Nobody was looking

evolution continues

go slowly

(Voiceover)

origins : chasing butterflies

Chasing Butterflies is a term I use when there is a photo and the focus plane is not where you would expect it, or where it typically should be. You know, the eyes have to be sharp!

It came from the so called "happy accident". Focus on subject but sometimes the AF would focus on something with stronger contrast. The traditional rule is make your subject sharp. But over time the accidents became non accidents. They were more interesting at times, when the focal plane was not where you naturally expected it.

I call it chasing butterflies for a reason. I was shooting Kate one night, downtown, and there was this building behind her that had the coolest bricks, and were lit by a nice streetlight. I deliberately wanted that stuff in focus and while trying to create some "story" for the image, I decided to put her out of focus. She had on this pretty interesting wardrobe, and I thought it would lend itself to the overall photograph.

So directing her, I gave her instruction to act like she was Chasing Butterflies. Guess it stuck.

Now when I do Chasing Butterfly shots, I suppose its 30 percent intentional and 70 percent accidental. Maybe it's skewed because I let the accidents happen and am not too anal about absolute sharpness in every image.

Consequently me and Kate did a trip to the Eastman House a few years ago, and got to spend some time in the archives. It was telling. Some great photos we saw and many of which were not the expected sharpness.

Our brains do a bunch when processing things we like, and with that said, I have come to embrace a photograph as a sum of it's whole, not just it's technical merit. I have also seen those people who are technically anal about everything. Perfection. Rare times you see it, but most of the time the stuff I like, is far from perfect.

Anyhow, guess this is all justification for posting this image. Camera back-focused and I was like, cool. The eyes don't have to be sharp in my world.

Who called the Cops?

And the helicopter circled with it's spotlight searching. They were already gone.

Back

Anastassia Bear

If it makes you feel better

I listen to a lot of music while editing, and much of that is Radiohead, depending on the particular day.

Not much thought is given as to why. Ran across this video - never saw the movie but now feel like I need to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/v/Ea1LJYWDepE?version=3&list=RD02wJCYD4CXWzQ&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=Ex25xla3sdeRKo21hUwpKQ&feature=share&autohide=1

There was no father to teach me things I should have learned. I didn't have a mother there either. My grandmother did what she could, more than she should, as her health was in poor condition. I am eternally grateful for my Nana. Things could have been much different today. I don't even like thinking of that alternate reality. The one where she wasn't there. Imagining absolute nothing is more soothing than that.

I was that kid playing with airplanes. The Viet Nam War was on television. War was all around, and I glorified it. The United States was a bad ass, sticking up for the world evil. Falcons, and Eagles were better than MiG's and Sukhoi's.

I glorified military aircraft and the heroes that flew those machines. This led to a 25 year career in Aviation. I saw, did, and experienced some the greatest things in my life because of it. The Cold War was cool to me.

But things started to change. Perhaps it was Marcus, born in 89, and my wondering what was going to be around here for the prime of his life? Or, his children's lives.

I changed. I am afraid of Money now.

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Social Media brings out the hypocrisy of man all too often.