View allAll Photos Tagged UNCONTROLLABLE
It seems some models will suddenly go from undesirable to uncontrollably collectible. With all the collector specific pieces coming out now like artist frames and serial numbers, this pair and its predecessor the 0.3 were found to be fairly hard to find, and now command a fair amount on the open market. I was fortunate enough to find both the 0.3 and 0.3P for modest amounts and was spared the bidding wars which can drive this piece to unattainable amounts.
This was taken with a 50mm mk II using macro extension tubes. I have yet to upgrade to the AF tubes, meaning you can auto focus and also adjust aperture. This had to be manually focused without the use of aperture... Which isn't easy! A lot of leaning forward & back, zooming in & out 'til I could get the focus.. I was lucky with this shot to get the entire subject in focus, everything else I photographed was only semi focused due to the uncontrollable aperture. In saying that, extension tubes are a fantastic substitute to macro lenses and a bunch of fun.
Enjoy.
Confessions Installations
With his installations, Arik confesses, bares his soul and invites us to do the same. His starting point is the observation that most Parisian couples end up divorcing and that building a life as a couple is an extremely fragile enterprise. Failure to communicate well is often at the root of this problem. Taboos and unspoken truths eat away at a couple’s harmonious existence. Confessions allow this trust to be rebuilt. Driven by an “uncontrollable muscle”, Arik Levy surfs a tsunami of ideas, that swallows up every preconceived notion in its path. He offers us a new perspective on our environment and the issues of intimacy; through this quest, devoid of safeguards, he raises the essential problem of our truth.
Slott | Exquise design
12 rue du Château Landon 75010 Paris
M° Château Landon-Gare de lʼEst-Louis Blanc
Love,
Exquise crew
Slott | Exquise design
12 rue du Château Landon 75010 Paris
M° Château Landon-Gare de lʼEst-Louis Blanc
flickr.com/photos/exquisedesign
coroflot.com/exquisedesign
©Florian Kleinefenn
Exhibition “Preliminaries”: design at the threshold of love.
As an extension of a project on the theme of love, Slott gallery
and Exquise Design® have invited four designers to play out
their fantasies, giving shape and meaning, breathing life into their
conceptions of preliminaries. They have approached this subject
from different and complementary viewpoints that together offer
a panorama of creation like no other seen before.
Arik Levy unveils his work on the spoken and the unspoken of
intimate relations with his series of installations entitled “Confessions”
that includes, among other elements, an examination of
the iconography of sexuality alongside a kind of modern home
confessional. As the theme of the exhibition required that contributions
be solicited from both male and female designers in equal
measure, it is fascinating to observe the ways in which, by sharing
their visions, they complete and engage each other.
matali crasset and Florence Jaffrain carry us away to underwater paradises
with their respective works “Aequorea” and “Belly Love”, creating
soft and sensual shapes that run up against Mathieu Lehanneur’s
torrid yet petrified flames in his “The Power of Love”.
Visitors will also be struck by the singular visions of the four
designers, each of which offers a completely different approach
to objects. With his Confessions, Arik Levy makes the object a
tool for communication, standing in for the fears and concerns
we often find it so difficult to voice. Straddling the boundaries of
design and architecture, matali crasset approaches the object
as a space. Mathieu Lehanneur, working from a more sculptural
perspective, raises the object to the heights of allegory (of the
couple), at the same time endowing it with a mediating role.
Last but not least, Florence Jaffrain tends to make the object an end
in itself, by creating a sofa that might almost be perceived as
playing the role of the lover, becoming an object of desire.
Equise Design | Design Loft
Day 196 of Gratitude
Grief
Grief hurts. It actually sends pain through our bodies. For some people it can come in waves of uncontrollable emotion, tears streaming down their face, anger that causes the blood to boil and fists to clench so hard nails dig into the hardened flesh of their palms. For some, depression creeps into their life like a shadow slowly taking the light out of their lives. The couch, a blanket, and curtains pulled across windows become their home. For those who can face the world there is the fear that at any moment something could trigger a memory bringing up any form of reaction but most common panic, wanting to run away – hide. Grief causes even the strongest of men to fall to their knees and beg God for help. Grief can cause the healthiest man or woman to stop eating, stop exercising and stop leaving their house. Grief can tear families apart, destroy friendships, and cause loved ones to no longer recognize each other.
