Emotional Plateau

I love having the ability to express my feelings and emotions through photography. In some ways, I feel that I can more accurately and vividly portray the palette of my emotional plateau through a photograph. Often times when I create an image such as this one I feel like I am looking at a mirror and the reflection is not one of my face but of my soul. As a photographer of 5 years, it is very rewarding to finally have the ability to pre-visualize an image in my head and then perfect it 

until the pixels on the LCD 

screen of my camera mirror 

the image that I had imagined.

 

The Photograph as a Seal

In this fast-paced world, the time that we spend in person with friends is not only becoming less and less, but it is also subsequently becoming more and more valuable. Sharing a meal or an intimate conversation in the heart of a bustling and monstrous suburbia is an enjoyable experience, but can be easily forgotten. And this is where the power of photographs comes into play. When you hand the waiter your iPhone and ask him to take a picture of you and your friend, what is actually happening is that the pleasant rendezvous is actually being solidified and made into a concrete entity - one that will last much longer than a lone memory. Susan Sontag writes in her book, On Photography, how people in modern societies look to the lens as a way of confirming the authenticity and reality of the event in which they now stand. 

Consume

In case you haven't noticed, our lives revolve around food. The simple activity of sharing a meal with another person has profound effects that oft go unnoticed. We create bonds with people when we dine with them. In fact, the need for food is a common thread that unites every living thing. There is some dynamic about the act of eating that requires one to be vulnerable. Normally, we don't sit down and eat a meal with someone we don't like. We let our guard down when we eat. Eating is such a primitive and ancient activity, one of the few that has remained constant and prominent throughout all of history. In some ways, eating a meal with someone else is one of the most intimate things we do in public. It is commonly said that we are what we eat. Perhaps this saying rings even more true in the context of communal dining. When we share a meal with another person, we are joining in synchronously with that person and nourishing our selves from the same platter, which unifies even the most distant hearts.

Midnight Drive (Time-lapse)

http://vimeo.com/67620242

The Unity of Chaos

The Freedom Tower.

The older I get, the more I realize how complex and unpredictable the world is. Just look at the people around you. We are all inherently confused and uninformed organisms. I think that the majority of people, myself included, often carve out a box consisting of specific ideas and routines. One example of this is a group of tight-knit friends that make a conscious effort to shield each others backs and reciprocate in kind deeds to one another. And while this may sound naive or narrow-minded, if you take a step back and consider the alternative, suddenly rational ignorance doesn't sound all that bad. The only context that I can think of in which we as humans have any morsel of control over our surroundings is that of the home environment. In nearly every other sphere of life, especially in the urban landscape, there are literally millions of factors and forces that affect us on any given day and there is simply no way to even begin to realize all of the variables that are out of our control, much less control the variables themselves. In science they call this an independent variable. In a bittersweet sort of way, the fact that we all live in this chaotic world means that we all go through it together, and thus a sort of harmonious, coalescing vein weaves throughout every individual and to the next, and when we love we are tapping into that communal tie. Chaos knows no social classes or races, since nobody is exempt from havoc. While we as humans may try to convince ourselves that we can determine our own destinies and that we can simply go out there and seize the day, the truth is that we rarely have the luxury to predetermine the outcomes of all the occurrences that take place right before our eyes. The good news is that we have two powerful means of dealing with the events that unceasingly reproduce: the first is reaction, and the second is retrospective. The way we react to something ultimately depends on the attitude that we choose to employ in the situation. If we choose to make the most of the outcomes, regardless of whether or not it is the ideal one, then the outcome will have been fully expedited and therefore stewarded to the best of our abilities. The other tool with which we can clarify this unclear world is retrospective. Hind-sight is 20-20, so remember that it always pays off to look back on the things we experience and learn from them what we can.

I want to conclude by sharing with you a couple of quotes that I feel are both relevant and encouraging.

"The curious tasks of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." F.A. Hayek

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Big Bear Video

I am really starting to realize how prominent video has become and will become in the future, so you can expect to see a lot more videos on this blog. But do not fear, I will continue taking photographs! I am excited to see where this new medium will take me!

