Each July, and when saying that I mean the entire month, instead of taking physical inventory of property, I take personal inventory. This involves mental inventory, financial inventory, religious inventory, professional inventory, marketing strategies inventory, health inventory. This year a new inventory was added to the annual check-up. Days left inventory. The reason why that was added is because now, there seems to be a more sense of urgency to accomplish a couple of things than ever before. But, to keep better tabs on my progress, having them in the annual personal inventory matters very much. Having said that, it was the main reason why there were only two post for the entire month of July.
Out of this years inventory came a more refined focus of photography. It does take a creative mind to shoot urban photography, but not in the creative sense that there are Oohs and Aah from the graphic arts context, but a more subtle,"that's nice, I like that" kind of response. Actually, a more accurate meaning of perspective in the first place is what I mean. A true point of view without all the white noise. A focus more on the heart of the image than on the image itself. When you go to a museum you look at a painting for several minutes, even several hours, for some. The focus isn't always on the subject matter but rather the matter of the subject.
For example: I have a copy of a Claude Monet painting that I look at almost daily and sometimes several times the morning before I go out on a shoot. The Monet is Regates A Argenteuil. Since I am a sailboat freak anyway, especially the type that just ran the Chicago Yacht Club's 107th Race to Mackinac 2015. For those that might be unfamiliar, it is not only the longest freshwater race in the world at 289.4 nautical miles,but the oldest fresh water race. And for those that don't have sea legs, well, that is a mere 333 miles of open water from 300 W Belmont for 300 plus boats to have-at-it from Chicago to the Straights of Mackinac.
In the Monet, the sails, the choppy water, the Frenchman setting high on a stool above his lady in the little skiff, the sky of uncertainty, the roof tops along the shoreline make you think. Monet painted the image in 1867. Boating had become fashionable c.1830. To me, the thinking point is of the high fashion of the day. In a little skiff on rough choppy waters with threatening sky and boats at full sail so close to shoreline, it tells me that high fashion fads really don't mean much in life when life is tallied up, but at the moment, it may seem that they mean everything. And I keep that in mind as I go out the door. In short, when not one, not two, not even three, but four people tried to ruin a successful career that was rising shy of it peak, and in the mist, a great tragedy strikes, you learn how to be the most humble person on the planet. When I look at that painting and then go out into this mad world of today, and its even moreso today than forty years ago, my humbleness frames the images that I shoot. It molds me as to what is important in life and what foolish beliefs I had been indoctrinated into believing that in a career climb team work was for the good of the company and all the idiot ideals that went with that foolish and deceptive falsehood, especially that famous office saying,"take one for the team".
So, July being that PIM that it is, I really don't get much done beyond the inventory itself. It works out usually because the heat here in Texas during July and August is the worst time of the year. And, especially if you like to be in- side of the suns angle of 10 to 2. Here, its about 10 until it sets!
Out of this years inventory came a more refined focus of photography. It does take a creative mind to shoot urban photography, but not in the creative sense that there are Oohs and Aah from the graphic arts context, but a more subtle,"that's nice, I like that" kind of response. Actually, a more accurate meaning of perspective in the first place is what I mean. A true point of view without all the white noise. A focus more on the heart of the image than on the image itself. When you go to a museum you look at a painting for several minutes, even several hours, for some. The focus isn't always on the subject matter but rather the matter of the subject.
For example: I have a copy of a Claude Monet painting that I look at almost daily and sometimes several times the morning before I go out on a shoot. The Monet is Regates A Argenteuil. Since I am a sailboat freak anyway, especially the type that just ran the Chicago Yacht Club's 107th Race to Mackinac 2015. For those that might be unfamiliar, it is not only the longest freshwater race in the world at 289.4 nautical miles,but the oldest fresh water race. And for those that don't have sea legs, well, that is a mere 333 miles of open water from 300 W Belmont for 300 plus boats to have-at-it from Chicago to the Straights of Mackinac.
In the Monet, the sails, the choppy water, the Frenchman setting high on a stool above his lady in the little skiff, the sky of uncertainty, the roof tops along the shoreline make you think. Monet painted the image in 1867. Boating had become fashionable c.1830. To me, the thinking point is of the high fashion of the day. In a little skiff on rough choppy waters with threatening sky and boats at full sail so close to shoreline, it tells me that high fashion fads really don't mean much in life when life is tallied up, but at the moment, it may seem that they mean everything. And I keep that in mind as I go out the door. In short, when not one, not two, not even three, but four people tried to ruin a successful career that was rising shy of it peak, and in the mist, a great tragedy strikes, you learn how to be the most humble person on the planet. When I look at that painting and then go out into this mad world of today, and its even moreso today than forty years ago, my humbleness frames the images that I shoot. It molds me as to what is important in life and what foolish beliefs I had been indoctrinated into believing that in a career climb team work was for the good of the company and all the idiot ideals that went with that foolish and deceptive falsehood, especially that famous office saying,"take one for the team".
So, July being that PIM that it is, I really don't get much done beyond the inventory itself. It works out usually because the heat here in Texas during July and August is the worst time of the year. And, especially if you like to be in- side of the suns angle of 10 to 2. Here, its about 10 until it sets!
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| Notice that I left the comment open for you to think about this one. |
