It is late on Sunday night as I write this, moments before midnight. I am tired. A creative tired from the past seven days of work. In the past forty-eight hours Elizabeth & I had two days of non-stop shooting. As I type these words it still feels like I have a camera pressed up against my left eye and the feel of the indent in my right hand from holding on to the camera for an extended period. The work was good; the light over the past 2 days was good. At times too bright and hazy, but all light is good.
Monday thru Friday of last week I wrote...a lot. I stepped away from my desk and wrote. I find it hard to sit at my desk and write. For me my desk is for editing photos, updating this blog and responding to e-mails. Off to write, to create (either with a pen or camera) I need to leave the desk. I sat in the library and wrote, I sat in coffee house and wrote, even ventured to my back porch and wrote. I wrote.
Filling up a journal is a good feeling. An addictive feeling and if you have ever filled up a journal there is a good chance that you will continue to fill up journals. Seeing a small stack of moleskin journals accumulating on a bookshelf is good (also scary, hoping that nobody but you ever reads them).
I walked last week. I walked as much as I could. The weather was nice so I did my best to stay out of my car as much as possible. On Thursday I had a networking meeting on the South Side of Pittsburgh at nine. Not wanting to use my car nor sit in traffic I decided to get up early and walk to the “T” (PGH subway/train hybrid). Forty minutes to get to the station, 15 minutes on the “T” and then another twenty minute walk to the appointment. The second half of the walk was a great experience. I walked down a street that I have driven on many, many times over the past twenty years.
Thursday I saw the street for the very first time.
I am going to finish my beer and go to bed. Will organize my writing projects in the days to come.
P.S. Wednesday I will be taking photos for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy – they hold a “walks in the woods” every Wednesday evening (6:30) between the months of June through September. Bring your camera & I will do my best to help answer any of your questions (mini Photo-Walk).
Info about “Walks in the Woods” can be found here :
http://www.pittsburghparks.org/walks-in-the-woods
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Showing posts with label Compositions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Compositions. Show all posts
Update ~ Last Week
It is late on Sunday night as I write this, moments before midnight. I am tired. A creative tired from the past seven days of work. In the past forty-eight hours Elizabeth & I had two days of non-stop shooting. As I type these words it still feels like I have a camera pressed up against my left eye and the feel of the indent in my right hand from holding on to the camera for an extended period. The work was good; the light over the past 2 days was good. At times too bright and hazy, but all light is good.
Monday thru Friday of last week I wrote...a lot. I stepped away from my desk and wrote. I find it hard to sit at my desk and write. For me my desk is for editing photos, updating this blog and responding to e-mails. Off to write, to create (either with a pen or camera) I need to leave the desk. I sat in the library and wrote, I sat in coffee house and wrote, even ventured to my back porch and wrote. I wrote.
Filling up a journal is a good feeling. An addictive feeling and if you have ever filled up a journal there is a good chance that you will continue to fill up journals. Seeing a small stack of moleskin journals accumulating on a bookshelf is good (also scary, hoping that nobody but you ever reads them).
I walked last week. I walked as much as I could. The weather was nice so I did my best to stay out of my car as much as possible. On Thursday I had a networking meeting on the South Side of Pittsburgh at nine. Not wanting to use my car nor sit in traffic I decided to get up early and walk to the “T” (PGH subway/train hybrid). Forty minutes to get to the station, 15 minutes on the “T” and then another twenty minute walk to the appointment. The second half of the walk was a great experience. I walked down a street that I have driven on many, many times over the past twenty years.
Thursday I saw the street for the very first time.
I am going to finish my beer and go to bed. Will organize my writing projects in the days to come.
P.S. Wednesday I will be taking photos for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy – they hold a “walks in the woods” every Wednesday evening (6:30) between the months of June through September. Bring your camera & I will do my best to help answer any of your questions (mini Photo-Walk).
Info about “Walks in the Woods” can be found here :
http://www.pittsburghparks.org/walks-in-the-woods
Monday thru Friday of last week I wrote...a lot. I stepped away from my desk and wrote. I find it hard to sit at my desk and write. For me my desk is for editing photos, updating this blog and responding to e-mails. Off to write, to create (either with a pen or camera) I need to leave the desk. I sat in the library and wrote, I sat in coffee house and wrote, even ventured to my back porch and wrote. I wrote.
Filling up a journal is a good feeling. An addictive feeling and if you have ever filled up a journal there is a good chance that you will continue to fill up journals. Seeing a small stack of moleskin journals accumulating on a bookshelf is good (also scary, hoping that nobody but you ever reads them).
I walked last week. I walked as much as I could. The weather was nice so I did my best to stay out of my car as much as possible. On Thursday I had a networking meeting on the South Side of Pittsburgh at nine. Not wanting to use my car nor sit in traffic I decided to get up early and walk to the “T” (PGH subway/train hybrid). Forty minutes to get to the station, 15 minutes on the “T” and then another twenty minute walk to the appointment. The second half of the walk was a great experience. I walked down a street that I have driven on many, many times over the past twenty years.
Thursday I saw the street for the very first time.
I am going to finish my beer and go to bed. Will organize my writing projects in the days to come.
P.S. Wednesday I will be taking photos for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy – they hold a “walks in the woods” every Wednesday evening (6:30) between the months of June through September. Bring your camera & I will do my best to help answer any of your questions (mini Photo-Walk).
Info about “Walks in the Woods” can be found here :
http://www.pittsburghparks.org/walks-in-the-woods
Walk, Faith, Creativity
I was out for a long walk this morning after dropping my daughter off at school.
The air smelled sweet from the rain that has been falling for the better part of the last forty-eight hours. The air was cold with a heavy humidity to it, never thought that humidity could exist in cold air, but it did. The sky, gray-white, overcast, thick clouds blanketing the horizon.
I have taken this same walk twice before. I call it my urban sprawl walk. It is a walk that takes me through a couple of different neighborhoods, small biz districts where I can stop at the post office, bank and the drug store. I like that. The walk ends on a long busy stretch of road, (noise) that leads back to my neighborhood.
I have a “thing” (thing is a poor choice of word as it is more like an obsession) about the creative benefits of taking a walk to clear the mind. It’s meditation and exercise at the same time. One activity with multiple outcomes. Not a bad way to increase productivity and turn over thoughts in your mind.
For years I have taken walks as I did today. This morning's walk was an odd thing for me. Usually my walks are in the woods where I can feel all Henry-David-Thoreau-like and get a sense of a connection to the divine. (Thoreau nor the Divine show up on busy roadways, it's just not safe.)
Walking on sidewalks, inhaling bus fumes while trying to block out the noise of…well everything. I miss the woods, but the urban sprawl is new, different and unexplored on foot. For years I drove to the woods for moments of quiet, never learning the landscape that I was driving on. Change brings creativity. That is why I was out walking in the first place. To think about creating something new; project, thought, idea. I get this feeling inside of me that I need to have a creative release to give quiet back to my mind.
Walking in silence when the world is erupting is an act of surrender. Quietness brings out answers to the seeking questions that I have been asking myself.
There is only one giant problem; I have no way of recording these thoughts in my head because I am out walking in all this noise.
Odd isn’t it – people have creative important epiphanies when they are nowhere close to being able to write them down (some magical curse from the Muse of creativity). Whatever fragmented thoughts make it all the way home must have been the finest ones. The Muse must send out the leftover mini-epiphanies to somebody else pondering in the streets, actually, most likely the woods. (Do you think people get these experiences when golfing??)