But
Grief can pull the smallest ounce of strength from a person’s soul causing them to rise above anything, to become humble and reach out for help. Grief can form relationships, break down walls, and encourage others. Grief breaks all language barriers bringing people from different worlds together. Grief is normal, felt by all, Known by all, Relatable to all.
Movnat-style log balance walk after swim sprints. Clumsy Ashley promptly fell off the beam and stumbled uncontrollably into the windshield of a moored bass boat. Her jettisoned log crushed a nesting family of endangered mycteria americana wood storks.
This is to represent Transient Tic Disorder.
Please also like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/debbielianephotography
'cuz i'm so uncontrollable,
nowhere near wonderful, baby, it's true
and i'm aimin' to be your girl,
everything in your world,
and earn a place for you...
so uncontrallable!
nowhere near wonderful, baby
ooo
can you handle it, handle it?
is there no point to this, for you?
~steph roman♥
©allrightsreserved
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
Confessions Installations
With his installations, Arik confesses, bares his soul and invites us to do the same. His starting point is the observation that most Parisian couples end up divorcing and that building a life as a couple is an extremely fragile enterprise. Failure to communicate well is often at the root of this problem. Taboos and unspoken truths eat away at a couple’s harmonious existence. Confessions allow this trust to be rebuilt. Driven by an “uncontrollable muscle”, Arik Levy surfs a tsunami of ideas, that swallows up every preconceived notion in its path. He offers us a new perspective on our environment and the issues of intimacy; through this quest, devoid of safeguards, he raises the essential problem of our truth.
Slott | Exquise design
12 rue du Château Landon 75010 Paris
M° Château Landon-Gare de lʼEst-Louis Blanc
Love,
Exquise crew
Slott | Exquise design
12 rue du Château Landon 75010 Paris
M° Château Landon-Gare de lʼEst-Louis Blanc
flickr.com/photos/exquisedesign
coroflot.com/exquisedesign
©Florian Kleinefenn
Exhibition “Preliminaries”: design at the threshold of love.
As an extension of a project on the theme of love, Slott gallery
and Exquise Design® have invited four designers to play out
their fantasies, giving shape and meaning, breathing life into their
conceptions of preliminaries. They have approached this subject
from different and complementary viewpoints that together offer
a panorama of creation like no other seen before.
Arik Levy unveils his work on the spoken and the unspoken of
intimate relations with his series of installations entitled “Confessions”
that includes, among other elements, an examination of
the iconography of sexuality alongside a kind of modern home
confessional. As the theme of the exhibition required that contributions
be solicited from both male and female designers in equal
measure, it is fascinating to observe the ways in which, by sharing
their visions, they complete and engage each other.
matali crasset and Florence Jaffrain carry us away to underwater paradises
with their respective works “Aequorea” and “Belly Love”, creating
soft and sensual shapes that run up against Mathieu Lehanneur’s
torrid yet petrified flames in his “The Power of Love”.
Visitors will also be struck by the singular visions of the four
designers, each of which offers a completely different approach
to objects. With his Confessions, Arik Levy makes the object a
tool for communication, standing in for the fears and concerns
we often find it so difficult to voice. Straddling the boundaries of
design and architecture, matali crasset approaches the object
as a space. Mathieu Lehanneur, working from a more sculptural
perspective, raises the object to the heights of allegory (of the
couple), at the same time endowing it with a mediating role.
Last but not least, Florence Jaffrain tends to make the object an end
in itself, by creating a sofa that might almost be perceived as
playing the role of the lover, becoming an object of desire.
Equise Design | Design Loft
~ i think all art is about control - the encounter between control
and the uncontrollable.’
~ richard avedon
The picture is beautiful, but not the worth of beauty is the x-ray of
society. We always have many memories to share and many
pictures to share & we also do frame some of pictures. But do
we frame our own x-ray to hang on wall?! No!!
