Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Pioneer Park 2008 -or thereabouts-
So these are some of the Polaroids which were part of my senior exhibition. Enjoy.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Why and Wherefor?
Change sucks. Change defenestrates our comfort. It forces us, in no uncertain terms, to confront our lives, our actions, our motivations. In doing so, however, it reveals to us what is important and what is not.
Three weeks ago I lost one of the best friends I've ever known. Laura Tibbs made me who I am today. I shared things with Laura I didn't share with anyone else. My most formative days were spent with her, and although that particular phase of our relationship ended five years ago, we remained close friends to the end. In one of our last conversations, she was asking me if I thought she would be scary when she was mad. I said I could see her being scary when she was mad, because she was a passionate person. Her response was that she didn't think of herself that way, but I have to stick by that critique of her personality, as she knew what was important to her and what wasn't, and that requires a passion for life and for helping those around her, as she so often did when no one else could.
And you're probably wondering why I'm sharing all of these personal details with the world on a photography blog. Well, I'm getting to that.
Why we do the things we do, be they small, seemingly meaningless things, or big, changing-the-whole-world things; we do them all for the same reasons. We do what we do because we find it harder not to do those things than we do to make those things happen. Making photographs may seem like challenging work to some, but to me, it is more challenging to sit around and do nothing with my days than to get on my bike and ride around looking for images to share with everyone I know.
In other words, we do what we do because it makes us who we are, and who we are is defined by what we do. That term I used way back up at the beginning of this post, "defenestrate," was a term Laura and I used as often as we could back when we were dating. We did so because it was fun, silly, and its use simultaneously defined who we were and allowed us to express who we were to the world.
In the last few weeks I have thought about why I should bother continuing to do anything, photography or otherwise. Everyday ended with the same conclusion: Life is pointless, as it will end, and we will be forgotten with the passing of just a couple of generations. However, that does not matter, because it is all in the future, and all we have right now, is right now. Everyday we are alive we have to do what we do, lest we become no one. We must be who we are, and share with the world whatever it is that is important to us because if we truly and genuinely do what we are most naturally motivated to do, we will leave ideas and traits to those who survive us which will last for generations to come.
Laura was a truly unique, beautiful person, who in her final months in this realm did not let anyone stand between her and happiness. She dis not allow the expectations of others to get in the way of being who she was. In doing so, she ensured her legacy as an inspiration to anyone going through life asking, "What am I doing?" The answer she presented to all of us was, "If not living for everyday, making yourself and those around you happy with your innate talents and interests, then nothing right."
In the pursuit of sharing what I have to share, and offering pleasure in whatever way I am capable, I offer you my photographs, in memory of, and in dedication to one of the greatest muses I have ever known, and will ever know. I hope they bring you some enjoyment, or some thought provocation, or even some anger if you absolutely hate them. Just have a look, and afterward go live your life for yourself, and for the betterment of all those around you, for that is truly the greatest gift we have to offer.
Three weeks ago I lost one of the best friends I've ever known. Laura Tibbs made me who I am today. I shared things with Laura I didn't share with anyone else. My most formative days were spent with her, and although that particular phase of our relationship ended five years ago, we remained close friends to the end. In one of our last conversations, she was asking me if I thought she would be scary when she was mad. I said I could see her being scary when she was mad, because she was a passionate person. Her response was that she didn't think of herself that way, but I have to stick by that critique of her personality, as she knew what was important to her and what wasn't, and that requires a passion for life and for helping those around her, as she so often did when no one else could.
And you're probably wondering why I'm sharing all of these personal details with the world on a photography blog. Well, I'm getting to that.
Why we do the things we do, be they small, seemingly meaningless things, or big, changing-the-whole-world things; we do them all for the same reasons. We do what we do because we find it harder not to do those things than we do to make those things happen. Making photographs may seem like challenging work to some, but to me, it is more challenging to sit around and do nothing with my days than to get on my bike and ride around looking for images to share with everyone I know.
In other words, we do what we do because it makes us who we are, and who we are is defined by what we do. That term I used way back up at the beginning of this post, "defenestrate," was a term Laura and I used as often as we could back when we were dating. We did so because it was fun, silly, and its use simultaneously defined who we were and allowed us to express who we were to the world.
In the last few weeks I have thought about why I should bother continuing to do anything, photography or otherwise. Everyday ended with the same conclusion: Life is pointless, as it will end, and we will be forgotten with the passing of just a couple of generations. However, that does not matter, because it is all in the future, and all we have right now, is right now. Everyday we are alive we have to do what we do, lest we become no one. We must be who we are, and share with the world whatever it is that is important to us because if we truly and genuinely do what we are most naturally motivated to do, we will leave ideas and traits to those who survive us which will last for generations to come.
Laura was a truly unique, beautiful person, who in her final months in this realm did not let anyone stand between her and happiness. She dis not allow the expectations of others to get in the way of being who she was. In doing so, she ensured her legacy as an inspiration to anyone going through life asking, "What am I doing?" The answer she presented to all of us was, "If not living for everyday, making yourself and those around you happy with your innate talents and interests, then nothing right."
In the pursuit of sharing what I have to share, and offering pleasure in whatever way I am capable, I offer you my photographs, in memory of, and in dedication to one of the greatest muses I have ever known, and will ever know. I hope they bring you some enjoyment, or some thought provocation, or even some anger if you absolutely hate them. Just have a look, and afterward go live your life for yourself, and for the betterment of all those around you, for that is truly the greatest gift we have to offer.
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