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Another glorious day of weather that changes by the hour in downtown Asheville. One minute I look out my window to the sun shinging through the clouds, the next moment there is thunder and rain. At least it keeps it interesting.
I have been working on a project for a friend who is working with the Red Cross Asheville, helping them with their Under the Silver Moon Gala on Mrach 21st, 2009. In so doing, I bought some roses to use in a shoot I am doing for them. Stepping away from the table, I looked over at the roses I had left in a cup by the window and thought they looked beautiful against the rain on the glass and the neutral background. I hope you like it too.
Enjoy the weather, whatever it may be.
Roses and Rain
Just a quick post with some new images to keep up with my 365 project.
So, today I volunteered at the Manna Food Bank here in Asheville. There were a wealth of volunteers both young and old and we had a great time sorting all the food that they have on hand into boxes for their affiliates to shop from. Manna is an amazing operation, giving away over 6 millions TONS of food last year. That's a lot of food. The problem is, the need is increasing while their food supply is decreasing. I took a tour and learned about how the efficiency of our food delivery system in the US is actually hurting food banks because manufacturers are no longer over producing, they are producing on demand. Manna used to get a lot of their food from large food manufacturers and now they are not, so their stocks are lower this year than last. What was great to hear is that in Western North Carolina, the personal donations are the highest they have ever been. In fact other food banks have been checking in with Manna to find out how they have gotten so many homes to donate food. I believe it is because the people who live in Asheville and Buncombe county truly believe in helping each other out!
So tomorrow is the big day! I am excited to watch Obama come into office and I will be at the Orange Peel tomorrow night at 7pm to re-watch the inauguration and to celebrate with Josh Phillips Folk festival. If you are not going to one of the 100 parties in town, drop by the Peel for some great music.
The Pop Asheville festival was a big hit. I had a blast all weekend long and when I sort and tweak images from that adventure I will let you know.
Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow...
Hope is alive.
"Dirty Red"
From Pop Asheville -
For the Love of Dog
Suzie - doing what she does best...
I usually write "Hello" but I don't really think that is necessary anymore... if there is anyone out there, we're past the niceties... aren't we?
Today, for the first time in my life, I woke up and meditated. I have wanting to incorporate a meditation practice into my life for some time and with it being a New Year and all, I thought this would be a good time to start.
Now, let's get something straight. I didn't sit there in the lotus position humming "Om" until I levitated off the ground. I didn't hum or chant or any such thing. I have kept myself away from meditating for so long because I thought that's what meditation was. Sit still for hours, mind blank, back straight, chanting or humming, butterflies landing on my shoulder, floating six inches off the ground. Meditation doesn't have to be all that. I mean, that's cool if you can levitate, more power to you, if little winged creatures land on your shoulder, hey... far out... good for you. But it's not that for me and its mostly due to a book I read that helped me get my head around meditation called "Hurry up and Meditate!" by David Michie.
Michie helped me realize that the whole "blank mind" ideal some people (me) have or had around meditation is not all it is about. In fact he makes a strong case that blank mind is NOT what it is about, but I won't go in to that here. What Michie does well, is to break down all of the physical benefits of meditation, backed by scientific study, that people who meditate have known for ever. One is happier, less stressed, lower blood pressure, higher serotonin... all that good stuff. Then he provides step by step easy instructions to follow on how to get started.
So this morning, I started. I set an alarm for 10 minutes, got a pillow, sat down, closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. I counted my breaths as they passed through my nose. Stuff came up... what time is it? How long have I been here? Is there enough money in the bank? What do I have to do today? Each time something came up, and broke my counting, I started counting again. Before I knew it, the alarm had gone off and I was done. I must admit, it was really wonderful to sit still for 10 minutes. Each time a thought arose, it had less traction than the last one until I could sense something coming and concentrated on my breathing and it went away.
Now, those of you who know me well, if you are still reading, may think, Jon's lost it, he's gone to the deep end. Jon doesn't sit still... he talks to himself so he'll have something to do. And that's the point. I don't want the constant concern of the monkey chatter of my brain anymore. I have too much going on to let all the little annoying thoughts that have occupied my precious brain space for so long, hold down that realty anymore. I want my brain back.
I believe that Meditation is the way for me to make that happen.
So, tomorrow I will sit again. I have no expectations of what it looks like, so I won't judge myself, I'll just sit and count my breaths and see how I feel when I am done. I gotta admit, today was a pretty good day.... and I have only just begun.
Tonight I am off to Pop Asheville, a super cool independent music festival / weekend multi-venue thing. It's cheap, great music at different bars... how can I miss out? I am excited to see some good music, take some pictures, have a couple of beers and hang with some friends. And who knows... maybe a butterfly will land on my shoulder.
Enjoy the image, I shot it yesterday in my studio. The sun light was bouncing off a window in the building across the street, coming in my studio window and gently laying across my floor. I couldn't resist. That's double diffused, reflected, super soft morning light... for those of you who aren't photographer's... That's some damn fine light.
As I continue on with my 365 project, I find myself searching for new ways to process my images to make them more visually appealing. This comes from both a desire have my images stand out and the fact that some days I take some pretty boring pictures.
There have been a couple of days already that I have remembered to shoot something at the close of day, almost missing my self imposed deadline of an image a day. I haven't fully missed one yet... but I have come close. The few times that this has happened, I have found that I have not felt good about the image OOC (out of camera) and have felt a need to spend more time in post production enhancing the image. This is both good and bad. It is good because I am learning new ways to process my images and bad because it takes more time to get the image ready for viewing... and time is something I could use more of.
That being what it is, I like the way this image came out a lot. I spent some time in Photoshop working it over and like the texture quite a bit. I feel that the colors, texture and edge burning really brought the image to the place that I saw it in m mind's eye and that is what I am after.
