In and Out of Focus

it is interesting to consider that even though we think that everything we look at is in focus, actually only the very specific area that we are looking at is in focus...the rest is just shapes, colors, or movement. we don't normally take notice that we look rapidly at a great number of things in a short period of time, and that our eyes focus and adjust very quickly to each new area of interest...so we get the whole picture rather than just a bit. the camera can tease us with a different view...

playing with that concept with the camera has all sorts of possibilities..."fiery iris" and "green bursts"

The Little Bits

it's amazing how often we miss the beauty of the little insignificant parts...shapes, color juxtapositions, words, inflections, sighs...in our mad "appreciation" of the grandeur of everything...

here's to those bits...."colors bumping" and "little bits of time"

... And All That Jazz

well...there's the mysterious and then there's "in your face".

i did mention that i find it very hard to settle for just one style, one emotion, one look in my work. of course that makes me pretty hard to categorize, but, i gotta admit that's the way i am...as i mentioned in a previous post...like ruby rod in 5th Element, "i don't want one position, i want all positions!"

this is like going from chamber music to art blakey or herbie hancock, but i do like it at times when everything falls into an ordered structure...clean lines, precise shapes, vibrant colors, methodical structure...while working on these two, i was reminded of the painter stuart davis and his jazzy paintings so i had to reacquaint myself with the pleasure of his work....bright and flashy...

so...bright, flashy, and structured..."jazzy ensemble" and "mee 2"

O So Mysterioso

when i was very young my father used to take my brother and i for walks in the woods...we used to explore and play tag and hide and seek (me in my red jacket)...i always thought it was a magical place...mysterious, dark, sometimes light streaming into secret places revealing wonderful scenes...i don't think i've ever lost that feeling of the mysterious in nature...one of my favorite experiences, still, is wandering in some out of the way area (this often can be 5 feet from a road!) and discovering a bower, a pile of leaves, a stream, a wizened and impossibly gnarly tree, a spider sitting on it's woven lace picnic blanket awaiting a guest for dinner... being awe inspiring without the slightest need for an audience...and here i am, the lucky observer... like being someplace i'm not really supposed to be.

if i have my camera with me, i can spend hours, trying to capture that feeling of awe and the delights that i'm seeing and experiencing. it's not so easy, i find, to capture that mystery...

these two shots are a pleasure for me...i think i came close to capturing that element of mystery that i enjoy..."after the shower" and "oak grove on a rainy day"

Glory Daze

time passes and so does the sheen.

i guess missing the sheen is normal, but letting it become the defining element of our thinking is less than invigorating to one's creative life. when that becomes the focus, all endeavor seems to lean to recapturing what we thought was the more successful time of creativity (or would that be notoriety?). we all(exceptions are entertained)love to be noticed and noted. in fact, creativity seems, like happiness, to be much less satisfying if not shared. there is definitely a thrill and satisfaction from the work done, but put all the results in a place where no one else can see and laud or critique, and i doubt that any of us "creative types" would continue. that's the "fak" jack! (yeah, i know that feeling insular and above it all is a great pose...a lofty perch above it all in the pecking order, but it's not a very original delusion.)

so, what's left? no faded glory that's for sure! like the rust forming under metal that has been repainted in an attempt to restore the old glory...often, like the experiences of life, the bubbling, dented, weatherbeaten, crusty layers add a new glory...and for me, i think i'll try to capture that...there'll be enough time to reflect on the "old glory" when i'm pushing up daisies!

so...for reflection and introspection..."Once Upon a Star" and "Glorious in Retirement"