Here's a video I made of a trip that some friends and I went on this past week: http://vimeo.com/lensartist/classof2013

Coalesce and Oppress

In the 10th Federalist Paper, James Madison throws down some solid arguments in favor of an "extensive republic" as opposed to a democracy. Let's dissect the differences between a republic and a democracy. For starters, in a republic, there is a delegation of the government to a smaller number of citizens elected by the rest. Another advantageous trait of a republic is its sheer magnitude. While this may initially seem to be a downfall, it actually makes it more difficult for a majority to coalesce and oppress the feeble voice of the minority(s). In other words, an extensive republic doesn't allow for a tyranny of the majority. In short, a republic controls and even limits the effects of factions better than a democracy.

Relive

Perhaps one of the most powerful abilities that photographs possess is to act as a catalyst for the memories of our mind. While I have not experienced this effect firsthand very often (since 90% of the time I am the one behind the camera creating the memories for people to enjoy), tonight I enjoyed reliving the happenings of yesterday by looking through the prom pictures of our group.

No matter how hard one tries to live in the present and to make the most of everything, eventually every experience is archived into the deep library of the mind. By looking at photographs of past significant events, a pungent yet pleasant nostalgic vignette can be resurrected. So remember to hire photographers like me to capture significant events in your life because even Bob Dylan knows that "the times are a-changin'."

Copyright Orphans

There are times when government really crosses the line. In fact, the government seems to do so on a regular basis. Take, for example, a law passed 2 weeks ago by the UK Parliament that legalized the use of 'orphaned' photographs. In other words, if the owner of the photo cannot be contacted, then the photo can be used for free and without the owner's consent. The implications of this law (called the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act) are large. As Oswald states in the article New UK Law Makes Robbery Legal, "this extraordinary change in the law drive a horse and cart through copyright protection."

I think that as more valuable and personal content is stored in the cloud, the concept of property rights and intellectual property will start to disseminate, and government will become increasingly Big Brother-esque.

On a positive note, this growing dilemma provides many opportunities for individuals with technological expertise to design software and/or technology that empowers artists by concreting their copyright ownership over their content, thus allowing them to publish their work fearlessly onto the web. Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom, for example, provides tools for photographers and graphic designers to safeguard their work from the claws of malicious corporations. Specifically, Lightroom enables its users to watermark their work and decide where to place it and the degree of opacity. A much more advanced feature that Lightroom provides is the ability to embed IPTC metadata into the digital photograph. Precautions such as this are becoming more and more essential for those of us who want to safely publish our work onto the internet.

Pulchritudinous Smoke

I've always been fascinated with taking pictures of smoke, fog, or any other type of vaporous gases. And yet I have never quite been able to put my finger on what it is about smoke vapors that appeals to me. Perhaps it is the evocative feeling of intrigue and mystery that one feels when surrounded by it. Driving through dense early morning fog is like ice-skating on a frozen lake. Aside from the crisp stroke of blades beneath ones feet, nothing else seems to be moving. The water droplets appear to be suspended in time and space, forming an ethereal atmosphere above, behind, beneath, and on either side of oneself.

The boy in the red coat is as frozen as the pixels in this photograph. Entangled in a veil, suspended in mid-air, immortalized by a backdrop of water vapor. One moment the boy seems to be running away from danger, but when one glances a second time at the image it seems to exude playfulness and ingenuity. Similarly, the nature of water, multifaceted as it is, is portrayed in this image as drama-inducing and as a harbinger of mystery.

Shoot What You Fear

Art is possibly the most remedial and healing hobby in existence. And yet it can also be the means by which a man's sanity is abolished. An obsession, if you will, that parasitically torments the host, while simultaneously outputting marvelous work. The artist ultimately determines whether his tool - be it a paintbrush or a camera - is a flower or a handgun.

On a personal level, the camera is a hammer with which I chisel out a trophy of courage. In other words, I take photographs of things - animate and inanimate alike - that make me feel uncomfortable. I used to be tense and maladroit around people and in social settings. Now that I have been photographing people and social gatherings for 2 years, I can proudly say that I enjoy being with people more than anything, and have boldly conquered my trepidation. That's one significant reason for my exclusive interest in photography over other forms of art such as drawing or painting; from past experience I can say that many art mediums isolate the artist from community, from other people, while photography is capable of just the opposite.