World has seen great technological progress in last 100 years
and it's very beautiful, but what is the x-ray? X-ray gives correct
picture of faults...
And sometimes we need to go even beyond the x-ray. We
need to go to roots of disease causing the diseased
humanity
So with this photograph, I also invite all of you to go beyond the
photo.
Knock Knock. You need an x-ray? Yes! Where? Reflect further :-)
check the tags too...
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
This Raven carving is by Bill Reid and illustrates a famous legend, if I recall about Raven's curiousity unleashing all sorts of uncontrollable forces into the world.
The Mardi Gras spirit can affect people in different ways. For some, uncontrollable dancing and a sudden lack of inhibition can happen, as seen here. Then again, considering the amount of alcohol involved in these events, it's not hard to believe that people can become unburdened by their inhibitions.
So you say that you have nothing to give but you give me a way to say
You're much too uncontrollable
Give it a rest and let me show you how it should be, and how it could be
If you didn't sell yourself short with things that distort all reality,
Banality should be your new nickname
Your appearance may pass, but that will never last
So before I witness tragedy I've got to cut all ties
You've been searching way too hard to find a way to take away the pain
You've inflicted on yourself, get help, but stay away from me
Jamestown Story--"You're Going Down"
This is melissa. she is so purttttyyyy =]
more from this shoot will be uploaded soon.
i'm going to try to shy away from self portraiture as much as possible. I love shooting other people, and self portraits are always such a hassle.
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
That's what happens when a cloudy and rainy afternoon run into my uncontrollable and Brutal desire to design
Unexpected and uncontrollable analogue signals are altered and bent by the artist to create an
audio/video noise-scape. The used electronic devices, such as “Walkmans” and “Bontempi”
keyboards, are usually designed for very specific purposes. The artist goes beyond the limitations of predetermined functions and generates sound and video through short circuits produced with wet fingers on those opened devices. The resistance of the skin and the conductivity of the human body in combination with the components of the circuits modify the sound.
Credit: Stefan Tiefengraber
Former speedway star Peter Carr, now 54, shows he hasn't lost his touch as he leads an upright solos heat during the seventh Master of Midshires Grasstrack Championship at Victory Field, Ashorne, Warwickshire. Between 1979 and 2005, Ribbleton-based Carr rode for a string of speedway clubs, notably Belle Vue, Edinburgh and Sheffield. Trailing are Sudbury's Steve Green (66) and Braintree's Nathan Morton (41). Unfortunately, only one of the classification finals, the 250cc solos, was run because the meeting at Victory Field, Ashorne, Warwickshire, had to be abandoned after 40 of 46 scheduled races owing to rider concerns over the dangers posed by uncontrollable dust. Admission was £15 and a 32-page programme sold for £2. Estimated attendance was about 1,500. The meeting was staged in memory of the late Peter Maddison, a generous sponsor of grasstrack clubs and riders, who died in 2016.
Harry Potter? No, silly, it's Harry Rotter.
Chapter One: No! Our best China's in There!
Mr and Mrs Privet, of number five Dorsley Drive, were anything but normal. They had been normal only a few weeks earlier, but they were now as crazy as everyone incarcerated in the local loony bin was.
On the outside, Mr Privet, a tall, bald and incredibly thin man, appeared quite normal, but just beneath the surface, barely hidden, he was a seething mass of nervous ticks, idiosyncratic behaviour, peptic ulcers and, above all, just plain looniness. As well as suffering from the same mad ways as her loopy husband, the extraordinarily fat Mrs Privet was also suffering from the dreadful infliction of hearing voices in her head. She might hear them at any time of the day or night, and would oftentimes jump up in her bed, screaming in a most alarming way, giving her husband such a fright he would begin shaking uncontrollably. It was a most dreadful state of affairs altogether. Despite suffering from these awful conditions, Mr and Mrs Privet tried to continue living as normal a life as was possible, but hardly a day went by without one of them experiencing a mad interlude that would make most normal people simply roll over and die.
