u n b i d d e n

Sometimes I find comfort in making cliché photographs.

These same photos have been taken numerous times and the one of the mill exists on a postcard available for purchase inside. These photos are not new. They are not different. They are not bold. They are expected.

While I have to admit these images are pretty to look at they are not about the scene or the photography. They are about me going through the motions of being a photographer. Being a photographer is something I’ve not done much lately.

You see, just as I find myself invigorated, creatively, by making a picture of something new, I also find rest in photographing something the same way everyone else has. It’s nice to make pictures with out pressure, external or internal. It’s nice to just be.

Rest is a good thing. We are wired to rest. We need it. Our bodies need it. Our minds need it. I think people who work in creative endeavors need it most.

Last night we had dinner with friends and ended the night by shooting off the fireworks for the kids dads. Vienne had way more fun catching lighting bugs. She seemed to not even care about the fireworks.

When we got home we had another surprise. We found a baby bird on the armrest of one of our deck chairs. She so wanted to take it inside and care for it somehow. After much negotiations we decided that it was best to leave the bird outside. It was gone this morning. We hope for the best.

Vienne however probably thought the creatures were better than fireworks.

We watched the 1986 file “The Mission” a couple of days ago with some friends. A pretty powerful film for sure. Towards the end of the movie there was a part where two of the characters, Gabriel and Rodrigo, choose different paths. One chose love and non-violence and the other selected resistance and violence. When they began to struggle with these choices there was a quote that really stopped me in my tracks.

Gabriel: If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo.

I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that. What a powerful statement. And a true one at that. Living in a world of gossip, pride, anger and conflict takes way to much energy. It’s so easy to get sucked in to that mindset. I guess for me I’d rather use my strength not to live in a world of “might” but to struggle to live in a world of love.

We traveled down to Austin over Memorial Day for a family reunion. One of my duties was to shoot portraits of everyone. We normally hire a photographer but none were available. So I stepped in. This is by far my favorite portrait from all that I took. I love it when life happens. The dog is being dragged away. The looks on each of the kids faces. It’s so wonderfully strange.

My baby had her hair cut and styled by a pro for the first time last night. We’ve trimmed and snipped, but never has her hair had a major transformation. She actually loved getting it cut. I wish I could say the same for me. It was hard to watch her hair change. Change into something more mature. And I think that’s what it was all about for me. Watching the scissors snip away I watched her grow up a little. Transform. I really like her new hair-do. I really liked her old one too.