The reason for this specific walk: over the past couple of months I have been taking a class on spiritual journaling. Truthfully, I have not been journaling on my spiritual pursuits. I have been journaling, just not while asking God to speak to me through pen and paper.
Nonetheless, this class stays present in my mind, just sitting there begging me to write it out (not down, but out as in a release).
Faith & Creativity ~ this is one constant, recurring, ever-present thought that I should write about.
I need to figure out how to write down my story of faith and creativity and the effect it has guided my life.
By the time most of you have read this post I will have had my first conversation/meeting to bring this subject to life.
Is creating something enough to build your spiritual faith on?
Yes…
It is not the starting or ending point - it is the realization of the experience.
The air smelled sweet from the rain that has been falling for the better part of the last forty-eight hours. The air was cold with a heavy humidity to it, never thought that humidity could exist in cold air, but it did. The sky, gray-white, overcast, thick clouds blanketing the horizon.
I have taken this same walk twice before. I call it my urban sprawl walk. It is a walk that takes me through a couple of different neighborhoods, small biz districts where I can stop at the post office, bank and the drug store. I like that. The walk ends on a long busy stretch of road, (noise) that leads back to my neighborhood.
I have a “thing” (thing is a poor choice of word as it is more like an obsession) about the creative benefits of taking a walk to clear the mind. It’s meditation and exercise at the same time. One activity with multiple outcomes. Not a bad way to increase productivity and turn over thoughts in your mind.
For years I have taken walks as I did today. This morning's walk was an odd thing for me. Usually my walks are in the woods where I can feel all Henry-David-Thoreau-like and get a sense of a connection to the divine. (Thoreau nor the Divine show up on busy roadways, it's just not safe.)
Walking on sidewalks, inhaling bus fumes while trying to block out the noise of…well everything. I miss the woods, but the urban sprawl is new, different and unexplored on foot. For years I drove to the woods for moments of quiet, never learning the landscape that I was driving on. Change brings creativity. That is why I was out walking in the first place. To think about creating something new; project, thought, idea. I get this feeling inside of me that I need to have a creative release to give quiet back to my mind.
Walking in silence when the world is erupting is an act of surrender. Quietness brings out answers to the seeking questions that I have been asking myself.
There is only one giant problem; I have no way of recording these thoughts in my head because I am out walking in all this noise.
Odd isn’t it – people have creative important epiphanies when they are nowhere close to being able to write them down (some magical curse from the Muse of creativity). Whatever fragmented thoughts make it all the way home must have been the finest ones. The Muse must send out the leftover mini-epiphanies to somebody else pondering in the streets, actually, most likely the woods. (Do you think people get these experiences when golfing??)
The reason for this specific walk: over the past couple of months I have been taking a class on spiritual journaling. Truthfully, I have not been journaling on my spiritual pursuits. I have been journaling, just not while asking God to speak to me through pen and paper.
Nonetheless, this class stays present in my mind, just sitting there begging me to write it out (not down, but out as in a release).
Faith & Creativity ~ this is one constant, recurring, ever-present thought that I should write about.
I need to figure out how to write down my story of faith and creativity and the effect it has guided my life.
By the time most of you have read this post I will have had my first conversation/meeting to bring this subject to life.
Is creating something enough to build your spiritual faith on?
Yes…
It is not the starting or ending point - it is the realization of the experience.
Walk, Faith, Creativity
I was out for a long walk this morning after dropping my daughter off at school.
The air smelled sweet from the rain that has been falling for the better part of the last forty-eight hours. The air was cold with a heavy humidity to it, never thought that humidity could exist in cold air, but it did. The sky, gray-white, overcast, thick clouds blanketing the horizon.
I have taken this same walk twice before. I call it my urban sprawl walk. It is a walk that takes me through a couple of different neighborhoods, small biz districts where I can stop at the post office, bank and the drug store. I like that. The walk ends on a long busy stretch of road, (noise) that leads back to my neighborhood.
I have a “thing” (thing is a poor choice of word as it is more like an obsession) about the creative benefits of taking a walk to clear the mind. It’s meditation and exercise at the same time. One activity with multiple outcomes. Not a bad way to increase productivity and turn over thoughts in your mind.
For years I have taken walks as I did today. This morning's walk was an odd thing for me. Usually my walks are in the woods where I can feel all Henry-David-Thoreau-like and get a sense of a connection to the divine. (Thoreau nor the Divine show up on busy roadways, it's just not safe.)
Walking on sidewalks, inhaling bus fumes while trying to block out the noise of…well everything. I miss the woods, but the urban sprawl is new, different and unexplored on foot. For years I drove to the woods for moments of quiet, never learning the landscape that I was driving on. Change brings creativity. That is why I was out walking in the first place. To think about creating something new; project, thought, idea. I get this feeling inside of me that I need to have a creative release to give quiet back to my mind.
Walking in silence when the world is erupting is an act of surrender. Quietness brings out answers to the seeking questions that I have been asking myself.
There is only one giant problem; I have no way of recording these thoughts in my head because I am out walking in all this noise.
Odd isn’t it – people have creative important epiphanies when they are nowhere close to being able to write them down (some magical curse from the Muse of creativity). Whatever fragmented thoughts make it all the way home must have been the finest ones. The Muse must send out the leftover mini-epiphanies to somebody else pondering in the streets, actually, most likely the woods. (Do you think people get these experiences when golfing??)
The reason for this specific walk: over the past couple of months I have been taking a class on spiritual journaling. Truthfully, I have not been journaling on my spiritual pursuits. I have been journaling, just not while asking God to speak to me through pen and paper.
Nonetheless, this class stays present in my mind, just sitting there begging me to write it out (not down, but out as in a release).
Faith & Creativity ~ this is one constant, recurring, ever-present thought that I should write about.
I need to figure out how to write down my story of faith and creativity and the effect it has guided my life.
By the time most of you have read this post I will have had my first conversation/meeting to bring this subject to life.
Is creating something enough to build your spiritual faith on?
Yes…
It is not the starting or ending point - it is the realization of the experience.
The air smelled sweet from the rain that has been falling for the better part of the last forty-eight hours. The air was cold with a heavy humidity to it, never thought that humidity could exist in cold air, but it did. The sky, gray-white, overcast, thick clouds blanketing the horizon.
I have taken this same walk twice before. I call it my urban sprawl walk. It is a walk that takes me through a couple of different neighborhoods, small biz districts where I can stop at the post office, bank and the drug store. I like that. The walk ends on a long busy stretch of road, (noise) that leads back to my neighborhood.
I have a “thing” (thing is a poor choice of word as it is more like an obsession) about the creative benefits of taking a walk to clear the mind. It’s meditation and exercise at the same time. One activity with multiple outcomes. Not a bad way to increase productivity and turn over thoughts in your mind.
For years I have taken walks as I did today. This morning's walk was an odd thing for me. Usually my walks are in the woods where I can feel all Henry-David-Thoreau-like and get a sense of a connection to the divine. (Thoreau nor the Divine show up on busy roadways, it's just not safe.)
Walking on sidewalks, inhaling bus fumes while trying to block out the noise of…well everything. I miss the woods, but the urban sprawl is new, different and unexplored on foot. For years I drove to the woods for moments of quiet, never learning the landscape that I was driving on. Change brings creativity. That is why I was out walking in the first place. To think about creating something new; project, thought, idea. I get this feeling inside of me that I need to have a creative release to give quiet back to my mind.
Walking in silence when the world is erupting is an act of surrender. Quietness brings out answers to the seeking questions that I have been asking myself.
