Dream Bluffs

Now more than ever, people want to be in control of anything and everything. This desire to grab the reigns and steer our lives down the seemingly best path has resulted in isolated beings with an unhealthy appetite for power. And yet some of the most delightful occurrences rise to the surface the moment we admit something or someone else into the command center of our life. Whether this entity is an artistic impulse or a lover, a surge of energy pulsates through our very being when we can learn to loosen our grip on life. We feel relieved because our expectations are more flexible and we can rebound quicker when things dont go as planned. The truth is, we don't like being control freaks. It is a hindrance and causes us to become hysterically paranoid. Think of the times in your life when you let something else take control - even if it was just for a couple minutes. To use the example of cliff-jumping, there is a blissful feeling that wells up inside of a person when they forfeit control of their being to the power of gravity. This thrill exists only when they let their toes sink off of the coarse edge of a steep cliff and allow the force of gravity to have its way with them. The result? Unprecedented zeal. Similarly, when a person enters into the land of dreams he is bestowing to his subconscious the authority to drive the steering wheel of his imagination. At that point, the thoughts or dreams that may emerge into the conscious are somewhat unpredictable.

David Dobreski Photography

/// David Dobreski Photography ///

A compilation of some of my favorite images that I have captured over the years.

http://youtu.be/vSsjtZPdgxw

Lacey.

Susceptibly Forgetful

Often times we find ourselves bogged down by tasks and details, making it quite difficult to take a moment to relax, walk outside, and breathe the fresh air. Pressure seems, at times, to define the lives of people in the 21st-century. We harp on ourselves for falling short, missing deadlines, or not arriving on time to various places. Each year we aim to try harder or reach higher, but somehow those resolutions never seem to be fulfilled. Why is that? Humans perform best when given clear incentives, not vague ideals. These cliche abstractions of trying harder and reaching higher are pounded into us from such a young age that they quickly lose all meaning. The solution? Clarify your incentives. Successful athletes don't reach the echelon of grandeur by aiming to run faster, get stronger, or jump higher. The only way to meet ones goals is to construct a concrete game plan that is well within ones abilities. If you want to get back into the habit of flossing, the worst way to go about doing that is to attempt to floss all 28 teeth right from the get-go. You will surely crash and burn in no time with that approach. The only way to reform that habit is to tell yourself: I am going to floss one tooth on a daily basis. Once you have plowed that canal in your brain, thus forming a habit of flossing one tooth every day, then - and only then - can you start flossing two teeth daily. You are much more likely to reach your goals with this approach. So remember: take the sniper approach, not the shotgun approach. Pick off each project in life with minuscule but consistent efforts and you will find greater satisfaction.

"Arctic Tears"

Today I took photos for a client. She is a very talented artist and is extremely motivated. Sometimes I think she can create an awe-inspiring painting faster than I can click the shutter of my Canon. Her title for one of her paintings is Arctic Tears. This particular piece was different than the others. While most of her paintings consisted of warm hues and bright, joyous pigments, Arctic Tears comprises cool blues fused with deep, icy black gradients. She explained that when an iceberg melts, the surrounding water grows darker.

The Post of Survival

My friend Tenley

I heard a statistic the other day that 90% of blogs don't last longer than 1 year. Well I am happy to say that I am not part of that statistic, since I started my blog back in the fall of 2011 and I have been posting ever since.

With that said, I haven't posted anything in far too long, so this post is just an attempt to build up my momentum in hopes that I will get back into the habit of posting on a regular basis. While most habits are easy to form and difficult to put an end to, blogging is totally different. Interestingly, blogging on a regular basis is a difficult habit to form and work into ones schedule, but that habit can slip out of your daily life like a thief in the night! Funny how that works.

On a completely different note, I am very excited for this week because my good friend Bob Openshaw is taking me to WPPI (http://www.wppionline.com/index.shtml) in Las Vegas. I am not quite sure what to expect, but I hope to meet passionate photographers like myself and learn fresh, new things about this craft.