Before I continue with my story, I must also tell you about their son Box, Box Privet. This child (the veritable apple of their eyes) was, like his father, of a tall and incredibly thin physique. At times, this trait would cause him to be the butt of jokes and jibes by his classmates and acquaintances. However, he paid little or no attention to them, because his mind was always set firmly on the love, the passion of his life – electronics. Upstairs, in his small bedroom, Box would work for hours on end with his soldering iron, long nose pliers and tweezers, creating, crafting bringing his new ideas to life. It was a lonely existence, but he loved it.
I have already told you how Mr and Mrs Privet had been quite normal only a few weeks earlier. In all truthfulness, the Privet’s had been one of the happiest families in their entire estate of mock Elizabethan detached houses. But
now they were mad, living in fear for their lives, the happy and contented existence they had so enjoyed, in tatters, a shambles, a mere shadow of what it had once been.
You see, the Privet’s had been hiding a secret, a big secret. And while it had been contained and suppressed, as they felt is should still be, they had been enjoying that happy and contented life, but from the moment, the very instant this secret, this terrible secret had escaped from its place of incarceration, a private boarding school going by the name of Hagswords, their happy and carefree life had come to an abrupt end.
This secret, this big dark secret was in reality a young girl, an orphan, the Privet’s only niece, going by the of Harry Rotter. She had actually been baptised Harriet, but from an early age had insisted that everyone call her Harry.
Let me tell you about Harriet – Harry... She was the boldest, cruellest, nastiest child you could ever be unfortunate enough to meet. To look as her, with her flowing locks of golden hair and a face that appeared so innocent, so angelic, one might easily be fooled into believing that butter could last forever in her mouth without melting. But she wasn’t an angel, no, the unfortunate truth, the terrible truth was she was an out and out scoundrel, a bully who had no respect for anyone but herself. Bullies can and so very often do make the lives of those living around them as miserable as hell – Harry proved to be no exception to this rule.
While Harriet – Harry – had been safely ensconced in her school everything had been just fine, and the Privet’s had been able to forgot about their troublesome niece, but from the moment she broke out, escaped from that high security ‘special’ boarding school, and found her way to the home of her only living relations, the Privets, their lives changed forever.
“Excuse me, please,” said Harry, ever so mannerly when Mrs Privet opened the front door, “I am your only niece. Will you please put me up for a few days?”
“Its young Harriet, isn’t it?” said Mrs Privet, patting her nervously upon the head. “Are you on a school break?”
Ignoring the question while resisting the urge to kick the condescending woman in the shins, Harry smiled, and said, “I prefer to be called Harry, if it all right with you?”
“Yes, yes, that’s fine,” said Mrs Privet as she ushered Harry through the doorway, looking up and down the road, to see if anyone had been following her. The road, however, was deserted. “Please go into the front room,” said Mrs Privet. The cat made a mad dash past Harry, through the open doorway.
Harry entered the room. It reminded her of Hagswords – far too much stained glass and wood panelling for her liking. “Sit down, sit down, Harry, and make yourself comfortable,” said Mrs Privet. “I will go fetch you some lemonade, you must be so thirsty after your travelling. Then I will go tell your uncle the good news.”
Leaving Harry alone in the room, Mrs Privet returned to the hallway where she opened the small door under the stairs that led down to the cellar, a den of sorts. Calling her husband, she said, “Dear…. we have a visitor…”
“Who is it?” a voice called up from below.
“It’s your niece.”
BANG. There was a sound like a baldhead striking a beam in the low slung ceiling, and then there was silence.
“Did you hear me, darling?”
Mumbles from below.
“Darling?”
Mr Privet began speaking, and in a hushed voice, he asked, “Are you sure it’s our niece – THAT niece?”
“Yes, dear, it’s young Harriet – I mean Harry, Harry Rotter.”
“Harriet or Harry – you should know what sex they are.”
“He, she’s a girl, she just likes the name Harry – shortened, you know.”