There is only one giant problem; I have no way of recording these thoughts in my head because I am out walking in all this noise.
Odd isn’t it – people have creative important epiphanies when they are nowhere close to being able to write them down (some magical curse from the Muse of creativity). Whatever fragmented thoughts make it all the way home must have been the finest ones. The Muse must send out the leftover mini-epiphanies to somebody else pondering in the streets, actually, most likely the woods. (Do you think people get these experiences when golfing??)
The reason for this specific walk: over the past couple of months I have been taking a class on spiritual journaling. Truthfully, I have not been journaling on my spiritual pursuits. I have been journaling, just not while asking God to speak to me through pen and paper.
Nonetheless, this class stays present in my mind, just sitting there begging me to write it out (not down, but out as in a release).
Faith & Creativity ~ this is one constant, recurring, ever-present thought that I should write about.
I need to figure out how to write down my story of faith and creativity and the effect it has guided my life.
By the time most of you have read this post I will have had my first conversation/meeting to bring this subject to life.
Is creating something enough to build your spiritual faith on?
Yes…
It is not the starting or ending point - it is the realization of the experience.
Brazilian girl & Chinese Lady
I see a Brazilian chick wearing a short black skirt just long (or short) enough to cover her girlie parts, canvas-hiking boots that are well past worn out, a beat up gray sweater that she could have borrowed from her Grandmother or purchased for five hundred dollars at Anthropologie. Wild, nappy hair, as if she used to have dreadlocks and has tried to comb them out, clumps of hair that are dyed platinum white and some that are died blond to give depth and texture to her brunette quaff.
She carries a persona that she is trying to pull off, defiantly an urban city girl with a love for punk edge – I bet she can hold her own. The only thing that is odd about her is her hands. Her hands look much older than the rest of her. The Brazilian chick is thin, young, olive skinned, 20ish, with style, but her hands look as if to belong to a woman in her seventies; a woman who has worked a lifetime with those hands.
Small, round red glasses perched on the edge of her nose while she sits with good posture having a video-chat on her laptop with a lady that is obviously Chinese speaking Mandarin.
A Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese to a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin and it is quite clear that they both understand each other just by all the laughter they are sharing.
As for me, OK, yes I do feel a little guilty eves-dropping on them but neither of them knows it. I am sitting in a coffeehouse on the upper east side of Pittsburgh, one table behind her and a row of tables separating us. It’s hard not to notice a crazy (but cool) looking Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese and laughing out loud while having a v-chat with a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin…Ok, I am not eves-dropping, just witnessing the spectacle.
Brazilian chick and the Chinese lady both start dancing to the Humpty dance song that has started playing over the coffeehouse stereo system.
The Chinese lady just kissed her monitor and pressed her breast to the screen while dancing to the music. Both start laughing painfully louder than before ~ they’re probably making fun of the creepy guy at the corner table eves-dropping while writing in his journal.
She carries a persona that she is trying to pull off, defiantly an urban city girl with a love for punk edge – I bet she can hold her own. The only thing that is odd about her is her hands. Her hands look much older than the rest of her. The Brazilian chick is thin, young, olive skinned, 20ish, with style, but her hands look as if to belong to a woman in her seventies; a woman who has worked a lifetime with those hands.
Small, round red glasses perched on the edge of her nose while she sits with good posture having a video-chat on her laptop with a lady that is obviously Chinese speaking Mandarin.
A Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese to a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin and it is quite clear that they both understand each other just by all the laughter they are sharing.
As for me, OK, yes I do feel a little guilty eves-dropping on them but neither of them knows it. I am sitting in a coffeehouse on the upper east side of Pittsburgh, one table behind her and a row of tables separating us. It’s hard not to notice a crazy (but cool) looking Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese and laughing out loud while having a v-chat with a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin…Ok, I am not eves-dropping, just witnessing the spectacle.
Brazilian chick and the Chinese lady both start dancing to the Humpty dance song that has started playing over the coffeehouse stereo system.
The Chinese lady just kissed her monitor and pressed her breast to the screen while dancing to the music. Both start laughing painfully louder than before ~ they’re probably making fun of the creepy guy at the corner table eves-dropping while writing in his journal.
Brazilian girl & Chinese Lady
I see a Brazilian chick wearing a short black skirt just long (or short) enough to cover her girlie parts, canvas-hiking boots that are well past worn out, a beat up gray sweater that she could have borrowed from her Grandmother or purchased for five hundred dollars at Anthropologie. Wild, nappy hair, as if she used to have dreadlocks and has tried to comb them out, clumps of hair that are dyed platinum white and some that are died blond to give depth and texture to her brunette quaff.
She carries a persona that she is trying to pull off, defiantly an urban city girl with a love for punk edge – I bet she can hold her own. The only thing that is odd about her is her hands. Her hands look much older than the rest of her. The Brazilian chick is thin, young, olive skinned, 20ish, with style, but her hands look as if to belong to a woman in her seventies; a woman who has worked a lifetime with those hands.
Small, round red glasses perched on the edge of her nose while she sits with good posture having a video-chat on her laptop with a lady that is obviously Chinese speaking Mandarin.
A Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese to a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin and it is quite clear that they both understand each other just by all the laughter they are sharing.
As for me, OK, yes I do feel a little guilty eves-dropping on them but neither of them knows it. I am sitting in a coffeehouse on the upper east side of Pittsburgh, one table behind her and a row of tables separating us. It’s hard not to notice a crazy (but cool) looking Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese and laughing out loud while having a v-chat with a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin…Ok, I am not eves-dropping, just witnessing the spectacle.
Brazilian chick and the Chinese lady both start dancing to the Humpty dance song that has started playing over the coffeehouse stereo system.
The Chinese lady just kissed her monitor and pressed her breast to the screen while dancing to the music. Both start laughing painfully louder than before ~ they’re probably making fun of the creepy guy at the corner table eves-dropping while writing in his journal.
She carries a persona that she is trying to pull off, defiantly an urban city girl with a love for punk edge – I bet she can hold her own. The only thing that is odd about her is her hands. Her hands look much older than the rest of her. The Brazilian chick is thin, young, olive skinned, 20ish, with style, but her hands look as if to belong to a woman in her seventies; a woman who has worked a lifetime with those hands.
Small, round red glasses perched on the edge of her nose while she sits with good posture having a video-chat on her laptop with a lady that is obviously Chinese speaking Mandarin.
A Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese to a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin and it is quite clear that they both understand each other just by all the laughter they are sharing.
As for me, OK, yes I do feel a little guilty eves-dropping on them but neither of them knows it. I am sitting in a coffeehouse on the upper east side of Pittsburgh, one table behind her and a row of tables separating us. It’s hard not to notice a crazy (but cool) looking Brazilian chick speaking Portuguese and laughing out loud while having a v-chat with a Chinese lady speaking Mandarin…Ok, I am not eves-dropping, just witnessing the spectacle.
Brazilian chick and the Chinese lady both start dancing to the Humpty dance song that has started playing over the coffeehouse stereo system.
The Chinese lady just kissed her monitor and pressed her breast to the screen while dancing to the music. Both start laughing painfully louder than before ~ they’re probably making fun of the creepy guy at the corner table eves-dropping while writing in his journal.
Educated by a Vagabond (myself)
I went to college but that’s not where I was educated.
College for me was a time of creativity and having my papers proof read, edited and typed by my girlfriend. College was a time of failing accounting class and trying to earn some money (an artist should never-ever have to take accounting, ever).