Early morning light through the trees off my deck.
Greetings All,
Friday night I went midnight bowling with a bunch of friends here in town. The lanes are covered in neon colors and black lights, pitchers of beer were 6 bucks and we had a blast!
During my experience I had some Zen-full moments... I fully anticipated on reporting on them here, but, alas, they are gone. Zen can be funny that way sometimes... especially when it is found at the bottom of a 6 dollar pitcher.
Bowling does remind me that I can get injured doing the most mundane of tasks...
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Lights
Rollin' Low
Yesterday, I was at my local organic grocery store to get my morning muffin on my way to the studio. As I am dedicated to my new project of producing an image everyday for a year, I had my point and shoot camera with me and was looking around the store for an interesting image. My eye was drwan to the vibrant colors and perfect shapes of the peppers in the produce section. I liked the symetry of the peppers and the visual aesthetic was enhanced by their bright yellows, deep reds, earthy greens and contrasted by an almost unnatural orange. In addition to the colors, they were so lovingly organized on the shelf with all of their tops pointing out, laying on top of one another so that they won't roll away I knew someone had taken their time in setting them up so that they looked their delicious best.
As I took out the camera to get my shot, I was moving around to get myself out of the reflection of the mirror that the peppers sit in front of, giving them the appearance of almost going on forever, when I noticed that the sign said:
"Organic Yellow Bell Pepper $4.99 lb. Israel"
I thought: "Wow! That's expensive!", then it hit me, these very peppers, here in Asheville, that I was so lovingly examining to be part of my 2009 project, had come all the way from Israel to be placed with care on the shelf in front of the mirror and lighted to perfection with high pressure sodium and fluorescent bulbs and surely washed with reverse osmosis water. And I thought... I'm an American. If I had forgotten how spoiled I was, here was my reminder. January 7, fresh peppers from a place so far away, I dread to think how long these little peppers had been on a plane or boat to get here. Stacked neatly for my choosing. Dressed to the nines. All of this was mine for the taking, for a mere $4.99 / lb.
It was then I started to think about what shopping in the place where these very peppers came from must be like. I wondered... do they have out of season fruits and veggies year round? Are their fruits and veggies treated to such care as to be washed with reverse osmosis water? Are they stacked neatly and perfectly lighted with a wondrous blend of high pressure sodium and fluorescent lighting devices? Can people there stop in to a comfortably heated, well lighted store on their way to work to get a cup of Joe and foods from thousands of miles away and stroll leisurely over to another aisle where there is fresh cooked food sitting patiently waiting for people to eat it? I don't know. Maybe they can. Certainly in some sections of that country they can right?
From that point forward I was gently disgusted at myself and the pleasures I have available for the taking as an American. What would I do if this store wasn't here? I don't know the first thing about growing an organic perfectly colored pepper. I know it has something to do with dirt, seeds, water and the sun. That's about where my education ends. As I continued around the store I was bombarded with all of the lavish cheeses, delicacies, meats, fishes, wines, breads, milks (both from animals and vegetables), cereals, beauty supplies, nick-nacks, chocolates (my favorite), oils, soaps, and things I know not what they are or for what purpose they serve, and I thought... wow, I am one lucky devil.
I am sure all of these items come at a cost. That cost may be monetary at the very least. I am sure there are more costs involved in getting produce from Israel to Asheville, some of which I am sure would make my stomach turn over, brain bubble and blood boil. I want to know, and in the same moment, I think and feel that ignorance is truly blissful.
These are my observations from yesterday. I am a spoiled rotten, lazy, highest expectation having, throw it away if it don't look right, cold beer wanting, no line checkout, 200 types of cheese exploring, consumer of the American way. I am not going to be a farmer tomorrow. Nor the next day. I feel good having had this epiphany and I know I do my part to make this a better place. I recycle, buy organic, help my community, buy local (unless I need peppers damn it), carpool, walk places and confront my shadows. And I am an American.
I expected to learn something from my project... if you would have asked, this would not have been one of the lessons I would have guessed I would come across... but that's why I am here, now.
America on the shelves.
Greetings 2009!
As it is a brand spanking New Year, I am incorporating new projects into my life, both personally and photographically.
Photographically speaking, I often find myself so busy with the work that I have that I forget to make time to go out and shoot for the fun of it. Well, since I have recently purchased a Canon G10 I now have a great small manual camera that has lots of resolution, a great optically stabilized zoom and fits in my pocket. Too often in the past I did not bring my Pro Slr (that's Single Lens Reflex for those who want to know) the Canon EOS ID Mark III out with me when I went to lunch, or to pay my taxes, or to walk around with friends due to it's size and weight. Therefore, like the proverbial cobbler's child, I didn't have pictures of my day to day adventures, nor was I shooting candids for the fun of it. Well that way of life is so 2008, and I'm over it.
Welcome the 365 Project!
I plan to take a picture a day for a year. This means that I will, no matter what, take at least one picture each day for a whole year. I feel confident that this will remind me why I love photography so much, hone my skills and produce some wonderful images of the world I live in. The great thing about it is, you get to be part of it as well! I plan to post most of the images here (notice I said "most" and not "all") and am encouraging all of you to give me feedback on the images. Drop me a comment, send me an email, throw up an emoticon, link me, however you feel inclined to participate, all of it is welcome.
So, in the spirit of new beginnings, I am posting 3 of the 6 images I have snapped this year so far, below. I look forward to your feedback!
Happy 2009 everyone!
January 04, 2009
Buddha with Light and Shadow
January 05, 2009
Golden Staircase (coming back from paying my biz taxes)
January 06, 2009
View from Baird Mountain (where I live)
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