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Living in the Material World

I know what you're thinking about the title. No it's not Madonna's song, but George Harrison I'm thinking of today.

 

Most people know Harrison's story as one of the most famous men on earth at a particular time. The Beatles were, and are still, one of the greatest human creative endeavours of all time. To this day my favourite Beatles song was written by George, a song of hope, a song that almost moves me to tears every time I play it: "Here Comes the Sun".

 

Harrison's "Living in the Material World" was the title track of a 1973 solo album. The lyrics begin like this:

"I'm living in the material world

Living in the material world

can't say what I'm doing here

But I hope to see much clearer

After living in the material world

I got born into the material world

Getting worn out in the material world

Use my body like a car

Taking me both near and far

Met my friends all in the material world."

 

Photography is my therapy - I cannot overstate that. So after feeling glum about the prospects of the world I decided to go down to the river Tamar and get some early morning shots. What didn't matter as much as why. I had no idea what I wanted to photograph, but I knew I needed to do something that resonated with my feelings of the hour.

 

That 10 seconds shutter release delay comes in handy sometimes. So in this instance I made my camera settings, focused in a zone (AF is not much good in this low light) and took a pose. You can interpret the mood. Perhaps subconsciously I'm alluding to standing on a precipice (one more step backwards and I would fall ten metres into the river). My folded arms show defiance at a world that continues to be stolen from people. But above all (and this is where it relates to the title), I hope that my white shoes are truly grounded on the terra firma.

 

 

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Uploaded on March 4, 2022
Taken on March 3, 2022