Tic Tac’s and Domino’s, creating a story with pictures

CLICK ON PICTURE TO VIEW LARGER SIZE!

The use of point of view, foreground, and background to distort size.

Same concept, but altering picture contents to tell a story.

I took these two pictures for a class that I took at the State Univ. of New York. The assignment was to select a color in use that in two pictures representing low key and high key. I wanted to have a little fun with the assignment so I decided to tell a story of the domino bullies and the tic-tac’s. The first picture is to represent three of the domino bullies cornering a tic-tac. You can all imagine what happens next. The nex picture is to represent all of the tic-tac’s finding one of the domino’s all alone.

To take the pictures I used a zoom lens at around 200mm to partially blur the background, and limit the depth of field.  My aperture F-stop was around 4 which left my depth at around 3 inches. From there I had to wiggle around on my belly on the sidewalk to get the picture into focus and hide unwanted background elements. I can only imagine what my neighbors thought of me laying on the sidewalk with a camera, can of tic-tacs, and 3 dominoe’s. Now that picture would have been priceless.

In the end, I was pleased with how the pictures turned out. Not fully from a quality standpoint, but I was more happy that the story conveyed through the pictures and most of my classmates really “got” what I was trying to do.

Joy

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I’m quite surpised it has taken me this long to upload it.  I took this picture for a college photography class that I was taking.  This is actually around picture 5 in a series of 10, that involved the subject admiring balloons and eventually just walking away (unscripted).  The title of this post is joy because of the emotional charge of a child and handful of balloons.  I don’t have any hidden meanings, history, or symbolism in this picture, it just speaks for itself.

I come and I go, but where is that?

I travel a good bit, probably about 8-10 weeks per year. So it is very often that I am either coming home, or I am going away from it. Being alone much of the time, I often dwell on what it means to be isolated and a wonderer.

So, what exactly does this mean: “home”? To me “home” is family and friends, and not a physical place. So, If my family and friends were in North Korea, then that would be home. To some this may make sense, but in a nationalistic country like the USA, this often is seen as treason of some sort. To say that I live in North Korea would make me an enemy, despite the fact that it is just a geographical entity. Aren’t North Koreans or Iranians or Iraqis or Afghanis just people with family and friends who live in a geographical region? Why do we have to hate people just because of this fact? It makes no sense to me.

I guess this is why I often have trouble feeling/being proud to be an American. I don’t feel some kind of great, proud, nationalistic identity. In fact, our history of warfare, slavery, and ethnic genocide of the native peoples really disturbs me. Fellow Americans, I hope some of this disturbs you too. So why do some of you think we are so great and our cause always so just? Why are so many of you blind to your hatred?

I really wish I understood this. Because, I think it is human nature to be territorial. But maybe there are laws and limitations to this. I mean really, is afghanistan or Iraq going to invade our country? Yes, there were the terroristic attacks of 9/11, and I think that is all part of the strife here. That modern technology has blurred the line between human nature (being territorial) and over aggression. Perhaps, it is just a self correcting system and Karma will eventually bite us in the ass.

Maybe it already has.

“The 4 Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss: Part I – opinions

I’m on my second/third reading of the book, the 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss. I have a few comments on the book but before I get to far I want to issue a quick disclaimer:

• I’m not a Tim Ferriss wannabe fan-boy
• I think this is an excellent book
• Take all “self-help” kind of books and advice with a healthy bit of skepticism. I.E. grain-of-salt mentality.

So, first, for the curious who have already read the book:

• well, I’ve read and applied several of the lessons from the book to my own life. I filled out a dream line, only to realize I didn’t need to quit my current job to fulfill many of dreams (wow, that was an awakening).
• My dreamline was pretty bland, but then I don’t covet valuable things very much (more on this later). However, I really wish I had more un-interruptable time in the form of complete days with no work-related responsibilities.
• I also filled out a chart on what my fears are, in which I realized that the benefit far outweighs the risk. In my case the risk should be high considering I’m a single bread-winner in my household. But I have a special skill that is highly coveted, which is my reserve parachute so to speak.
• I have not found my muse or special profitable calling, but I have some ideas. But many of my ideas are already taken or just don’t motivate me enough to take them past second base.

Next, here is a summary of some of my thoughts on the book. Both praise and criticism.

• The book is disguised as self-help, as it is to a point, but it is not your typical “work smarter not harder” type book. Tim encourages people to just let go. “The 4 hour work week” is often compared to 2 other books – “The 7 habits of highly effective people”, and “Getting Things Done”. Whereas the 7 habits is about being effective and principle centered, and GTD is all about efficiency, 4HWW is all about letting-go and being free and Carpe-diem type attitude.
• Read the book if only because Tim thinks outside the box and presents you with ideas and challenges that you’ve probably never read in a mass-market paperback before.
• The book is actually kind of funny. Tim is a unique “down-to earth” but still a serious kind of go-getter gen-X’er.
• Tim often comes across as very materialistic. I felt that the book espoused too much on materialistic enterprise. My point is that life is not about destinations, it is about journeys. The book focuses so much on going places and doing things or what I think of as the jet-setter lifestyle. However, this does not bring happiness. What do you do when you’ve checked off all of the items on your list? I don’t think Tim is this kind of person, but I do think that the book seems to focus to heavily on being a life-is-a-list type of person.

With that said, put the book down, put the “to-do” lists away, forget about tomorrow, and call someone you love and tell them that.

Self Portraits

Portrait 1, leaning on wall

Portrait 2, sitting on fence

Portrait 3, by the stream

Portrait 4, in the field

The inspiration for my self portraits was Hippolyte Bayard, and “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. For those of you who don’t know, Hippolyte Bayard was one of the inventors of photography and likely the inventor of the self portrait. He was not only a genius inventor, but his photography was beautiful, symbolic, and very artistic.

