The Artistic Supermoon

Bright lights, big city, little debate...

Have you seen those incredibly detailed photographs of Supermoon 2012 displayed all over the web by photographers who normally shoot street scenes, flowers, landscapes, buildings at odd angles and what have you? The ones that look like a perfect white or yellow orb suspended on a black background taken with an incredibly expensive lens? The ones that look like they belong in a textbook? They're marvelous photographs that are technically perfect but many of us find them mechanical and uninteresting...how many have you seen already? What about those that the Supermoon is perfectly juxtaposed right behind a bridge with a bicyclist crossing in just the right spot and it is a seemingly natural scene but is too good to be true? They are quite pretty, eye-catching, fascinating and some are inspirational but not very unique.

With all due respect to those photographers that have the knowledge and equipment to take such a clear shot of the moon I see those photographs as technical and scientific records. They are beautiful representations but not artistic to me personally or to many other viewers who these photos seeming to be the same picture over and over again. First before I wade into the raging debate that is the current vogue among digital DSLR "purist" photographers versus "post processors" let me state something. I admire those that have the technical skill and equipment to know exactly which lens to use for a certain type of light and what the aperture setting ought to be. It is a must if you are going to be a wedding photographer, a chronicler of news and social events, do portraiture, advertising, architecture and aerial landscape photography. It is the same as a cartographer must now know GIS to record things as close as possible to how they really are and there is also a beauty in that.

Photography can never replicate exactly what is naturally present but is able to recreate a very close reasonable facsimile. This is done by changing lens, using filters and adjusting settings which by very definition means that the photographer has already edited and processed the end product before it comes "straight out of camera." When anyone who takes pictures in this manner mocks those of us who do a lot of post processing and take a basically solid composition with good color (or lack of color), tone and lighting and significantly alter it by "post processing" editing I secretly mock back. That is due to that I think there is plenty of room for all kinds of photography and visual art.

Why? Because we are doing two completely different types of things and the highly technical photographer is creating one kind of photographic art and the others are creating visual art that is artwork not meant to resemble anything exactly as it appeared. To be snobbish and elitist about one set of technical skills or artistry over another newer set of technical skills that creates a different artistry is as if Van Dyck were to mock Van Gogh. To bring this post full circle I have been over the SOOC ("straight out of camera") or slightly modified editing versus the PP ("post processing") debate prior to it becoming hot and heavy. It's a non sequitur, a dead issue, a futile argument, pick your choice of words.

Having said all that I went out with my most humble little cameras, a Canon Powershot "point and shoot," a Sony hard drive Handycam that takes very good photographs and my Droid X 1 with its little collection of apps and took pictures of the Supermoon. A few days later than when it was at its peak but still impressive and its interesting what happened. I knew the Canon and Sony wouldn't take much of anything I could even work with but I did manage to get some interesting photos with my Droid X 1 and the Pro HDR app worthy of playing around with some post processing in Photoshop Elements 10. I'll let the viewer be the judge of how interesting the visual art that was created from those pictures are to them.

Ambiguity Dancing

Frantically color matching from sun to shadow...

There are people who hold the opinion of whoever is around them and reflect whatever they hear and see from others. Public office politicians are like this and people in all spheres of society who act politically and never commit to an opinion or an idea unless it suits the moment or purpose they're currently in. Think realtors, salespeople, outbound marketers, investment advisors...they do and say whatever is necessary for the moment. After the sale, the bonus is paid, the commission is collected and then the compliments, concern and cookies are no longer there. They've lowered themselves to puppets of fleeting momentary rewards with no real values or ethics cemented in their character.

Personally I believe it is admirable to be independent minded, a thinker who holds opinions and state them if the situation calls for it. It isn't always necessary to announce it at every opportunity depending on longitude and latitude and the company present may not be worthy of the expression. Discretion is the order of the day and simply because you are a thinking person with ideas and opinions doesn't mean they need expression at every turn. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount gave the golden advice; "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7.6)

Stormy Blue

Storm cells of Adam's Ale tinged with blush...

There is no rolling thunder
simply rustling of trees,
followed by a calm silence
prior to powerful cloudburst,
that drenches earth beneath to
soak it with much needed 
Adam's Ale.

Tree Canopy

Oasis from the desert sun...

In the desert the sun bears down sparing no one its relentless beam of parallel rays and now unforgiving as we quickly pass into our summer. Spring is a fleeting moment of mildly hot days with cool evenings and nights soon to transition into round the clock just plain hot. The heat of summer envelops us and when exposed directly it is a smothering blanket except underneath the canopy of trees becomes pleasant warmth for those of us who prefer high temperatures. The secret to living in the desert whether urban or rural is traveling between the shade of trees, stopping for respite and a moment of cool before moving on. They serve as mini-oasis on any journey outdoors but should be appreciated for more than a shady spot since they also serve as natural artistic beauty to be savored while pausing for respite.

Surrealistic Prelude

Mirage of summer in desert urban landscape...

On Spring's Doorstep

Waiting to bud and grow...

Slender young forest
Weathering a few young winters
Waits...
To spring forth new shoots
Fearing nothing unknown.

Age will bring mars and scars, experience
Strength to roots, trunks, branches, twigs
Waiting...
For storms and winds to pass
Fearing not the known.

High Wattage People

Who create negative low energy...

