Part accident - part planned. I watched five or six runners circling the park and planted myself to take a wider shot of them with the park in the background - but all of a sudden they changed their route and sped past me.
10/06/2005
Runners, Central Park
Part accident - part planned. I watched five or six runners circling the park and planted myself to take a wider shot of them with the park in the background - but all of a sudden they changed their route and sped past me.
The Home Page
Not sure if anyone likes the homepage changes - blog / store combo. But I like it a lot. Think I'll stick with it at least through the end of the year and see how it goes. Tomorrow is print day. I have two orders to get out.
And if I'm going to stick with doing all this PS sharpening stuff in 16-bit mode I'm going to need a new PC for sure. My friend Eugene keeps sending me specs from Dell, Gateway etc. I'd like to hire him to set up the new system and deal with the headaches but I don't think I'll be able to afford a new setup until the new year.
I'm not prone to depression - but the mini-depression I was going through the last few weeks seems to be fading. I went out and was happy as a lark shooting in Central Park. Felt very creative again. Can't wait to see a couple of shots on the last roll. An empty field with with high-school runners - and wide angle - and I definitely was thinking of the opening shots from - Chariots of Fire... I was actually lying in the grass shooting up and -- well we'll see...
And if I'm going to stick with doing all this PS sharpening stuff in 16-bit mode I'm going to need a new PC for sure. My friend Eugene keeps sending me specs from Dell, Gateway etc. I'd like to hire him to set up the new system and deal with the headaches but I don't think I'll be able to afford a new setup until the new year.
I'm not prone to depression - but the mini-depression I was going through the last few weeks seems to be fading. I went out and was happy as a lark shooting in Central Park. Felt very creative again. Can't wait to see a couple of shots on the last roll. An empty field with with high-school runners - and wide angle - and I definitely was thinking of the opening shots from - Chariots of Fire... I was actually lying in the grass shooting up and -- well we'll see...
Street of Dreams
I was watching one of the ballgames last night - and had an epiphany about the why of photography.
Each time a batter come to the plate - the circumstances in the game have changed. Even the very best hitter is going to fail 2/3rds of the time. Sometimes the pressure is on and their time in the box means something to the team. Sometimes it's a blowout. But it's the personal challenge. You anticipate the pitch. You anticipate it correctly this time and get a hit. Maybe a game-winning homer. You don't retire after that. You want another chance to do it again.
Photography - for me - is like that.
Photography is mostly about failure in the sense that very few of your images are grand-slams. Ansel talked about being happy if he got 12 good images in a year.
It's this very rarity of the good image (as you define it) that keeps you going. Whether it is street photography or nature shots - the world - and your feeling about the world is different every time you step out of the house. The fact that you define the success is the main difference between art and baseball. Still - the similarities remain. You feel - at these great moments - like you were doing what you were created to do.
You caught light in a bottle. You anticipated the unexpected. You were born in the right place at the right time and your senses are up to the task. Time has slowed down for you - enough to capture some photons as they were meant to be captured.
You move through a constantly changing stream of possibilities. You're on the lookout - and you are plodding through life at the same time. You are walking to pick up your laundry and you are buying breakfast and chatting with friends - and you are somewhere else at the same time.
Work on your technique. Keep your shoulder in. Level swing. Press the shutter gently. You anticipate the pitch. He's thrown a slider to you last time up - I'll be he's going to go inside with a fastball this time. Ah - he fooled me again. Damn. There's always next time.
You become comfortable with uncertainty. To paraphrase MLB - you live for that uncertainty. The audience - they're far away in the stands - staring out windows - passing you by as you stoop to conquer.
You're in the zone. You're bored. It doesn't matter. You're going to take your cut at the ball because that's why you're here. If they don't let you play in the "bigs" - you'll play in triple A. Your moment will come. And if it doesn't - so what? How many people get to play the game they want to play - at any level?
The wind-up. The pitch. It's a long fly ball. The image flies through the air - as if it had wings - going. Going! It's over the wall! It's landed on the street outside the park! It's landed on the street of dreams...
Each time a batter come to the plate - the circumstances in the game have changed. Even the very best hitter is going to fail 2/3rds of the time. Sometimes the pressure is on and their time in the box means something to the team. Sometimes it's a blowout. But it's the personal challenge. You anticipate the pitch. You anticipate it correctly this time and get a hit. Maybe a game-winning homer. You don't retire after that. You want another chance to do it again.
Photography - for me - is like that.
Photography is mostly about failure in the sense that very few of your images are grand-slams. Ansel talked about being happy if he got 12 good images in a year.
It's this very rarity of the good image (as you define it) that keeps you going. Whether it is street photography or nature shots - the world - and your feeling about the world is different every time you step out of the house. The fact that you define the success is the main difference between art and baseball. Still - the similarities remain. You feel - at these great moments - like you were doing what you were created to do.
You caught light in a bottle. You anticipated the unexpected. You were born in the right place at the right time and your senses are up to the task. Time has slowed down for you - enough to capture some photons as they were meant to be captured.
You move through a constantly changing stream of possibilities. You're on the lookout - and you are plodding through life at the same time. You are walking to pick up your laundry and you are buying breakfast and chatting with friends - and you are somewhere else at the same time.
Work on your technique. Keep your shoulder in. Level swing. Press the shutter gently. You anticipate the pitch. He's thrown a slider to you last time up - I'll be he's going to go inside with a fastball this time. Ah - he fooled me again. Damn. There's always next time.
You become comfortable with uncertainty. To paraphrase MLB - you live for that uncertainty. The audience - they're far away in the stands - staring out windows - passing you by as you stoop to conquer.
You're in the zone. You're bored. It doesn't matter. You're going to take your cut at the ball because that's why you're here. If they don't let you play in the "bigs" - you'll play in triple A. Your moment will come. And if it doesn't - so what? How many people get to play the game they want to play - at any level?
The wind-up. The pitch. It's a long fly ball. The image flies through the air - as if it had wings - going. Going! It's over the wall! It's landed on the street outside the park! It's landed on the street of dreams...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)