The launch of my education started about two years after college. I started traveling, (a lot) for a photography company that I was working for. Sitting on long plane rides reading a variety of biz books, curbside philosophy and random novels. Kerouac, Henry Miller and Nietzsche…these guys spoke to me. They had been the teachers that I was searching for.
Food was an educational tool. I wish I could say it was being exposed to different cultures but it was the food that was the teaching means of experiential value. Dinner in San Francisco is much different than dinner in Kentucky. And dinner from a street vendor in New York...well there’s nothing like that, anywhere.
Walking has been a good educational tool. Walking in the woods or down a city sidewalk, strolling through a small town. Go for a walk, you will learn something new.
My Father has always said to me “you go to school to learn how to think”. I agree with that. Now that I am a parent I want to expand on the words of my father.
You go to school to discover the passion and effort of how to continually think, expand and grow for the rest of your life.
Simple concepts that deliver…
College for me was a time of creativity and having my papers proof read, edited and typed by my girlfriend. College was a time of failing accounting class and trying to earn some money (an artist should never-ever have to take accounting, ever).
The launch of my education started about two years after college. I started traveling, (a lot) for a photography company that I was working for. Sitting on long plane rides reading a variety of biz books, curbside philosophy and random novels. Kerouac, Henry Miller and Nietzsche…these guys spoke to me. They had been the teachers that I was searching for.
Food was an educational tool. I wish I could say it was being exposed to different cultures but it was the food that was the teaching means of experiential value. Dinner in San Francisco is much different than dinner in Kentucky. And dinner from a street vendor in New York...well there’s nothing like that, anywhere.
Walking has been a good educational tool. Walking in the woods or down a city sidewalk, strolling through a small town. Go for a walk, you will learn something new.
My Father has always said to me “you go to school to learn how to think”. I agree with that. Now that I am a parent I want to expand on the words of my father.
You go to school to discover the passion and effort of how to continually think, expand and grow for the rest of your life.
Simple concepts that deliver…
Educated by a Vagabond (myself)
I went to college but that’s not where I was educated.
College for me was a time of creativity and having my papers proof read, edited and typed by my girlfriend. College was a time of failing accounting class and trying to earn some money (an artist should never-ever have to take accounting, ever).
The launch of my education started about two years after college. I started traveling, (a lot) for a photography company that I was working for. Sitting on long plane rides reading a variety of biz books, curbside philosophy and random novels. Kerouac, Henry Miller and Nietzsche…these guys spoke to me. They had been the teachers that I was searching for.
Food was an educational tool. I wish I could say it was being exposed to different cultures but it was the food that was the teaching means of experiential value. Dinner in San Francisco is much different than dinner in Kentucky. And dinner from a street vendor in New York...well there’s nothing like that, anywhere.
Walking has been a good educational tool. Walking in the woods or down a city sidewalk, strolling through a small town. Go for a walk, you will learn something new.
My Father has always said to me “you go to school to learn how to think”. I agree with that. Now that I am a parent I want to expand on the words of my father.
You go to school to discover the passion and effort of how to continually think, expand and grow for the rest of your life.
Simple concepts that deliver…
College for me was a time of creativity and having my papers proof read, edited and typed by my girlfriend. College was a time of failing accounting class and trying to earn some money (an artist should never-ever have to take accounting, ever).
The launch of my education started about two years after college. I started traveling, (a lot) for a photography company that I was working for. Sitting on long plane rides reading a variety of biz books, curbside philosophy and random novels. Kerouac, Henry Miller and Nietzsche…these guys spoke to me. They had been the teachers that I was searching for.
Food was an educational tool. I wish I could say it was being exposed to different cultures but it was the food that was the teaching means of experiential value. Dinner in San Francisco is much different than dinner in Kentucky. And dinner from a street vendor in New York...well there’s nothing like that, anywhere.
Walking has been a good educational tool. Walking in the woods or down a city sidewalk, strolling through a small town. Go for a walk, you will learn something new.
My Father has always said to me “you go to school to learn how to think”. I agree with that. Now that I am a parent I want to expand on the words of my father.
You go to school to discover the passion and effort of how to continually think, expand and grow for the rest of your life.
Simple concepts that deliver…
Deliberate Living
Well over a year ago I had a conversation with David Burke about his travels through Africa. One sentence he said has sat with me but I have never written it down before.
“I went to Africa to photograph the poor…I photographed joy.”
~ David Burke (see photos here & here)
This is what I learned from that conversation:
There is no poverty when there is no consumerism to attach itself to. You only know that you’re poor when you know that the other person is rich. The notion of rich does not exist because the notion of poor does not exist.
This is not an anti-consumerism argument; it is a self-awareness discussion on deliberate living.
I do not want to idealize that the poverty of Africa is some un-recognized paradise. It’s not. Starvation, polluted water and death by mosquitoes is not paradise, it’s Hell.
“The poor shall inherit the earth” ~ Jesus
We live in a post-modern world. What does that mean? Our ideas and self-concepts are shaped by media exposure that we consume (or digest), not by deliberate living. We are who we are due to the fact that we like that movie, music, TV show, magazine or book we read.
Take away media (postmodernism) and you have the question “Who am I? Who am I left with? What do I attach my self-interest to? What’s left to influence me? Ourselves? That sucks I am boring without all my stuff.”
Consumption is not the answer to any problem.
Answer: your feet on the soil of the earth itself, your family, connection, conversation, community, food, the culture of our ancestors, communication of experiences, actually doing stuff. (Stuff can be an act of doing rather than an act of acquiring objects).
Taking a long walk to get water for drinking and cleaning for your family does not mean poverty; it means that you are a more extraordinary person than I am.
What do I do with what I just wrote down…no idea yet? But I hope you share in this conversation with me.
“I went to Africa to photograph the poor…I photographed joy.”
~ David Burke (see photos here & here)
This is what I learned from that conversation:
There is no poverty when there is no consumerism to attach itself to. You only know that you’re poor when you know that the other person is rich. The notion of rich does not exist because the notion of poor does not exist.
This is not an anti-consumerism argument; it is a self-awareness discussion on deliberate living.
I do not want to idealize that the poverty of Africa is some un-recognized paradise. It’s not. Starvation, polluted water and death by mosquitoes is not paradise, it’s Hell.
“The poor shall inherit the earth” ~ Jesus
We live in a post-modern world. What does that mean? Our ideas and self-concepts are shaped by media exposure that we consume (or digest), not by deliberate living. We are who we are due to the fact that we like that movie, music, TV show, magazine or book we read.
Take away media (postmodernism) and you have the question “Who am I? Who am I left with? What do I attach my self-interest to? What’s left to influence me? Ourselves? That sucks I am boring without all my stuff.”
Consumption is not the answer to any problem.
Answer: your feet on the soil of the earth itself, your family, connection, conversation, community, food, the culture of our ancestors, communication of experiences, actually doing stuff. (Stuff can be an act of doing rather than an act of acquiring objects).
Taking a long walk to get water for drinking and cleaning for your family does not mean poverty; it means that you are a more extraordinary person than I am.
What do I do with what I just wrote down…no idea yet? But I hope you share in this conversation with me.
Deliberate Living
Well over a year ago I had a conversation with David Burke about his travels through Africa. One sentence he said has sat with me but I have never written it down before.
“I went to Africa to photograph the poor…I photographed joy.”
~ David Burke (see photos here & here)
This is what I learned from that conversation:
There is no poverty when there is no consumerism to attach itself to. You only know that you’re poor when you know that the other person is rich. The notion of rich does not exist because the notion of poor does not exist.
