Photography is Art

I was watching one of those reality shows one day (although I’m not really into reality shows).  It was about some up-and-coming artists.  One girl had her first art show.  As people looked at all of her art, they would make their comments, naturally.  One person talked pretty bad about photography, as if it is not an art because people just snap and shoot things.  She said it’s the easiest form of art and too easy.  I beg to differ.  I’ve seen the type of stress photographers can be under.  Yes, they are pointing and shooting something that already exists.  But that’s not the end of the story.  Depending on the subject, many photographers start working hours or days prior to the actual shoot. If they are working with models, that means working with multiple people to schedule dates, times, locations, discuss themes, concepts, styles and negotiate payment terms.  Among other possibilities, many times these people would include the model, a make-up artist, and a hair stylist.  At some point before the shoot, the artist also has to sketch out their plans for the shoot; how they want the make-up and hair, what type of clothes the model should wear, how should the light be, etc. etc..  After the shoot, the photographer has to go through every single photo (more than likely 100’s) to find the best shots. Then those shots have to be edited which can be a time-consuming process.  Finally they have to wrap everything up by putting these photos in the desired form and getting them to the client.  This is not an exact science I’m describing.  I figure there are many other strategies and types of subjects that photographers use.  My point is that it is not just as simple as “point and shoot”.  That’s what us regular folks do with our little digital cameras that can fit in our pockets or purses.

I am not a photographer (that’s probably obvious).  These are just the things I have personally witnessed. I’m sure there are many other tasks that take place of which I am not even aware.

I guess that’s my rant for the day. On a side note, my current favorite photographer is Urban Jungle Photography.  I really like the pics (hope my photographer friends don’t find out. :-0 ).  Here is the Facebook page.

Wild.

It’s funny how you randomly write or say something and never know how it may touch or inspire someone.  I read this blog and it inspired me in a few ways.  First of all, I now know I’m not asking too much for my significant other to support me even when I’m acting emotional, strange, or out of the ordinary…b/c he knows it’s just something I’m going through at that particular time that’s making me that way.  Apparently, those guys do exist.  I was recently in a relationship that went bad real quick and I found myself wondering if I was asking too much of my partner.  I recently experienced a personal tragedy and all I really wanted was some emotional comfort and he was not able to provide that.  This sparked even more negative emotion in me and it sort of pushed me over the edge.  My emotions became more than I could bear and I lost control of them, spewing out everything I felt to this person..which of course he could not understand because what I did not realize at the time, is that he lacks the sensitivity one needs when going through a tough time.  (Perhaps it’s empathy he lacks, I haven’t quite figured it out yet.)  He told me stories of argument he’s had and I was in awe at how harsh he could be.  It should have clicked then but of course, I so badly wanted some emotional support, I was putting up with all sorts of things that I would not put up with in my normal state of mind and I was ignoring all the signs that this relationship would only make me feel worse, not better.  I started wondering if I was asking too much to get some emotional support.  I honestly believe I would not have become over emotional if I had gotten that support.  A hug, a few kind words, being held, anything of that sort would have made the difference, but instead, I was criticized for being so emotional.  The funny thing is, I was hesitant to get into this relationship because I knew I was not in a good place emotionally.  I stated this several times to him and he kept saying he would be a shoulder for me to cry on and he would deal with my emotions just as long as he could be with me.  I told him I would be crying and sad every day and he would potentially get tired of it.  Still he insisted he could deal with it.  I mentioned this conversation during my spewing of emotions and he had nothing to say to that.  I guess I forgot that some guys will say anything when they are in pursuit..and may not mean a word of it.

But that wasn’t what inspired me.  I suppose I just happen to like the way this person blogs, even though it’s just random topics.  I’ve been having trouble getting inspired to write anything lately, mostly because of my recent traumatic experience. Depression can cloud your mind so much. Reading the way this person described how a book affected her outlook on her own life experiences sort of had me think about my own.  Also, reading the passage included in the blog from the book Wild was inspiring because the scene was described so passionately that I wanted to be there in that scene.  I remember that I used to write this way, maybe not quite to the level of this writer, but I remember being able to describe  things with a passion, watching the scene play out in my mind as I wrote about it, feeling what my subject was feeling.  I got an inkling (if that’s a word) of that feeling again and it made me think that maybe there is hope for me to get inspired to write again….to find that creativity within me again.

Already I’ve written all these words here when I started off thinking I didn’t know what to say. Of course, I know it’s easy to write a lot of words when you’re complaining about something or someone, but still!