The Ring

The countless hours spent preparing for this decisive moment will soon be shattered to oblivion. The stark flavor of blood transfused with salty sweat gently sails into the crevice between his lips. An awkward gap now resides where an off-white tooth once stood. A stamp of dark blue ink is imprinted upon his right eye socket by the pulsating red glove of the opponent. Angrily, the tendons of his arm suddenly burst like a cannon, and he delivers a spritely uppercut that crunches the filaments of his rivals’ protruding nose, like a boulder that wallops a tree of corral.

Pathos

My most recent photo book. I included a wide variety of images, while still trying to maintain the common thread between my photographs. This is my fourth book, and I can't wait to continue creating more as I progress in my passion behind the lens.

http://bit.ly/WUrimz

Quivering Blades

An eternity wasted, drenched in hopeless nothingness, longing for comfort and solace. In the room filled with charcoal shadows and desolate space void of light, the sound of quivering blades punctures the silence. His limbs and joints ache as the veins in his back firmly graze the spinal cord. From the innermost realms of his mouth, near the molars, the taste buds keenly pick up the pungent taste of cloves. A high-pitch mechanical buzz grows in decibels, until finally – a burst. For the first time in ages his irises see light. A phosphorescent, whimsical entity descends like a feather from the blackness above, entering into the light. It is sustained in mid-air by the quivering blades. The fantastical being overtakes his restraint and he reaches out with his hands to confirm its existence, as well as his own. Just as the tips of his fingers reach the ghostly specter it dissolves into snow, and the light recedes behind the curtain of opaque permafrost. 

The Death of Creativity

Societies all around the hemisphere of the globe are in a continuous battle against time. You are trying to meet deadlines every day, be it for work or for your personal agenda. Walk into any bookstore today and you'll notice a genre that is relatively new: time management. Often it seems there just 'isn't enough time.' The true reason many people feel this way is because we've become wealthier in the past couple centuries. When the standard of living increases, our time-preference rate also increases. The opportunity cost of doing anything has sky-rocketed. The reason you'll have a difficult time finding that bookstore I mentioned earlier also has to do with this increased time-preference rate. People don't see value in consuming such magnanimous doses of literature like their forefathers would. Instead, the modern man prefers to listen to an audiobook while commuting or exercising at the gym. Some call it productivity, others label it ADD. What effect does this have on art and those who create it? Overall, the quality of art that is produced in this high-speed world stoops to an all-time low. Most people can no longer enjoy a leisurely walk to the art museum on Sunday afternoon and nonchalantly imbibe each piece of work. Instead, people walk briskly past the museum as they check their Instagram feed.

Binoculars

While feet are often looked down upon (No pun intended), they bear more significance than we realize. Our feet play a large role in defining who we are. The feet carry the weight of an entire being. They are the means of transportation. Each foot is the lens of a binocular, the means of exploration. We learn so much about the world and about ourselves by taking walks. We rely on them to take us away from danger. When stress accumulates, our feet are ready to join us in a walk through the forests. In those moments that curiosity overflows like a sparkling beverage outside of the goblet of our very existence, our feet carry us as our imagination directs them.

Nostalgia

I was driving down State Street earlier today, and in front of the Granada I saw a vintage car, as well as a huge green screen. In front of the screen were a slew of men dressed in 1920's attire. Within minutes, I had parked and arrived on the scene with my camera in hand. It turns out, they were filming the introduction video for the SB Film Festival. So I stuck around for over an hour shooting photographs. 

It turns out that the classic automobile I had spotted while driving by was a Mercedes from 1920's. The proud owner was quick to shed some light on the significance of his car. The manufacturer of the car was Mercedes. Not Mercedes-Benz, just Mercedes. It turns out that Benz once was an entirely separate automobile company. In about 1926, a couple years after this car was made, the two manufacturers merged forces and created the luxurious cars that we all know and love. I also found interesting the fact that the symbol for Mercedes was a three-pointed star (See photograph), while the Benz logo was wreath-shaped. The emblems combined to form the current Mercedes-Benz symbol. 

Complacent Blindness

Lately I have been dissatisfied with the quality of the photographs I produce. While looking at the work of other photographers of the same age, I felt as if their abilities outweigh mine. I began questioning myself, wondering if I could really obtain a successful career as a photographer. Do I have what it takes? How will I ever be able to support myself, or a family of my own? Such questions painfully resided in my mind.

