You Can't Plow a Field…

Several of my photo studies have developed simultaneously. I’m taking a minute to write down what they are, what I’m doing, and why. Oh, and the title of this post is a good saying: “You can’t plow a field by turning it over in your head” Cloud study: This is my newest addition to my photo studies. The reason for standing in the middle of the highway, snapping hundreds of cloud photos is still unraveling. I love the evolving shape of cloud structure, and I get a huge thrill out of singling out a cloud for a portrait. I’ve also enjoyed using a non-conventional lens for these cloudscapes: a 70-200mm portrait lens. This is a very addicting study. With this study I’m always searching the sky – and looking like a lunatic. Facial expression study: (in development) Mimic the faces in these photographs, and motor neurons will signal your low‐rout brain (the amygdala), and tell you to be happy. You’ll get a rush of dopamine, your body will relax, and, if you do a good impression, you may even laugh. This set of images is about biological social mechanisms. Our emotions don’t exist in vacuum; everyone’s mood is contagious: the bubbly girl makes you feel lighter (if not annoyed), the serious guy with the beard makes you reserved, and a room of laughter will make you laugh, even if you don’t know the joke. We’re addicted to feeling what surrounding people feel, and if we didn’t have these abilities, then compassion, love, empathy, contempt, mothering, and many more important communications wouldn’t exist, hindering our species ability to cooperate. At the root these mechanisms are for survival, yet they suggest a more thought provoking topic: if we “are‐what‐we‐eat” emotionally, then the people who we chose to surround us determine how we feel. Choose happy. New Landscapes: I want to show a land that’s devoid of people, but shows evidence of human existence. I want the grandeur of the natural surroundings to dominate the photograph, but be uncomfortably juxtaposed by human intervention. This is another photo study who’s purpose is developing as time goes on.