Tripping on Asphalt
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This post is a recurring feature I call ‘Which One?’ where I ask you to help me decide which is the stronger, more compelling image. Usually my ‘Which One?’ helps me determine which image to present to a client. Today it’s just my own interest. (This is also the shot in the opposite direction of the fog in my last post.)
So it’s also the beginning of a potentially new feature here, which I haven’t quite named yet. The concept is simple: it’s my favorite image from a shoot, and I’m certain the client is never going to use it. Basically, if I don’t post it here, no one’s ever going to see it, and it will live, alone and forgotten, in the cobwebs of my memory. If I remember it at all. How sad… This one, in particular will not see the light of day because Architects like blue sky. Period. And I took these same shots 5 hours later with an incredible blue sky, but I’m crazy about these comparatively so I’m not even gonna show you the blue sky.
I love these shots because, for me, they really capture New England in March. And I can see that charm without it being cloyingly sweet.
Which one would you choose? I’d love to hear.
{Update: I was totally wrong. The client chose both of these photos yesterday!}
Here are some previous ‘Which One?’ posts in case you are new here and would like to explore…
This is a photo I took a few mornings ago, in the opposite direction of my last architectural shoot, which you’ll get to see over the next few days. I did the lightest of editing because I wanted it to look exactly like it did to me on the day.
I always get energized on dreary days. I feel like exploring or getting things accomplished. I thought a little about what this photo means to me instead of what it might mean to others – to you, for instance. For work, I’m constantly thinking about how others may mentally and emotionally process an image so it’s a bit of a departure. Which maybe shouldn’t be the case.
So to me, on first instinct, this photo is about Beginnings. And it resonates with me in the same way as an earlier favorite of mine below. A couple of years separate these photos but they feel like they could become part of the same series because they are, in part, about the intense anxiety of not knowing what’s to come.
I’ve had a ton of beginnings and new experiences this past year. I’m fortunate they’ve all been wonderful. Marriage, moving in with my husband, building a huge and growing community of friends and family, selling my first home, relocating… And I’m excited about the future. A future in which I want to actively participate and explore.
In the past, photos like these would have meant being stuck. Not knowing where to go, how to get there, how to begin even with a single step. They would have meant depression and anxiety. An inability to move forward, or get out of bed. And now, they also mean intrigue and excitement for what’s to be discovered at the other side. Layers of what has been and what might be.
So Beginnings, both planned and unplanned. We want to expand our family (a baby or a Yorkie – who knows?). I want to continually develop my artistic and career endeavors, and devote myself to exploration through this blog. And who knows what else? If you’re reading, I’m grateful you’re here and part of my process.
And though I didn’t have you in mind when I was taking that first photo early one morning, or when I decided to present it on this blog, I would really like to hear your thoughts. What are your associations to this image? How does it make you feel?
It feels great to be back just in time for so many of my favorite things: New beginnings. Fall in New England and New York City. Pulling out the hand-knit fashions. Cozy evenings on the couch. Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins and all manner of root vegetables. The scent of roasts and meals lovingly executed in Le Creuset. Decorating and re-decorating. And never too much knitting.
The last couple of months have included tons of exciting events with our friends and family. Baby showers, bridal showers, births, birthdays, and a wedding/honeymoon to name a few. The result is that I’ve added literally thousands of photographs to my hard drive. Thousands of massive RAW files. Just taking up space with no purpose. The thought of organizing, distibuting, displaying and archiving these memories seems daunting even to me as a professional. Actually, it’s making me a little nauseous.
The thing is, I just don’t have a workflow for personal photos. There, I said it. Shame! And truthfully, they get lost on the computer after I edit a mere few and get them out to key people. Sometimes I’ll print one for the wall, or a stray might even make it on this very blog. But most are just lost in the morass. Lost little lambs… *sigh* I mean, lost, huge, hard-drive eating lambs. Inspiring guilt and shame. Did I mention the guilt? And the shame?
So what to do? What to do… We are definitely at a crossroad for digital media. The possibilities are seemingly (and overwhelmingly) endless. I can print pictures and make an album old skool with Photographic Solutions and Target. Or I can make a snazy photo book online at Blurb. But now that I have an iPhone and iPad, you can see my photos in a slideshow that my devices produce pretty randomly if I dump everything in an album (post editing of course. not that I’ve managed to get to that. did you read where I wrote thousands? seriously. thousands.). Or I could design a more impressive slideshow (criminally) easily and add some cool soundtrack using Animoto.
*sigh* Today, one of my colleagues suggested I treat myself as a Client. Block out chunks on the calendar to get my own shit done. And develop a workflow that suits my own needs. Ummm. You mean my stuff doesn’t just happen magically? I have to make appointments with myself?! Oh, how horrible. And how simple.
It’s actually not as simple as it sounds. First, I don’t pay myself. In actual money. And the joy of having organized and jealousy inspiring multimedia albums doesn’t the rent pay. Neither does sending Chewie out with a tin cup, though Lord knows, I’ve tried. Worse is the indecision. I look at Client photos and I know immediately what’s good and what has to go. I know in my gut and I could explain it rationally in a classroom. But when it comes to my vacation photos, I can’t remove myself from the equation. It’s like how Interior Designers often need to hire other Interior Designers to plan their homes. Histrionics, ego, angst, perfectionism? Call it what you will. But I’m determined, and all I want is my own damn album.
So what do you do with your personal photos?
Are we concerned that cemeteries and abandoned buildings talk to me? I’m not, so don’t worry your pretty head. Just enjoy my favorite shot of the day.
It’s incredible what the iPhone can do. Not just the iPhone I suppose. I don’t even carry a point-and-shoot any more. Seems silly.
This isn’t the most inspiring picture for me. But I can’t get over that this guy fought in the Revolutionary War and to this day, is still recognized by the living, as a Son of the American Revolution. Somebody put that flag there way before Memorial Day.
This next one is another favorite, and my apologies if you’ve already seen it on Facebook. If you haven’t, maybe you’ll consider hitting the ‘like’ button on my Facebook page. {*cough* shameless plug *cough} There’s a handy link. Over there. On the left. And up a ways.
I’ve just read the Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I highly recommend it.  As my mind and I wandered, Nobody Owens and those who reared him were definitely lurking around corners.
My favorite season by far. Evidence enough.
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