Hopefully I can continue to find blogs that will inspire me and help me get my creative mind back.

whiny baby

Recently, just before my husband went off on his April wilderness trek, I found myself at a local Target, trolling for a cheap bottle of white wine, like any self-respecting adult woman who is always right would after arguing with her husband over the merits of completing graduate school.  I was trying to convince him (and really, myself) that staying on and finishing was worth it, despite the fact that I have hated every moment of being in the program and it has made me a complete terror to be around.  I am a primo student and was thrilled to pieces to go back to school, and yet I have been unhappy every single second of this experience.  It has been so bad.  I was crying to my husband about hemorrhaging money every quarter to take phantom classes just to stay enrolled until my thesis project was green-lit, and…

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Friends vs. Aquaintances

How good of a friend does someone have to be for you to care if they are mad at you?  Lately I have been bumping heads with someone and did what I usually do which is try to talk it out or decide to get over it and talk to that person again…perhaps they think they won but I’m really just being the bigger person because friendship is important to me and I don’t like losing friends.   The thing is, this person isn’t the easiest person to get along with and instead of telling you they have a problem, they just choose to ignore you and never tell you why.  So after while, I got tired of getting ignored every other day and not having a clue what the deal was.  It came to me though, that this person is hardly a friend.  I tried to get to know them but that’s a two-sided game and if they stay shut off then there is not much I can do about that.  So if they aren’t really a friend then they must be an acquaintance right?  So maybe they are slightly more than an acquaintance because we have actually hung out a few times, but I had to evaluate whether or not the relationship was really worth trying to save.  I know that if I got into it with a close friend…or even an average friend…I was attempt to smooth things out with them.  If I got into it with an acquaintance or someone I barely know, I may not care so much.  If they never talk to me again ti doesn’t matter, they apparently weren’t worth the trouble anyways..their loss right?  So why was I trying so hard to befriend this person despite the clear disrespect they had for our so-called friendship.  I realized that I really don’t care that much if they are mad at me because they really are not much of a friend.  So I guess whatever status they are to me, it is not important enough for me to continue being the “bigger” person and still attempt to talk to them or check on them, help them out or be nice.  Of course, if they were in a jam I would help them out.  But other than that, I just don’t care what they do…it’s not worth the effort.

Tabitha Takes Over

I was flipping though channels and came across a show called “Tabitha Takes Over”.  I only stopped because the lady named Tabitha looked familiar to me.  I decided to watch the show and found it quite interesting.  She was helping a Lady who owns a bar improve her business. There are several stories amongst the group that effect their performances.  Most of the group is family.  The original owners are a wife and husband.  Unfortunately, the husband has passed and now their sons are trying to step up and run the business.  One is 23 and was acting exactly a 23-year-old would act if they were managing a bar.  He drank all day, gave free drinks to all of his friends, first thing he would do any morning was drink a beer.  The other brother was much more responsible but showed little interest in running the bar.

The Mother sat down with Tabitha to discuss the issues.  Tabitha took control of the business for a week to help.  She was very direct  with everyone in this family, including the mother, and especially the 23-year-old.  She told him he was acting like a 5-year-old.  She was really getting into him….cussing at him and everything.  Tabitha had the two brothers do some physical work…pack a truck with cases of water.  Of course the 23-year-old was hung over and had an attitude so she got into him again.  The other brother appreciated the little bit of hard work they were forced to do because both his parents worked in a factory and it gave him an opportunity to understand what hard work really is.  It was clear that he was the more mature and responsible brother so by the end of the week, Tabitha recommended that he manage the bar instead of the 23-year-old.  He accepted the opportunity to step up and help his Father’s business succeed again.  He admitted that the reason he wasn’t interested in working in the bar much before was because of his brother.  He said they would butt heads and he did not want to be fighting with family.  Nevertheless, he was clearly the better man for the job.   Tabitha also got a professional bartender who worked for TABC to teach them how to make drinks since none of them had a clue how to make most common drinks.  Tabitha also got the place made over, updating the furniture and such.

So after a week of Tabitha running the show, she handed the keys back over to the owner.  The owner (Mother) asked the older brother to manage the business.  Six weeks later Tabitha checked on them to see how things were going.  They all said business was improving.  The interesting thing was that the 23-year-old actually started to step up and be responsible.  He stopped drinking and started taking the business much more seriously.  The other brother who was asked to manage apparently started to back down a little bit because he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted.  He had mentioned school earlier in the show so perhaps that was a deterrent.  Of course Tabitha was blown away by all the positive feedback about the 23-year-old.  Even the Mother said he was shaping up and being more responsible.  Perhaps after being removed from the manager position made him realize he couldn’t just play around…it was a real business…his Father’s business.  After all, he was the son most interested in running the place anyways, not the other brother.

I wonder if they will give another update later on in the year.  Who knows, I probably won’t see it because I very rarely watch Bravo, but maybe I will be looking for that show now.