“I don’t know if I know anything anymore,” Mr Privet grumbled as he made his way up the narrow staircase, “having to deal with your ‘unusual’ relations. Puffing and panting, Mr Privet emerged from the cellar. “Where is she, then?” he barked, looking up and down the hallway.
“I put her in the front room.”
“Our best china’s in there!” he hollered, storming down the hallway and then bursting into the room like an elephant was chasing after him. Inside, he found Harry carefully inspecting a piece of their hand-painted fine bone china.
“That’s an heirloom – but it’s not worth anything,” he muttered, eying Harry’s canvas shoulder bag with suspicion, while also trying, but unsuccessfully, to close the battered door.
“Not worth anything?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, not a penny…”
“Can I have it, then, as a keepsake?”
Almost choking on his words, Mr Privet fumbled to find others, words that might save his prized china.
“Mr Privet?”
“I... we...we can’t give it away… we promised your Granny, on her death bed, that we would always treasure it…”
Studying his face, particularly the sweat beading upon it, Harry searched for signs of deceit. “Okay,” she said, “it was just a thought.” Then scanning the room, she added, “There must be loads of things amongst all this rubbish that you don’t want.”
“No, no, everything’s spoken for,” Mr Privet squeaked in reply. Then changing the subject from their prized possessions, he asked Harry the reason for her visit.
“Oh, I have already told your wife,” she said, “I will be staying with you for a few days…”
This time Mr Privet almost choked on Harry’s words.
Mrs Privet, carrying a tray with a tall glass of lemonade upon it, entered the room, “Everything all right?” she asked, smiling innocently at them.
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
Zoomies is the word used to describe that uncontrollable energy dogs get when they run crazy fast with a wild look in their eyes.
It's actually scary when Joe gets the zoomies in the house but we can recognize it instantly and he's trained to go out to the yard...beginning with a 10 foot leap off the deck without using the steps!
I got the zoomies the other day and was able to get out for a bit in November. I knew it was my last ride of the year on both motorbikes.
Taken with smc pentax 50mm, probably wide open.
Not a dead dandelion, but I feel like you still could. Wishes shouldn't be wasted on things you can fight for. If you physically have the ability to obtain something, to change your position, to be a better happier person, it's up to you to take the actions needed to get what you want. Don't wish away your responsibility, your reward will be appreciated so much more if you had to fight for it. Save the wishes for things outside your control, for things you want more than anything but can't get regardless of your actions. It might do absolutely nothing, but at least you tried, even if it was superficial, it was the best you could do.
unedited-This is a Lockheed Company promotional photograph-On July 11, 1957, Lockheed engineering test pilot William C. “Bill” Park, Jr. was flying the first XF-104 as chase for F-104A flight tests when the prototype developed uncontrollable tail flutter. Pilot Bill Park was forced to eject when the entire tail group was ripped from the airplane.
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
Flames and smoke uncontrollably surged towards onlooking revellers at the Waterloo display in the infamous bonfire night at Lewes, Sussex. Hundreds evacuated and several people were treated at the scene with oxygen masks.
(she did that alot!)
suzy was my brilliant florist. you can contact her at suzyhairdo@yahoo.com for nashville wedding flowers!
my dress was watters and watters 9042b in ivory.
all photos by stephanie at la photographie. www.laphotographienashville.com. she was amazing! these are low-res copies--please contact me or stephanie about ordering prints.
To me Bamboo can often mean a straggly and uncontrollable plant yet its shadow is often rather elegant.
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
From the archives of KDHX.org, a collection of photos featuring KDHX volunteer hosts and deejays by our volunteer photographers.
Photo by Roy Kasten.
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
The Youth Sangha came back better than ever! Nine bhaktis, eight days, lots of kirtan, a group art project and some uncontrollable laughter made up this year's Summer Sangha. Take a look at some of the highlights below!
bhaktimarga.org
Every time I go on a diet, I have uncontrollable cravings for the things I won't be eating. So this time, my diet requires that I eat sugars, starches, and fats. That way, when I cheat on my diet, I will start eating healthier.