This is not an anti-consumerism argument; it is a self-awareness discussion on deliberate living.
I do not want to idealize that the poverty of Africa is some un-recognized paradise. It’s not. Starvation, polluted water and death by mosquitoes is not paradise, it’s Hell.
“The poor shall inherit the earth” ~ Jesus
We live in a post-modern world. What does that mean? Our ideas and self-concepts are shaped by media exposure that we consume (or digest), not by deliberate living. We are who we are due to the fact that we like that movie, music, TV show, magazine or book we read.
Take away media (postmodernism) and you have the question “Who am I? Who am I left with? What do I attach my self-interest to? What’s left to influence me? Ourselves? That sucks I am boring without all my stuff.”
Consumption is not the answer to any problem.
Answer: your feet on the soil of the earth itself, your family, connection, conversation, community, food, the culture of our ancestors, communication of experiences, actually doing stuff. (Stuff can be an act of doing rather than an act of acquiring objects).
Taking a long walk to get water for drinking and cleaning for your family does not mean poverty; it means that you are a more extraordinary person than I am.
What do I do with what I just wrote down…no idea yet? But I hope you share in this conversation with me.
“I went to Africa to photograph the poor…I photographed joy.”
~ David Burke (see photos here & here)
This is what I learned from that conversation:
There is no poverty when there is no consumerism to attach itself to. You only know that you’re poor when you know that the other person is rich. The notion of rich does not exist because the notion of poor does not exist.
This is not an anti-consumerism argument; it is a self-awareness discussion on deliberate living.
I do not want to idealize that the poverty of Africa is some un-recognized paradise. It’s not. Starvation, polluted water and death by mosquitoes is not paradise, it’s Hell.
“The poor shall inherit the earth” ~ Jesus
We live in a post-modern world. What does that mean? Our ideas and self-concepts are shaped by media exposure that we consume (or digest), not by deliberate living. We are who we are due to the fact that we like that movie, music, TV show, magazine or book we read.
Take away media (postmodernism) and you have the question “Who am I? Who am I left with? What do I attach my self-interest to? What’s left to influence me? Ourselves? That sucks I am boring without all my stuff.”
Consumption is not the answer to any problem.
Answer: your feet on the soil of the earth itself, your family, connection, conversation, community, food, the culture of our ancestors, communication of experiences, actually doing stuff. (Stuff can be an act of doing rather than an act of acquiring objects).
Taking a long walk to get water for drinking and cleaning for your family does not mean poverty; it means that you are a more extraordinary person than I am.
What do I do with what I just wrote down…no idea yet? But I hope you share in this conversation with me.
Slow Photography Movement
Let me start with a story of how this idea came to me.
Scrolling through the blog of one my favorite local photographers (&person) she had posted this photo.
When I look at this photograph I often wish I had the opportunity to take this photo.
I do not know how this particular photo was taken. I can’t even venture a guess, at least not a good one...yet. It has me thinking….maddening yet wonderful thought about how I can do this.
I am not looking to plagiarize Joanne's work but I desperately want to be a chameleon to it…
Joanne's photo paired with my recent workshops, photo walks, conversations and e-mail discussions has me thinking about what is a complete photograph?
For me the least important thing to a great photos is the snap of the shutter; I am most interested in what happens before capture.
Composition, environment, emotions & inspiration…
The things that I do not care to know: Type of camera, camera setting, what lens, software, and post-production work was done.
If I can make an artistic guess it would be that this photo was completed in Joanne’s mind's eye long before it was captured in camera.
This photo brings me back full circle to a question that I asked on Facebook last week: What is the “Right” problem to fix in photo-education?
Thank you to all who answered. Your responses were remarkable, appreciated and the foundation for this article.
The feedback I gained can be listed in three categories/problems that need to be addressed.
Ethics, Ego & Stuff
A photograph is none of these things. A photograph begins with a thought.
A photograph is not: an obsession with equipment, an ability to purchase gear, it is not biz skills nor people skills, it is not using auto-canned-modes on your camera, hell it's not even about being able to shoot in Manual mode. (Manual mode is super important…. it’s your foundation)
I would ask photographers to think about their craft as:
Art, Morals and Truth
Tackling the right problem, that is struggle. Expanding your range of options rather than narrowing your perspective. A photograph is about YOU, not buying into someone else’s techniques or tips. It is about you developing and eye and situational problem skills.
Joanne's photograph has me thinking about how to weave patterns to discover interesting stories. And to question the purpose of how it was imagined. And doing all this while removing boundaries of what my conception of visual art is.
For a good two weeks I have been thinking about this photo and never once have I picked up my camera to try to replicate it. I can honestly tell you that I am a better photographer today than I was two weeks due to this process.
Slow Photography Movement…what is it????
It a philosophy about photography on how to transform and include yesterday's foundation of photography with the technologies that photography has to offer today. It is about the all-encompassing topics of art, morals and truth.
This is the start of a conversation; join in…more to come on this topic.
Let’s discuss….
Scrolling through the blog of one my favorite local photographers (&person) she had posted this photo.
When I look at this photograph I often wish I had the opportunity to take this photo.I do not know how this particular photo was taken. I can’t even venture a guess, at least not a good one...yet. It has me thinking….maddening yet wonderful thought about how I can do this.
I am not looking to plagiarize Joanne's work but I desperately want to be a chameleon to it…
Joanne's photo paired with my recent workshops, photo walks, conversations and e-mail discussions has me thinking about what is a complete photograph?
For me the least important thing to a great photos is the snap of the shutter; I am most interested in what happens before capture.
Composition, environment, emotions & inspiration…
The things that I do not care to know: Type of camera, camera setting, what lens, software, and post-production work was done.
If I can make an artistic guess it would be that this photo was completed in Joanne’s mind's eye long before it was captured in camera.
This photo brings me back full circle to a question that I asked on Facebook last week: What is the “Right” problem to fix in photo-education?
Thank you to all who answered. Your responses were remarkable, appreciated and the foundation for this article.
The feedback I gained can be listed in three categories/problems that need to be addressed.
Ethics, Ego & Stuff
A photograph is none of these things. A photograph begins with a thought.
A photograph is not: an obsession with equipment, an ability to purchase gear, it is not biz skills nor people skills, it is not using auto-canned-modes on your camera, hell it's not even about being able to shoot in Manual mode. (Manual mode is super important…. it’s your foundation)
I would ask photographers to think about their craft as:
Art, Morals and Truth
Tackling the right problem, that is struggle. Expanding your range of options rather than narrowing your perspective. A photograph is about YOU, not buying into someone else’s techniques or tips. It is about you developing and eye and situational problem skills.
Joanne's photograph has me thinking about how to weave patterns to discover interesting stories. And to question the purpose of how it was imagined. And doing all this while removing boundaries of what my conception of visual art is.
For a good two weeks I have been thinking about this photo and never once have I picked up my camera to try to replicate it. I can honestly tell you that I am a better photographer today than I was two weeks due to this process.
Slow Photography Movement…what is it????
It a philosophy about photography on how to transform and include yesterday's foundation of photography with the technologies that photography has to offer today. It is about the all-encompassing topics of art, morals and truth.
This is the start of a conversation; join in…more to come on this topic.
Let’s discuss….
Slow Photography Movement
Let me start with a story of how this idea came to me.
Scrolling through the blog of one my favorite local photographers (&person) she had posted this photo.
When I look at this photograph I often wish I had the opportunity to take this photo.
