The Anchor of Time

     Just as a sailor must bear the mighty power of the seas amidst a treacherous storm, at times we also must buckle down and endure the storms that life brings. Time is like the raging seas on a dark, dreary night; a sailor trapped in the eye of the storm fights with all his strength to stay above the encroaching waters. At some point or another, we are that sailor, surrounded by a world which is being enveloped by busyness. Sailors have anchors with which they can provide their boat a pillar of security.

     Anyone but photographers never comes into contact with an often overlooked tool which acts as an anchor of time. This apparatus is called a tripod. The tripod acts as an anchor of time because when a camera is mounted atop it, time continues to flow on (Just as waves never cease splashing on an anchored sailboat) around the camera, while time becomes glaciated into an image captured by the tripod-mounted camera. Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to how long the shutter in the camera can be open. I often cope with the busy storms of life by indulging into photography. For me, photography is a meditative activity, calming, yet at times thrilling.


   

Synchronous Skeletons

All Things Vintage

     I have a fetish for all things vintage. There is just something about vinyl, film/analog cameras, tapes, and ghetto blasters that really blow my mind. They're all so neglected nowadays.

     Recently, however, I've been stoked to see records, film cameras, etc. coming back into style! Slowly but surely. Maybe the "next best thing" isn't always as great as the last best thing. Vinyl records are way better than CD's, at least in my opinion. Similarly, film cameras have capabilities and unique qualities that exceed those of modern DSLR's.

     The problem is that the majority of people want instant gratification, and don't want to wait for their film to be processed in the lab. In economics they call this condition subjective time preference rate, which basically says that someone with a high time preference rate wants things immediately. I feel like our culture is flying through each day much too quickly. However, I am not advocating that we revolt against the fast-paced lifestyles that we as 21st century humans lead. If we were to try to change the system, Social Darwinism (Survival of the fittest) would catch up to us, and we'd be screwed.

     All of that to say that this photo is of me wrapped in a cassette tape that I found on the beach a while ago. :)
#gettothepoint

People's Passions

Everyone has things which inspire them; part of human nature is the need for sustenance. Some of the things I am passionate about include my Christian faith, my education, music, and photography. What are you sustained by?

Mystery Baller

Funny how quickly we change, us humans. One day we follow a certain dogma and the next day we have adapted to a new philosophy. I find this true in my own life even when I look back just a couple years.

Back in 8th grade, I was so wholly committed to basketball, and I loved game time with every fiber of my being. Every day I would spend hours upon hours improving my skills and perfecting my 3-point shots. Basketball was my passion.

Now I am a Junior in high-school. I think I have a basketball floating somewhere around my house (probably flat). Every now and then I will play a pick-up game with friends. My present priorities sharply contrast with those which used to determine my day-to-day life. I say this in neither a negative nor a necessarily positive tone. I am simply stating the facts. Musing, you may call it. Perhaps I am just avoiding studying for my tests tomorrow...

I am unsure what will happen in the future, as I'm sure you are, too. Regardless, I know that my future is in God's hands and all I can strive to do is live in the moment, giving back to God all of the glory which He so deserves.

- L3N5@RT1ST
 

Discover

 I've had my external flash for almost a couple years now. For the most part, I have just used it for studio work, and for shooting events (Weddings, dances, etc.).

Recently, I've been looking at all kinds of interesting and extremely creative flash photography. I am starting to fall in love with it. Like to the point where I might only take photos with my flash. There is something uniquely creative about having a portable and off-camera flash that you can put anywhere. One photographer who uses flash in a very creative (Yet somewhat dark manner) is Luca Pierro. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sottounponte/

Although the above shots are more dark and pessimistic than all of my other work, I still am drawn to it. I've talked before about duel nature, and how everyone has a good side and a dark side. Being a Christian, I won't delve much further into this sort of creepy photography, but I like the concept behind these images.

The Diviners

The night before the performance, weary actors run through the play, scene after scene, just "one more time" to deal with any kinks. I was truly impressed by the quantity of lines the actors/actresses had adopted, word for word, intonation for intonation. 

Here, Buddy Layman nestles under a blanket, fearful of the "rain." His fear of water came into existence when his mother drowned. Ever since then, Buddy has been terrified of water, even bathing. Eventually, he gets so dirty that he needs to face his phobia and immerse himself in water.

Limitless

There is something about the stars (and space in general) that fascinate me. Sometimes I will go outside late at night (midnight even) and just stare at the stars while my camera's shutter is also absorbing the beauty. Try it sometime.

Trees

This past weekend I finished creating a hardcover photo-book titled Trees. This 20-page coffee-table book contains some very evocative & emotion-filled images that I've created in the last couple years. After all, emotions are what we feed off of, in a sense; emotions are at the heart of what it means to be a person. It's what distinguishes us from machines of all sorts.

I am very excited to get my photo book in the mail any day now! This will be my second photo book. Here's a couple images that are in the book...

P.S. - here's the website that I used to make my photo book: http://www.photobin.com/ (Not nearly as good as blurb.com , in my opinion at least. But hey, maybe some of you out there will try it out and enjoy the site more than I did!). Also, if you'd like to grab a copy, just shoot me an email @ daviddobreski@yahoo.com.