are celebrated and embraced. Digital has no limitations so it's probably less satisfying in that way. Digital tries too hard to be perfect and you can tell by how clean the images look and sometimes when things are too perfect, they just seem lifeless.

I see that I’m waffling about on why film>digital, so I’ll stop. I rather just hear from the people who actually do the work of shooting on film.

 

Well... you kind of answered the question for me lol. But also, the suspense, you don’t know the exact image you have until it’s developed. I also like being able to take double exposures, overlaying images makes for some pretty interesting photos.

If you haven’t already, I’d suggest getting a film camera. It’s very therapeutic and makes you look at things in a different way.

 

A very good point you bring up. With digital you don’t have to wait for the image to develop, it’s right there in front of you the moment you take the shot. Don’t like it? You can simply retake another shot over and over again until you get the perfect shot. You don’t have that luxury with film. Film requires more sacrifice of time and effort.

Oh I’m sure it’s therapeutic, but I’ve come to realization that I lack creativity and a innovative mind. I like to observe the works of creative minds instead.

 

I agree. I used to shoot film a lot before digital. I really enjoy the film process. I still have my film cameras and development equipment, but I've been shooting digital these days due to time constraints--it's hard to find time to even go out and shoot.

Here's another shot of mine:

 

I will say though, one good thing about digital is its wide availability and accessibility. That makes it a great opportunity for people who want to get started and showcase what they can do. A young filmmaker, for instance, can actually buy a smartphone and if they have the tenacity to put together a small crew, come up with an interesting story, get some actors, and put something together... they can actually make a movie. And that film could go on the film festival circuit and then they could be legit. That wasn’t the case in the old days. You would of need at least a 16 millimeter film which was not an easy thing to attain.

I like the shot btw @Joe Cuber.

 

Hey thanks @ZFire! Really good point you made about accessibility. It democratizes the medium.

 

A DJ mix I recorded some years back. All vinyl. I'm not a medium snob in any way but that's how I enjoy(ed) DJing. I guess it's the audio equivalent of the film vs digital debate! God how I miss music since all this ear BS started... can't believe how much I took it for granted.

Have been thinking of picking up photography as an alternative creative outlet. Any recommendations for cheap fun cameras? Film or digital