I do not know how this particular photo was taken. I can’t even venture a guess, at least not a good one...yet. It has me thinking….maddening yet wonderful thought about how I can do this.
I am not looking to plagiarize Joanne's work but I desperately want to be a chameleon to it…
Joanne's photo paired with my recent workshops, photo walks, conversations and e-mail discussions has me thinking about what is a complete photograph?
For me the least important thing to a great photos is the snap of the shutter; I am most interested in what happens before capture.
Composition, environment, emotions & inspiration…
The things that I do not care to know: Type of camera, camera setting, what lens, software, and post-production work was done.
If I can make an artistic guess it would be that this photo was completed in Joanne’s mind's eye long before it was captured in camera.
This photo brings me back full circle to a question that I asked on Facebook last week: What is the “Right” problem to fix in photo-education?
Thank you to all who answered. Your responses were remarkable, appreciated and the foundation for this article.
The feedback I gained can be listed in three categories/problems that need to be addressed.
Ethics, Ego & Stuff
A photograph is none of these things. A photograph begins with a thought.
A photograph is not: an obsession with equipment, an ability to purchase gear, it is not biz skills nor people skills, it is not using auto-canned-modes on your camera, hell it's not even about being able to shoot in Manual mode. (Manual mode is super important…. it’s your foundation)
I would ask photographers to think about their craft as:
Art, Morals and Truth
Tackling the right problem, that is struggle. Expanding your range of options rather than narrowing your perspective. A photograph is about YOU, not buying into someone else’s techniques or tips. It is about you developing and eye and situational problem skills.
Joanne's photograph has me thinking about how to weave patterns to discover interesting stories. And to question the purpose of how it was imagined. And doing all this while removing boundaries of what my conception of visual art is.
For a good two weeks I have been thinking about this photo and never once have I picked up my camera to try to replicate it. I can honestly tell you that I am a better photographer today than I was two weeks due to this process.
Slow Photography Movement…what is it????
It a philosophy about photography on how to transform and include yesterday's foundation of photography with the technologies that photography has to offer today. It is about the all-encompassing topics of art, morals and truth.
This is the start of a conversation; join in…more to come on this topic.
Let’s discuss….
Scrolling through the blog of one my favorite local photographers (&person) she had posted this photo.
When I look at this photograph I often wish I had the opportunity to take this photo.I do not know how this particular photo was taken. I can’t even venture a guess, at least not a good one...yet. It has me thinking….maddening yet wonderful thought about how I can do this.
I am not looking to plagiarize Joanne's work but I desperately want to be a chameleon to it…
Joanne's photo paired with my recent workshops, photo walks, conversations and e-mail discussions has me thinking about what is a complete photograph?
For me the least important thing to a great photos is the snap of the shutter; I am most interested in what happens before capture.
Composition, environment, emotions & inspiration…
The things that I do not care to know: Type of camera, camera setting, what lens, software, and post-production work was done.
If I can make an artistic guess it would be that this photo was completed in Joanne’s mind's eye long before it was captured in camera.
This photo brings me back full circle to a question that I asked on Facebook last week: What is the “Right” problem to fix in photo-education?
Thank you to all who answered. Your responses were remarkable, appreciated and the foundation for this article.
The feedback I gained can be listed in three categories/problems that need to be addressed.
Ethics, Ego & Stuff
A photograph is none of these things. A photograph begins with a thought.
A photograph is not: an obsession with equipment, an ability to purchase gear, it is not biz skills nor people skills, it is not using auto-canned-modes on your camera, hell it's not even about being able to shoot in Manual mode. (Manual mode is super important…. it’s your foundation)
I would ask photographers to think about their craft as:
Art, Morals and Truth
Tackling the right problem, that is struggle. Expanding your range of options rather than narrowing your perspective. A photograph is about YOU, not buying into someone else’s techniques or tips. It is about you developing and eye and situational problem skills.
Joanne's photograph has me thinking about how to weave patterns to discover interesting stories. And to question the purpose of how it was imagined. And doing all this while removing boundaries of what my conception of visual art is.
For a good two weeks I have been thinking about this photo and never once have I picked up my camera to try to replicate it. I can honestly tell you that I am a better photographer today than I was two weeks due to this process.
Slow Photography Movement…what is it????
It a philosophy about photography on how to transform and include yesterday's foundation of photography with the technologies that photography has to offer today. It is about the all-encompassing topics of art, morals and truth.
This is the start of a conversation; join in…more to come on this topic.
Let’s discuss….
4am & a Thought
Woke up early, again, very early 4am. Coffee is extra good at 4am and the computer screen is bright at 4am, painfully bright.
Been thinking about getting a hand grinder for coffee beans. There is something about brewing a cup of coffee that appeals to me.
Finished reading “Change By Design” by Tim Brown last night. The book ended with a quote by Tom Kelly that has sparked a thought in me.
“Innovation begins with an eye.” ~ that is the photographers job; to create something new and different. A photograph starts with a thought.
For 17 years I have been working in photography and in that time I have never felt like an inclusive photographer. I am not techie, nor do I subscribe to any photo magazines and have no interest in the latest gear. For me, my passion and effort has been pulled towards the compositional aspects of art. I think of myself as “I create therefore I am”, type of artist….my ego just exploded, sorry for the mess.
Nature. I am drawn to nature as a teacher of the arts. I figure that nature has a 4.5 billion-year headstart; maybe there is something that nature can teach me.
This is my compositional process: read books and go for walks in the woods, feel philosophical about myself…good thing egos are self-regenerating; I am on my third one today. Is this the correct process for photographers? No idea but it is the correct process for me.
Working on a post for next week: “Slow Photography Movement”. Raining outside, going to read a book by the fire.
Been thinking about getting a hand grinder for coffee beans. There is something about brewing a cup of coffee that appeals to me.
Finished reading “Change By Design” by Tim Brown last night. The book ended with a quote by Tom Kelly that has sparked a thought in me.
“Innovation begins with an eye.” ~ that is the photographers job; to create something new and different. A photograph starts with a thought.
For 17 years I have been working in photography and in that time I have never felt like an inclusive photographer. I am not techie, nor do I subscribe to any photo magazines and have no interest in the latest gear. For me, my passion and effort has been pulled towards the compositional aspects of art. I think of myself as “I create therefore I am”, type of artist….my ego just exploded, sorry for the mess.
Nature. I am drawn to nature as a teacher of the arts. I figure that nature has a 4.5 billion-year headstart; maybe there is something that nature can teach me.
This is my compositional process: read books and go for walks in the woods, feel philosophical about myself…good thing egos are self-regenerating; I am on my third one today. Is this the correct process for photographers? No idea but it is the correct process for me.
Working on a post for next week: “Slow Photography Movement”. Raining outside, going to read a book by the fire.
4am & a Thought
Woke up early, again, very early 4am. Coffee is extra good at 4am and the computer screen is bright at 4am, painfully bright.
Been thinking about getting a hand grinder for coffee beans. There is something about brewing a cup of coffee that appeals to me.
Finished reading “Change By Design” by Tim Brown last night. The book ended with a quote by Tom Kelly that has sparked a thought in me.
“Innovation begins with an eye.” ~ that is the photographers job; to create something new and different. A photograph starts with a thought.
For 17 years I have been working in photography and in that time I have never felt like an inclusive photographer. I am not techie, nor do I subscribe to any photo magazines and have no interest in the latest gear. For me, my passion and effort has been pulled towards the compositional aspects of art. I think of myself as “I create therefore I am”, type of artist….my ego just exploded, sorry for the mess.