The first picture of me leaning against the wall is symbolic of the fact that I am pretty laid back and don’t take myself too seriously. The wall is to symbolize strength and independence. I consider myself very independent and self-reliant. However, this comes at a price in that I’m often reluctant to let people help me, and sometimes I create a wall around myself.

The first and second picture go together. The second picture is me sitting on the same wall from a different angle. This is symbolic of my inability to choose a side on most issues. I am proud of the fact that I’ve been very open minded and can see, and relate to, both sides of an issue. Unfortunately, this is another alienating feature of mine because so many people seem to always want to pick sides but I am never really able to side with either.

The third picture of me next to the stream is symbolic of my love of photography. I wanted to use water because it is often used in religion to symbolize renewal (baptism). The water was too cold for me to get in (considering I had another hour or two worth of pictures to take), so I decided to stand next to it. Getting into photography was my first real endevour into the arts. I was never good at drawing and my poetry is really just a blend of short-verse creative writing, so photography was a real breakthrough for me. It gave me a new lens for viewing life, and gave me a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature and life in general.

Silly Girl

Silly Girl -

WHAT is so funny about having your hair draped across your face?

My Dear Child

My Dear Child,
You sleep so peacefully. Sleep for you is the great forgetter. When you awake, you’ll forget about the fights with your sister or the trouble you got into when you drew on the walls. All your pain and frustrations will drift into the darkness. Sometimes I worry that there are so many things that I have left to teach you. In reality, I have so much to learn.

Buddha along side the road

Buddha Along Side the Road

hey Buddha

as i was going to work

i saw you sittin along the road

so i had to run you over

but the strangest thing happened

on my way back

you were still there

so i did it again

but the next morning

you were still there

so i smiled and drove on by

and then you were gone

Spirituality Of Darkness

Photography is a very spiritual and emotional form of expression. My best photographs have always been those that remind me of how I felt at the time I took the picture, for instance, if it was cold outside, does the picture make me feel my skin shivering. I like to use the camera, and post editing, as a way of capturing the “feeling” of the scene.

The scene for the pictures is a remote spot in the woods alongside a reservoir near my house. I choose to take the picture in the late evening/night (6:30-8:30pm) because of the effect darkness in the woods would have on my senses. Nightime in the woods is very spooky and noisy, I liken it “natures rush hour”. We live with our eyes, and as light is removed we have to begin thinking outside the box (I can’t see the lake, but how can I show people its there?). To further illustrate this face, I made a few notes about my surroundings for 5 minutes:

• woodpecker pecked twice,
• crickets cricketing
• birds flying
• birds singing
• wind blowing
• leaves rustling
• leaves falling
• trees swaying
• trees creaking
• trees groaning
• sun is falling
• sky darkening
• clouds passing
• a plane flew by

The three scenes should be viewed in order and are meant to capture the flow of emotions that I felt. That of peace with nature, fear of darkness, and finally appreciation of the beauty of a full moon reflecting on the lake. In addition it symbolizes the progression of our spirit in life: of wonder, fear of the unknown, and finally acceptance.

My first image is “Spirit Trees”. I chose to use this picture because its rather pleasant, and has a spiritual, oneness with nature, feel to it. I used a wide view, mid ISO, 1/3 second shutter speed, and post edited sepia and soft. The purpose of this photo is to capture the role that the trees play on the scene.

My second image is “Spinning Out of Control”. I chose this picture because it captures the emotional feeling of being in the woods as darkness takes over and you no longer have light to make you feel safe. I used a wide view, low ISO, 8 second exposure, and F2.8 aperature. I adjusted the tripod so the camera was pointing up, and then spun the camera in a circle while the shutter was open to give the feeling that the mind is spinning out of control. I softened the edges and shadows in post editing.

My third image is “Full Moon Rising”. I chose to use this picutre because it captures the beauty in the scene, and is meant to portray acceptance, accepting that even in darkness, light can still be found. For this picture I used a wide view, 8 second exposure and F2.8 aperature. I post edited the tint, softened the edges, and increased the brightness and shadows. Had my camera been capable, I would have used a 20-30 second exposure at low ISO.

Spirit Trees

Spinning Out Of Control

Full Moon Rising

EDIT: The story behind “Spinning out of control”:

I knew of a place a few miles deep into the woods where I could get some good photos for a college class in photography that I was taking. When I got to the spot, I couldn’t get the photos I wanted so after messing around for a while I decided to hike back to the car. Well, I thought that I would be ok because I had hike on the trail a few times before and understood the lay of the land. However, as the darkness started to fall, things started getting spooky. Emotion brings out the best in any artistic persuit, so I decided to take advantage of this fact and snap a few shots trying to convey the fact that I was starting to lose control.

Well, it started getting really dark and I could hardly see the trail ahead of me. This sounds pretty bad, but I was getting spooked by the squirrels (yes those cute little creatures with the long furry tails). They really freak me out when they start kicking up the leaves right next to you. I started going primal. This in itself is pretty scary because it really brings out the beast inside. I could feel all of the hair sticking up on my skin and my adrenaline was pumping really hard. I hiked through the woods like this for about an hour and it was such a rush.

For those of you interested in primal feelings, look up books on native american spirituality or Tom Brown.

The Journal

Journal

how i love your pages

waiting to be filled up with adventures

and thoughts and wisdom and emotions

but alas i can not do it

for the pen is mightier then the sword

but i can not put the sword down

and i am left stuck here

admiring your empty pages