I'm not going to predict that 2009 is going to be a great year or a bad year.  Last year around this time I declared that I thought 2008 would be great.  It turned out to be a pointless year in many ways.  In other ways it turned out to be a horrible year.  But nothing is all bad and all good.  I did start my new jobs in 2008, and I'm not celebrating my first year anniversary at both San Marino and Glendale.  I've decided not to dwell in the negative aspects of last year.  A new year is a time of renewal, and I'm taking that to the hilt.  I talked a lot about the negativity of 2008, but no more.  That's in the past.  I don't know if 2009 will be that great, but at least I know i won't let the weight of things bring me down like I let it in 2008.

Now on to the site updates.  Vista Drive gets a few new pictures to the Color section.  I have decided to go back and replace some pictures from both main sections with newer and better pictures.  So just look around and see some of the new pictures.  I don't have any new B&W pictures, but hopefully in the coming months I'll have more of those.  And of course I update the Vista Observer every day, so check that out.
 

Now that 2008 is over, and I'm no longer doing this project, I'm starting to actually miss it a bit.  I might end up still taking self-portraits, but perhaps only once a week rather than every day, I don't know.  There is something liberating about not having to do this, but like I said I do miss it.  Perhaps it's just that it became so much of my daily routine that stopping it has left me wondering about doing it again.  Beyond it being a good exercise I must say that this project taught me how to compose a portrait better.  I haven't had the opportunity to take too many portraits over the years.  As a matter of fact I think it's the weakest aspect of my photography.  But now I think I can tackle taking someone else's picture better than I could have last year.  I turned the camera onto myself in 2008 and that was fine.  It's time to turn it back away from me and towards the beauty of this world.  I think I'm better for this project, hopefully my photography will be the better for it too.  To view my 365 project click here.
 

Editorial : Supposedly Touched by an Angel

I'm sure most of you have seen the story of the so-called "angel" sighting at a North Carolina hospital, where a mother is claiming she saw an angel on a security monitor and then "miraculously" her daughter regained her health and went home three days later after being at death's door.  Here is a picture of a picture of the so-called angel caught on a security monitor by the mother on her cell phone.

Let us examine this so-called angel with logic rather than with blindness.  The "figure" is not three dimensional at all, but rather follows the lines of the doorway and the wall.  It also has a rectangular shape to it, again following the lines of the doorway and wall.  The reflection on the floor shows that the middle section isn't even illuminated.  Cameras are not exactly like our eyes.  They don't handle high contrast very well.  Something that for us might not be so bright could look blasted on a camera monitor because of the high contrast between a bright object and a dark area.  Since the entire hallway isn't darkened it's safe to say that the camera is not adjusting for the high contrast.  Bottom line, I turn to the concept of Occam's razor which states that there being two or more theories explaining phenomena, the simplest one that explains that phenomena should be accepted.  In the case of this so-called "angel" sighting one can either say that it was an angel or was light from a window, or room, hitting the wall.  Which of these two theories is simpler? Do we believe that it was some supernatural thing on that video, or do we look at the shape of the thing in question and see that it clearly has a square shape like a window or a doorway?

I don't dispute the idea that angels might exist.  What I am saying is why must that be the first conclusion that is reached when looking at this picture? The universe has constantly shown itself to be more wondrous and amazing than our puny concepts of how it works.  To automatically call what is clearly an amorphous glob of light an angel is much more than a stretch, it's completely ludicrous.  To say that after the blob appeared a patient miraculously recovered is even more of a stretch.  Why would that one girl be worthy of being healed while the patient down the hall is dying at that very same moment? And why not heal her of all her ailments, all her problems? Why bring her back from the brink of death to have her live a life of continued sickness?

Whatever, I'm happy that the child is well and her family is happy.  If they want to believe that a glob of light saved their child so be it.  At the end of the day it doesn't matter either way.
 

I used to share my photography with nearly everyone I know, only to be patronized as having "nice" pictures.  I have decided that Im not going to mention my work to anyone I know anymore.  It's not appreciated, and people make me feel like I'm imposing on them to look at my art (something I put a lot of time and effort into) for two seconds for their approval.  Also, when they do look at my photographs they dismiss them as a work of commonality.  Photography has the problem of not always being considered an art form because "anyone can take a picture." Yes, it's true, any damn food with a camera can take a picture.  But it's not just about taking a snapshot, it's about capturing a moment of perfection.  I think life has no purpose beyond what we give it.  I bring some meaning to my life through my photography.  Yes, photography is THAT important to me.  It is, along with my writing, the single most important thing in my life.  And from this point forward it will be only mine.  I'll still point my photos on this site, but I won't ask people to look at them.  I won't ask them to appreciate them, because I appreciate them and that's enough.  To me they have meaning far beyond what anyone could know.  My world has contracted to the point where there's my art and nothing else matters.  I know we're all doomed, and what I leave here will on day not exist.  I'm OK with that because for a brief moment in the time this universe existed I captured beautiful moments with my camera.  If only for me to see perhaps.  but I can look at the universe and tell it that I appreciate its wonder, the absolute wonder I feel when I see a little something that is beyond words.  I speak to the Universe sometimes, cursing it for some things, but also praising it for the beauty that others trample over.  I thank the Universe for letting me see that wonder.