Nature. I am drawn to nature as a teacher of the arts. I figure that nature has a 4.5 billion-year headstart; maybe there is something that nature can teach me.
This is my compositional process: read books and go for walks in the woods, feel philosophical about myself…good thing egos are self-regenerating; I am on my third one today. Is this the correct process for photographers? No idea but it is the correct process for me.
Working on a post for next week: “Slow Photography Movement”. Raining outside, going to read a book by the fire.
Been thinking about getting a hand grinder for coffee beans. There is something about brewing a cup of coffee that appeals to me.
Finished reading “Change By Design” by Tim Brown last night. The book ended with a quote by Tom Kelly that has sparked a thought in me.
“Innovation begins with an eye.” ~ that is the photographers job; to create something new and different. A photograph starts with a thought.
For 17 years I have been working in photography and in that time I have never felt like an inclusive photographer. I am not techie, nor do I subscribe to any photo magazines and have no interest in the latest gear. For me, my passion and effort has been pulled towards the compositional aspects of art. I think of myself as “I create therefore I am”, type of artist….my ego just exploded, sorry for the mess.
Nature. I am drawn to nature as a teacher of the arts. I figure that nature has a 4.5 billion-year headstart; maybe there is something that nature can teach me.
This is my compositional process: read books and go for walks in the woods, feel philosophical about myself…good thing egos are self-regenerating; I am on my third one today. Is this the correct process for photographers? No idea but it is the correct process for me.
Working on a post for next week: “Slow Photography Movement”. Raining outside, going to read a book by the fire.
30 Days, Updates & Social Corporatism
I have been walking a lot these past thirty days. I walk to the bank or to the post office or I’ll take the train into Pittsburgh and walk to my destinations. The purpose is to do creative thinking and see my surroundings in a different light. Driving at 65mph does not give you a clear view of your surroundings. Walking two to three miles at a time opens up the universe to you.
I am thinking about buying an electric bike that has a small motor that kicks in when you need it. It would be nice not to have to use a car for short jaunts. I am lucky enough to be about five miles from everything I need. Which is food, books, wine, bank, post office and other random errands that my wife could send me on.
This week I will go out to do some scouting for nature and ambient photography. I’m looking forward to that. Thursday night I will be attending a book reading by a local writer. She is also the writer and teacher of a workshop I attended this past January that got me into short story writing.
As I am typing this my home is filling up with the aroma of butternut squash soup that “E” is making for us today. I will be cooking chili later in the week. There is something magical about aromas filling up a home. Slow cooking, slow walking, slow living; not a bad formula to be productive.
Current thoughts:
The term Social Corporatism has been swirling around in my head. Do we have choices? Is there competition in the marketplace today?
In Pittsburgh if you want to hire a photographer there are at least ten people that I could think of that would be our competition. And you know what? They’re good and they’re also our friends. That seems like a competitive marketplace; collectively you have to be good to stay in the game and your competitors, who are also your friends, help you grow and sustain a business.
I wish I could say that about my cable company or phone company or all of my utility companies that I pay monthly to.
In the healthcare debate the public option is good for the public and it is bad for those bigger than government, which is the Social Corporatism elite. We are a socialized nation. It is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by the corporations and that is not free market capitalism when there is no choice.
I am thinking about buying an electric bike that has a small motor that kicks in when you need it. It would be nice not to have to use a car for short jaunts. I am lucky enough to be about five miles from everything I need. Which is food, books, wine, bank, post office and other random errands that my wife could send me on.
This week I will go out to do some scouting for nature and ambient photography. I’m looking forward to that. Thursday night I will be attending a book reading by a local writer. She is also the writer and teacher of a workshop I attended this past January that got me into short story writing.
As I am typing this my home is filling up with the aroma of butternut squash soup that “E” is making for us today. I will be cooking chili later in the week. There is something magical about aromas filling up a home. Slow cooking, slow walking, slow living; not a bad formula to be productive.
Current thoughts:
The term Social Corporatism has been swirling around in my head. Do we have choices? Is there competition in the marketplace today?
In Pittsburgh if you want to hire a photographer there are at least ten people that I could think of that would be our competition. And you know what? They’re good and they’re also our friends. That seems like a competitive marketplace; collectively you have to be good to stay in the game and your competitors, who are also your friends, help you grow and sustain a business.
I wish I could say that about my cable company or phone company or all of my utility companies that I pay monthly to.
In the healthcare debate the public option is good for the public and it is bad for those bigger than government, which is the Social Corporatism elite. We are a socialized nation. It is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by the corporations and that is not free market capitalism when there is no choice.
30 Days, Updates & Social Corporatism
I have been walking a lot these past thirty days. I walk to the bank or to the post office or I’ll take the train into Pittsburgh and walk to my destinations. The purpose is to do creative thinking and see my surroundings in a different light. Driving at 65mph does not give you a clear view of your surroundings. Walking two to three miles at a time opens up the universe to you.
I am thinking about buying an electric bike that has a small motor that kicks in when you need it. It would be nice not to have to use a car for short jaunts. I am lucky enough to be about five miles from everything I need. Which is food, books, wine, bank, post office and other random errands that my wife could send me on.
This week I will go out to do some scouting for nature and ambient photography. I’m looking forward to that. Thursday night I will be attending a book reading by a local writer. She is also the writer and teacher of a workshop I attended this past January that got me into short story writing.
As I am typing this my home is filling up with the aroma of butternut squash soup that “E” is making for us today. I will be cooking chili later in the week. There is something magical about aromas filling up a home. Slow cooking, slow walking, slow living; not a bad formula to be productive.
Current thoughts:
The term Social Corporatism has been swirling around in my head. Do we have choices? Is there competition in the marketplace today?
In Pittsburgh if you want to hire a photographer there are at least ten people that I could think of that would be our competition. And you know what? They’re good and they’re also our friends. That seems like a competitive marketplace; collectively you have to be good to stay in the game and your competitors, who are also your friends, help you grow and sustain a business.
I wish I could say that about my cable company or phone company or all of my utility companies that I pay monthly to.
In the healthcare debate the public option is good for the public and it is bad for those bigger than government, which is the Social Corporatism elite. We are a socialized nation. It is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by the corporations and that is not free market capitalism when there is no choice.
I am thinking about buying an electric bike that has a small motor that kicks in when you need it. It would be nice not to have to use a car for short jaunts. I am lucky enough to be about five miles from everything I need. Which is food, books, wine, bank, post office and other random errands that my wife could send me on.
This week I will go out to do some scouting for nature and ambient photography. I’m looking forward to that. Thursday night I will be attending a book reading by a local writer. She is also the writer and teacher of a workshop I attended this past January that got me into short story writing.
As I am typing this my home is filling up with the aroma of butternut squash soup that “E” is making for us today. I will be cooking chili later in the week. There is something magical about aromas filling up a home. Slow cooking, slow walking, slow living; not a bad formula to be productive.
Current thoughts:
The term Social Corporatism has been swirling around in my head. Do we have choices? Is there competition in the marketplace today?
In Pittsburgh if you want to hire a photographer there are at least ten people that I could think of that would be our competition. And you know what? They’re good and they’re also our friends. That seems like a competitive marketplace; collectively you have to be good to stay in the game and your competitors, who are also your friends, help you grow and sustain a business.
I wish I could say that about my cable company or phone company or all of my utility companies that I pay monthly to.
In the healthcare debate the public option is good for the public and it is bad for those bigger than government, which is the Social Corporatism elite. We are a socialized nation. It is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by the corporations and that is not free market capitalism when there is no choice.