Some people are difficult to be around and we all have them somewhere in our lives whether they're family, friends, co-workers, a neighbor or the friend of a friend. It's not necessarily the needy people or the ones who go from one drama to another that are the hardest for me to take. It's the negative, high-strung, wire tight person who dissipates all the positive energy out of a room merely by their presence. They remind me of being just under low hanging high power lines that you can hear the singing of the static electricity that emanates from them. The swing of the wires, zinging in the air and hair standing on end is unnerving.

They are vampires of calm and emotion, positive thinking and good spirit who suck the atmosphere around them dry in a void. Worse, sometimes they can't be avoided and the best you can do is be prepared with healthy defenses mechanisms and placing an invisible shield of self protection around you. Somehow at times they manage to break the barrier and leave you exhausted. In my case I work with someone like that and most of the time I can roll my eyes and turn my back but there are days when she hits every nerve. I won't pretend that sometimes in those moments I want her to roll on the floor in twisted agony and writhe as if she was a snake run over by a truck. Usually my better nature regains control and I turn my attention to something else but occasionally she gets a tongue lashing that I rarely succumb to but people who know me are well aware of. It doesn't happen often and only strikes those that generally get on everyone else's nerves also. My co-workers I think secretly enjoy it and my manager knows that I won't apologize to her but that I do feel guilty about losing control and will apologize to him since it puts him in a difficult spot.

These people get the better of us I think mostly because it is human nature to be able to take only so much negative energy. Some people actually like being around this personality type for several reasons but usually to amplify their own anger and confusion. Those two inner fears, anger and confusion are what I believe drive these malignant spirited people and I still have difficulty understanding why they haven't figured themselves out yet and redirected their lives. Nonetheless they haven't and regretfully the rest of us somehow must tolerate it. As agitating as it can be to be around them the best way I have figured out to accept they exist is know that sooner or later they will implode on their own. The bottom line is I can do nothing about that and all any of us can do is the best we can to manage ourselves recognizing we may sometimes fail at it. Then we need to forgive ourselves for our own human nature and move on.

Back To Basics

Returning the emphasis where it originated...

This blog has been through several metamorphoses since I started in 2007 and the first few years posts aren't visible since they were correlated with my videos on YouTube and no longer relevant. The development to where it is today is logical to me although not easily perhaps to others. It has always been writing augmented with the visual for emphasis and explanation but above all whether it was telecommunications, history and economics, social networking, overcoming adversity and maintaining optimism, visual art...the underlying theme has been communication with others.

This year I've found myself increasingly enamored with using some freeware photo editing tools I discovered and spending more time on turning photographs into visual art and less time on writing. I don't regret it since I've discovered that I've revived a creative outlet I'd forgotten long ago I was good at. Although this has been a positive personal development I feel as if I'm losing connection with my writing and blogging skills. As I mentioned in yesterday's post I outgrew the freeware and am now learning Adobe Photoshop Elements and Lightroom 4. Eventually I'd like to grow into Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Creative Suite but it is going to take time.

Meanwhile I also want to focus again on writing the short missives I do as blog posts since the reaction to those has always been pretty positive. In that sense this blog will have come full circle once again and will be thoughts, ideas and commentary on what I'm thinking that very often a lot of people relate to in addition to displaying my developing skills on new editing platforms. My thinking is that many people had an affinity with that aspect of my work and are missing it as I now do. It seems to me it falls into the category of often when anyone is "writing out loud" somewhere out there someone else is mulling over the same thoughts. I miss that sense of affinity with others who are also constantly thinking.  Some posts still may be solely visual art, others with a renewed interest in poetic verse but mainly a blending of my writing and visual art. Who knows? I may go back to doing videos again since I certainly have enough road trip footage to communicate how I arrived where I am from where I've been.

Always Learning

Growth occurs in sporadic unexpected moments...

On producing mediocre work while learning new techniques.

The freeware editing programs I was using to create visual art were not really working for me anymore and had limitations and I felt as if I'd gone as far as I could with them. After thinking about what to do I decided to purchase Photoshop Elements 10 and Lightroom 4 for several reasons, mostly recommendations and fortunately I also had an opportunity to buy them at a good discount. Photoshop CS6 was also an option but more expensive and since I figured I needed to learn at least basic Photoshop I would go with the products I did.

I'm reminded of when I started learning to edit video with Sony Vegas Platinum and was frustrated with learning the mechanics while wanting to achieve some reasonably good results. It takes time to do both and when you're used to getting at least some decent quality work done it's hard to put out mediocre work. My theory has always been not to stop though and keep going since growth happens in sudden sporadic moments when you least expect it. Fortunately with video editing I went and visited a friend in California several times who in spite of both of our frustrations taught me some basics and got me past some fears. 

I'm operating on that experience currently since I learn a new tiny little trick every day with Photoshop Elements but the resulting artwork is not what I'd like it to be at all. These pieces are an example of knowing what I wanted to achieve, arrived somewhere around it but they are full of flaws that are enough to cause me not to be satisfied with them but even so here they are. For the moment I've stopped working with Lightroom 4 since it is not intuitive to me and I figure it is best to learn one thing at a time since I am learning on my own. I'm taking this philosophically since it is causing me to stretch myself and learn new things to ultimately achieve a higher level of skill and artistry. 

Deadwood

Remnant branches and twigs of felled tree...