     As I mull this over in my head, I am starting to see some positive results of my current state. I am not truly disappointed with my own work, rather I long to further improve and cultivate the skills that I currently posses. I now see that I have been complacent with my photographic work, and such a state of mind will not take me very far. I am happy to say that now I am grateful for this occurrence that freed me from the blindness that spews forth from a complacent man. How will I ever get better if I am not pushing myself to try new techniques?

Conversation Catalysts

The very act of preparing and serving tea encourages conversation. 
The little spaces in time created by teatime rituals call out to be filled with conversation. Even the tea itself–warm and comforting-inspires a feeling of relaxation and trust that fosters shared confidences.

Emilie Barnes, If Teacups Could Talk

What It Means to be Human

 An often overlooked flaw that many artists - deceased and living - have in common is to go through their life creating art just for the fun of it. While there is no inherent harm in enjoying the process of art, I feel that if one is going to dedicate his/her life to producing art, then (s)he will have more purposeful endeavors if (s)he has a penultimate and overarching goal. Whether that goal is a question, idea, belief, or any other type of message is totally dependent on the artist's preference.

 I am currently in the middle of the tedious process of college applications, an activity that causes one to reflect on their past, present, and future life. A midst this weighty task, I have been scavenging the depths of my mind to really ask myself what I am trying to accomplish through my photographic endeavors. As foolish as it may seem, I honestly have never just sat down and asked myself that dreaded question, until now. As I was going through some of my favorite images, I began to see an underlying theme: There was a person in the majority of my most prized photographs. And that's when it struck me; I really enjoy taking pictures of people! Shortly after I realized my favorite subject to photograph, I began to ponder how I could incorporate people into the question that I will try to answer through my photography. And then the idea struck me: I will answer the question of: "What does it mean to be human?" through my photography. While I do not yet have a response to said question, I am striving to answer that inquiry- one photo at a time. By documenting the entire emotional hue of humanity - from the darkest moments, to the brightest triumphs - I will start to piece together and elucidate the answer to my question.

   

Portraiture: Capture the Essence

     When I take a portrait of somebody, my goal is to portray their traits through my images. I want the viewer of my images to feel acquainted with the person in the photograph. To create such a direct connection between the viewer of the photo with the subject of the photo is quite rare, but that is what I strive for when I am taking portraits. 

Here are some portraits that I have taken over the past couple months. 

Amidst the Heat

"[Fire's] real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences.  A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it.  Now, Montag, you're a burden.  And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later." -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451.

The Police

The Subconscious & Civilization

     "It is a profoundly erroneous truism that we should cultivate the habit of thinking what we are doing. The precise opposite is the case. Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them." - Alfred Whitehead

     This idea of our subconscious controlling our actions has magnanimous implications, especially for the art world. Often we hear artists describe their process of creating an art piece as such: "I didn't even know what I was doing!" or "I had no end goal; I just watched the canvas, and eventually there was something beautiful upon it."

     Similarly, this concept emerges as we look back through history at some scientific discoveries that were found by accident(In other words, the scientist didn't originally intend to invent what he invented.) Examples include: penicillin, Viagra, dynamite, and many others.
   

Rails of Sunshine

Taken at f/10, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Shaken, not stirred.

Soccer

Veil of Separation

A man confronts the veil of separation between the kid's world and the adult world. In the former, a pungent array of hues soaks the canvas of life. In the world of grown-ups, monochromatic drear envelopes every last pigment.

Light Painting with Friends

Slack-Lining Culture: Ripples

I view myself as a visual anthropologist. With that in mind, my job is to visually document and record the progression of humanity. If ripples are forming in the wave of a sub-culture, then the Visual Anthropologist must prepare for the wave to break and document its coming and going. I believe that the ripples of the slack-lining culture are forming in SoCal.

Slack-Lining at Its Finest.

Shot at 18mm, ISO 200, 1/1000sec. @ f/6.3

Carpinteria State Beach. We spent many summer mornings balancing on these slack-lines. One must reach a mental state somewhat similar to nirvana to become skillful at this activity. A distraction-free climate like the beach -with waves gently caressing the seashore - cultivates the concentration one needs in order to master the art of slack-lining.

'Nous'

One of my favorite poets is Scott Cairns, and this is one of my favorite poems of his: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177144