G-20, No Zombies & Me
Walking across the Stanwick Street Bridge on the morning of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh had an eerie feeling to it.Getting off the “T” I walked through a military security post when two soldiers gave me a stern look, never saying a word and just watched me walk by. Eerie.
Military boats in the river, army helicopters above, all patrolling the city in preparation for a possible terrorist act and I am walking into town thinking “What in the hell am I doing here?”
Alone. I am alone. Walk into town and there is nothing; no life, all empty streets, no sound. It felt like a horror movie. I waited for a zombie to walk around the corner. I waited to see life.
By the time I hit Sixth Street I see life; people on bikes, people on foot and best of all no zombies, at least not yet.
The city had the police forces out in full… well for lack of a better word…force. There they were--thirty cops on one corner and the next street had another thirty police in full riot gear. No zombies, not many citizens and I am hearing the theme to Dark Vader in my head. This city is locked down and I am out for a photo-walk.
Two hours of walking through downtown and not much was happening yet. The city was peaceful. No protesters? Two weeks of media buildup and no hype. It’s just me and about a thousand cops, no zombies and the happiest bikers Pittsburgh has ever seen. People on two wheels owned the city for the day; barely any traffic and just pedestrians walking the streets.
At this time I was getting ready to call it quits for the day. The only thrill I had seen all day is a couple of people offering me salvation in Jesus Christ. One person explaining to me why Allah is the one true God, I was bored. Stop at a bar for a beer.
Insanely useful photography tip:
Here is a lesson learned that I feel the need to pass on. When having a discussion with police officers on the street choose your words carefully.
Me: “ Excuse me Mr. Police officer what are the chances of a riot breaking out today? “
Police officer: “We’re prepared and if anything happens I expect you to not get in the way.”
Me: “ Don’t worry officer if anything happens I will just sit back and shoot the crowed.”
Police office: “Son, you better choose your words carefully when speaking to me.”
At this time he stands back and places his hand on his gun and a second officers shifts his position to stand behind me.
“Open the bag son.”
Me: I open my camera bag slowly and let him look inside. “Lesson learned officer, have a nice day.”
I walk away thinking that this could have turned out a lot worse for me.
Next:
Chanting, I can hear chanting in the far off distance. This is it… the protest of the G-20 is happening now. A crowd gathers, police congregate….see my photo (HERE).
G-20, No Zombies & Me
Walking across the Stanwick Street Bridge on the morning of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh had an eerie feeling to it.Getting off the “T” I walked through a military security post when two soldiers gave me a stern look, never saying a word and just watched me walk by. Eerie.
Military boats in the river, army helicopters above, all patrolling the city in preparation for a possible terrorist act and I am walking into town thinking “What in the hell am I doing here?”
Alone. I am alone. Walk into town and there is nothing; no life, all empty streets, no sound. It felt like a horror movie. I waited for a zombie to walk around the corner. I waited to see life.
By the time I hit Sixth Street I see life; people on bikes, people on foot and best of all no zombies, at least not yet.
The city had the police forces out in full… well for lack of a better word…force. There they were--thirty cops on one corner and the next street had another thirty police in full riot gear. No zombies, not many citizens and I am hearing the theme to Dark Vader in my head. This city is locked down and I am out for a photo-walk.
Two hours of walking through downtown and not much was happening yet. The city was peaceful. No protesters? Two weeks of media buildup and no hype. It’s just me and about a thousand cops, no zombies and the happiest bikers Pittsburgh has ever seen. People on two wheels owned the city for the day; barely any traffic and just pedestrians walking the streets.
At this time I was getting ready to call it quits for the day. The only thrill I had seen all day is a couple of people offering me salvation in Jesus Christ. One person explaining to me why Allah is the one true God, I was bored. Stop at a bar for a beer.
Insanely useful photography tip:
Here is a lesson learned that I feel the need to pass on. When having a discussion with police officers on the street choose your words carefully.
Me: “ Excuse me Mr. Police officer what are the chances of a riot breaking out today? “
Police officer: “We’re prepared and if anything happens I expect you to not get in the way.”
Me: “ Don’t worry officer if anything happens I will just sit back and shoot the crowed.”
Police office: “Son, you better choose your words carefully when speaking to me.”
At this time he stands back and places his hand on his gun and a second officers shifts his position to stand behind me.
“Open the bag son.”
Me: I open my camera bag slowly and let him look inside. “Lesson learned officer, have a nice day.”
I walk away thinking that this could have turned out a lot worse for me.
Next:
Chanting, I can hear chanting in the far off distance. This is it… the protest of the G-20 is happening now. A crowd gathers, police congregate….see my photo (HERE).
Book, Movie and My Ego
I watched the movie the “The Soloist” today. It is the first time that I have enjoyed a movie as much as reading the book. I read the book this past May and it has been five months of being disconnected with the story. The pairing of the movie with the book is a complimentary experience.
The obvious connection between the book and the movie would be hearing the music and the imagery to enhance the text. There was more; life…real life not played by actors in the movie. The homeless extras were all homeless…life; not art, but real.
I like giving money to the homeless on the street, probably for all the wrong reasons. I have that split notion that goes through my head every time I give a homeless person a dollar. Is it for drugs or food? I give it not matter what and then think to myself that I would rather give and be wrong than not to give at all. Then I think about how gigantic my ego is and that Jesus is smiling down upon me or condemning me to hell for this non-altruistic act that feels so altruistic to me.
Either way go with Jesus’ decision.
The obvious connection between the book and the movie would be hearing the music and the imagery to enhance the text. There was more; life…real life not played by actors in the movie. The homeless extras were all homeless…life; not art, but real.
I like giving money to the homeless on the street, probably for all the wrong reasons. I have that split notion that goes through my head every time I give a homeless person a dollar. Is it for drugs or food? I give it not matter what and then think to myself that I would rather give and be wrong than not to give at all. Then I think about how gigantic my ego is and that Jesus is smiling down upon me or condemning me to hell for this non-altruistic act that feels so altruistic to me.
Either way go with Jesus’ decision.
Book, Movie and My Ego
I watched the movie the “The Soloist” today. It is the first time that I have enjoyed a movie as much as reading the book. I read the book this past May and it has been five months of being disconnected with the story. The pairing of the movie with the book is a complimentary experience.
The obvious connection between the book and the movie would be hearing the music and the imagery to enhance the text. There was more; life…real life not played by actors in the movie. The homeless extras were all homeless…life; not art, but real.
I like giving money to the homeless on the street, probably for all the wrong reasons. I have that split notion that goes through my head every time I give a homeless person a dollar. Is it for drugs or food? I give it not matter what and then think to myself that I would rather give and be wrong than not to give at all. Then I think about how gigantic my ego is and that Jesus is smiling down upon me or condemning me to hell for this non-altruistic act that feels so altruistic to me.
Either way go with Jesus’ decision.
The obvious connection between the book and the movie would be hearing the music and the imagery to enhance the text. There was more; life…real life not played by actors in the movie. The homeless extras were all homeless…life; not art, but real.
I like giving money to the homeless on the street, probably for all the wrong reasons. I have that split notion that goes through my head every time I give a homeless person a dollar. Is it for drugs or food? I give it not matter what and then think to myself that I would rather give and be wrong than not to give at all. Then I think about how gigantic my ego is and that Jesus is smiling down upon me or condemning me to hell for this non-altruistic act that feels so altruistic to me.
Either way go with Jesus’ decision.
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