24 OCT 12
1. Why is Photography important to you?
It is important to me because it tells the story of our universe, of my world, my friends, my family, my life. It tells others what I see even if sometimes I don't have the words to express it.
2. Who or what influenced you to become a photographer?
I can't really say it was a specific person, because I got in to photography on my own. My family has no real interest above just doing standard family and vacation style snap shots. My friends though were the catalyst to this little adventure because they were the ones that surprised me one Christmas with my first ever digital camera. From there, the rest, is you know, cliche.
3. Do you believe in the expression “A picture is worth 1,000 words”?
I think this question is like asking a model if she believes in dieting and stilettos. Of course! I can no longer count how many times I have seen a picture and my very breath has caught in my throat. It's an experience that can't be explained away in a couple of paragraphs. It's the way I imagine a first time parent sees their child being born. It's overwhelming, it tugs at some deep rooted strings inside you, when you see an image that is beyond the verbal.
4. Do you have a favorite photograph?
These are often difficult to answer because I think everyone has a lot of favorites, but I have a favorite that I didn't take. Due to world chaos, I don't have many baby pictures. I can count on one hand how many are actually in existence, so each is extremely precious to me. There is this picture taken by my mother I believe of my brother and I lying on the bed. He is a dusty 3 year old giggling uncontrollably at what I don't know, and I am a one year old next to him with this look on my face that I swear says, "I just farted." I like to think that's why he's laughing. I love that photo and it remains in my office. When hurricane Katrina, at the time, was baring down on us, and I had to flee, I made sure that photo was in my suitcase. As far as photos I've taken, I like a lot of them, sorry I can't quite nail one down as the 'it' one, but usually they involve a moment of stillness and concentration on the subject frozen in time with not a lot of fuss in the image.
5. Do you think that society would be different if photography was never invented?
Would society be different without the internet and cell phones. Photography has changed our lives, the way we live, think, see, exist. I often think of WWII and the first images of the absolute horror of seeing piles and piles of dead bodies frozen in the snow fuzed together in the concentration camps. Images like those, that shook people's consciousness and made them think about what is right and wrong in the world. Images of black men and women's backs with lash marks from being whipped half to death during slavery. Hiroshima, and what we, as American's signed off on. Photography isn't just about capturing a Happy Christmas on film, it can go beyond to the heart of the human condition.
6. Do you think that a person must possess talent to capture emotion and expression in a picture?
I would like to think that oh, we photographers are so skilled and brilliant that we are the true brandishes of such skill, but there is a photography exhibit held in a museum each year. The photographers are all elementary students who are given little inexpensive throw away cameras and told to capture their life and what's important to them. Sometimes you'll see an image and forget that a)this was a throwaway camera, and b) this was taken by a six year old. The camera is a tool. It is an extension of the person who uses it. Their emotions, their lives, all of that bleeds on the film whether they have a degree in Photography or not.
7. Does the price of a camera matter in ways that it affects the quality of the picture?
I would say only in regards to probably shooting night photography. Point and shoots are so advanced these days that one can churn out a pretty decent pic. Can it rival that of a professional 1,000$+ camera...well, let's just say, if I had to bet on the thousand dollar camera shot, I wouldn't bet my life savings!
8. Do you have a special style in your photographs that can single you out like strokes in a painting?
I think there is this emphasis in photography and on photographers on needing to have a specific style. Perhaps professionally, I can see this as being a thing one needs in their arsenal to identify them to clients, but in my personal works, I am a dabbler. One does not only read books about chairs, one reads for the knowledge of the world. I don't see how I can find that same attribute if I only ever shot say black and white or did PS works.
9. Was photography just considered as a hobby to you in the past?
My first real experience with a camera was a trip I took in the 4th or 5th grade with girl scouts. My parents gave me spending money for the trip, and I ended up spending almost half of it on disposable cameras alone. I think they fully expected me to come back from the trip with souvenirs, but I came back with over 15 disposable cameras in my arms. I remember wanting to capture every moment of the trip and from the rolls of film, you can almost see the entire trip! It wasn't my first trip away from home, but I think that was the first time I was aware of it.
