Soar above the shadows
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Photo Quotes Archives
Thoughts on electric devices, and fear
Bill Johnson's Big Apple restaurant
We returned to Salt Lake to find the front of our palace draped in plastic in an attempt for the remodel to proceed despite the weather. Two electric space heaters running all night added a grand 5 degrees above the ambient 17°F; the propane torches they guys rented the next morning were much more effective.
The space heaters, regrettably, run on the same circuit as my computer. Before the electricians sputtered in disbelief and took decisive, mission-creeping action, my computer, my office space heater, our freezer, porch lights and furnace were all on the same circuit. We discovered this fact when a compressor and power hammer added to the line tripped the breaker. Now the furnace has its own circuit. But my computer popped off three times before I unplugged the space heaters. The contractor and I reached a consensus that 5 degrees really wasn't worth the bother.
Before we left Phoenix, I hunted down some more neon. There are actually two Bill Johnson's Big Apple restaurants; this is the Van Buren location. The sunset colors started to develop nicely. The only problem was that the sign wasn't lit. So I went inside and asked, "what time does the sign come on?" and the manager blinked, said, "when I switch it," and did just that. If nothing else, photography has emboldened me to ask silly questions, often with great success in response.
It's a small thing, to step up and ask for help, but fear is such a huge barrier in art-making that any small victory is worth celebrating.
What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don't quit. Each step in the artmaking process puts that issue to the test.
- from Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
The book's discussion about making pictures, lots of them, in order to be able to make the pictures only I can make, has helped me rebound from innumerable failures and discouragements. It might be the best $10 I ever spent on photography.
Lisette Model quote
The camera is an instrument of detection. We photograph not only what we know, but also what we don't know- Lisette Model
Bio of Lisette Model
Alfred Eisenstaedt quote: know no fear
When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.- Alfred Eisenstaedt
Wim Wenders quote: Those places called to me
In a way, I never believed that it was me who found the places I photographed, but rather that the opposite is true. Those places called to me.- Wim Wenders
Changing my mind
I hope it is not as hard as this:
When Columbus returned from the New World and proclaimed the earth was round, almost everyone else went right along believing the earth was flat. Then they died -- and the next generation grew up believing the world was round. That's how people change their minds.
from Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