Once one discovers this freeing aspect of photography, it truly becomes a lifestyle of sorts; it becomes a journey within the realms of your innermost being. If you are daunted by spiders, then grab a macro lens and a camera and shoot spiders, all different types, colors, shapes, and sizes. If you fear being alone in the dark, go outside at midnight with a camera and a tripod, and let the creative impulse cast out all fear. Just as the sensor of a camera absorbs light particles, it is also capable of enveloping the entities that frighten you most.

Hearts and Minds

"We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds." 

-Arnold Newman

Social Gatherings

As a photographer of 4 1/2 years, I have had a taste of many genres of photography. I started out as a landscape photographer, but incrementally I adjusted my focus towards people and events. It was about 2 years ago when I first plunged into the field of event photography. You may be wondering, "So what exactly is the appeal to event photography?" To that I would say that each event is an entirely new experience. I never know what to expect. Sometimes the events turn out less than ideal. Other times I feel that there is nowhere else I would rather be. Every once in a great while, I will be photographing an event and will feel that wherever I point my camera lens, I am guaranteed to capture a magnificent shot. More often I find myself in the opposite situation, standing in a room with very little light and very little space. And yet I feel fulfilled so often when I photograph these events. Even though I almost always walk into the event as a stranger, I often leave having formed great friendships. Interestingly, the events in which I actively engage with the environment and converse with the people are always the events from which I derive the best images. When I take the more passive approach, and lazily wait for the decisive moment to affix itself in front of my camera lens, I leave the event unfulfilled and also with a regretful feeling. For me, to be an event photographer means to probe the entire locale keenly hunting for quintessential illustrations of golden vignettes of the human condition. As it says in my artist statement, I try to answer the question of 'what does it mean to be human?' through my photography. A major puzzle piece that forms part of the answer to this question can be found amidst social gatherings. After all, a critical part of being human is spending time in community with others.

Brave Reflections

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. My own line of reasoning is to myself as strait and clear as a ray of light."

-Thomas Paine

Counting Sheep

Every day we seem to get busier. Our days are like an energetic, teenage girl at a shopping mall, often uncontrollable and sometimes even a bit overwhelmed. At the end of the day, when our heads hit the pillow, it isn't always a quick, seamless transition from reality to the dream world. So we compensate. We take drugs, rely on them really, in order for us to fall asleep. By drugs, I am referring to any sort of sleep catalyst, be it sleep pills such as Advil PM or be it drifting off to sleep with the help of calming melodies from your Songza app on your iPhone. Yet how good is this reliance on outside forces? We've become unable to rest, and as a result most people wander around lackadaisically for most of their life, sleep-deprived and desolate. So remember to do the things that will ensure a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. Shut off the iPhone screen, turn off the tv show, and let your worries set with the sun. Those sheep aren't going to count themselves.

Drain Your Batteries

As a technological enthusiast and a well-rounded human being, I feel that it is only proper that I should be a good steward of the electronic devices that I own. The way I go about doing that is reading and rereading the manuals so that I can make the most of them and become familiar with every knob, lever, and whippersnapper. One priceless piece of information that I picked up recently from a MacBook Pro jock is that the best way to maximize battery life - both short term and long term - is to fully charge the laptop up to 100%, and then keep it unplugged until it reaches the single digits realm. Believe it or not, this is healthier for your laptop than leaving it plugged into the wall all day, everyday.




As I was thinking through this idea, I started to see a correlation between MacBook Pro batteries and the batteries of human beings. The optimal 'lifestyle' for a laptop is to get juiced up all the way to 100%, and then detach from the power source and live unrestricted (a yolo lifestyle, as some would say), giving everything until the energy is gone. Are we as humans all that different? We were created to work hard and play hard. Not to work some while playing on the side, but to whole-heartedly devote ones time, resources, etc. fully to one project. The harder one works, the sweeter his slice of leisure will taste. The best lifestyles are those that are balanced. Know when it is time to plug in and rejuvenate, & when it is time to unplug and let loose.

PS - If you use a desktop computer, I am sorry but the previous information does not apply to you. Send me a message and maybe I'll write a post for you desktoppers out there  ;D

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