10. What makes a good photographer in your opinion?
A good photographer is one that can understand a subject in some way. You talk to wild life photographers and they will tell you they have learned to be extremely patient and to anticipate an animals moves and know when to be ready. You talk to a portraitist, and they will tell you, they have almost a deep psychological understanding of how people work, their fears, their insecurities, how to make them laugh or be stoic in order to get a photo. I think you have to know something beyond the pure technical aspects of photography to truly be successful.
11. What do you enjoy most photographing?
There is a path that runs from end to end in the city. It follows the bayou line, runs through the freeway system, and through residential neighborhoods. I am obsessed with it. I think to others, it wouldn't be that exciting, but for me, the path is where I have learned a lot of things about photography. It is where I have learned to open my eyes and see the things that other people wouldn't even give a second thought to. Here I have seen with my own lens, the seasons change, part of the ugly truth about my city, and learned to anticipate.
12. In your opinion, what makes photography an art?
Photography expresses something about a subject that would be forgotten or missed in time. It captures the beauty, the horror, the smile, the frown, the bear, the whatever and relays a message to the viewer--it allows them to see a moment and interpret a feeling, and an emotion on their own terms.
13. Do you believe that film photography will in the end be totally replaced by digital photography?
There are still people who use the printing press, or the rotrary phone, or who drive cars from the early 20th century. As hard has the push has been for digital to take over, there will always be those that have a passion for it, who understand it, who grew up with it, who have a desire to teach others about it and to preserve it, so digital may be top dog in the mainstream, but film will always be there, if only in secret.
14. Do you prefer using film cameras over digital?
I wish I had some kind of love affair with film, but I'm going to be very honest and say I find it to be tedious. For me, I like it as much as I like the idea of being forced to hand wash all of my clothes each week. Sure it can be done, but digital is my friend and I like it.
15. What motivates you to do what you do?
Desire! Pure desire. I have gotten up at 3 in the morning in order to photograph. I have stayed out in the pitch black, walked 4 hours in the pouring rain, baked in the hot hot sun, all because I have this unwavering desire to capture some moment, some thing out there in the universe which speaks to me louder then any words ever can.
16. If you had $3,000 right now to spend on new photography equipment, what would you buy?
More lenses. I say that without hestitation and of course another camera. For me its like the way others obsesses over I-products. I think about this stuff and what I would buy all the time.
17. Would you say you're obsessed with photography?
Yes. Yeah, I would. Literally, in the last 3 years, there is not one day that I have not taken at least 10 photographs. Not one. It's all documented in the thousands of files stored on my computers. I don't text in my car, I photograph!
18. Is there one photo that you have seen that spoke to you.
I have two, neither all that recent, but the Afghan Girl on the cover of 1985's National Geographic. I've seen that image so many times. Her eyes just stare out from under her head scarf and pierce some part of me. The other is Thich Quang Duc setting himself on fire in 1963. To sit there and light yourself on fire to protest something you believe so strongly in, and to see the images of him so calm literally burning to death and all these people just watching. It's surreal, but so real, very powerful.
19. In ten years what direction do you see photography going in?
Well cameras are a technology and each year, there are those that will try to improve "the eye" until it can capture far beyond perhaps our understanding of what color and light are.
20. What is the craziest thing you've ever done to take a photo?
Well, not really crazy, per se, but I lie ALL THE TIME when I want to get an image. I was busted one time for trespassing, and the owner of the building was pissed and pointing at the probably 20 signs indicating the area was only for those authorized to be there. Well, I profusely apologized, said I meant no harm, said I just loved the building, and I was a student working on a project, lies, and his building spoke to me, blah, blah, blah, long story, the guy ends up letting me into the building and gives me a grand tour and we end up exchanging cards. I've since been yelled at by police on numerous occasions, store personnel, angry individuals, you name it, but I turn on the "I'm totally innocent" smile, usually lie about being a student or working for some very obscure paper, and usually it works and people let their guard down.
Michael is the name I call my camera. I named it Michael in honor of my cousin, an avid photographer, who passed away in the early 90s.