This is an incredible talk that I’ve had on my mind the past couple of days. I’ve watched it about 3 times, and I get something more out of it each time. It’s 20 minutes and he makes some really poignant remarks about the current state of our education and where it needs to be. Even though it’s a talk about formal education, I think the topic relates beyond just parenting or a broken educational system. (I think we tend to blame the system too much anyway.) The ideas he communicates in this video have made me rethink the kind of learning I emphasize for myself.

From TED’s website:

Why don’t we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it’s because we’ve been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies — far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity — are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says.

Last night I had the opportunity to photograph an event in Los Angeles encouraging people to go out and vote. The event was at Les Deux and hosted by Brooke Burke of Dancing With The Stars fame. It was so different from a wedding, so it was nice to do something brand new. While brand new to me, everybody has seen the red carpet photos from things like the Oscars and other events. I joined in with that crowd of red carpet photographers to make sure I got my shots, but I also got to try some other stuff. My friend Jeffrey Neal came to shoot the event with me. He got to shoot inside the club while I was shooting the red carpet stuff.

It’s actually really difficult to get away from the existing aesthetic of red carpet photographs, but I just wanted to share a few things I tried to do a little differently. (No, I didn’t crawl on the ground, or climb any walls this time.)

On a more serious note, I want to encourage people to go out and cast an informed vote next week. It’s an exercise of our citizenship, honoring the freedoms in this country that we take for granted. Wars have been fought for this right, and we neglect it in this country because of our ridiculous sense of entitlement. As far as the presidential race goes, don’t vote for a candidate just because of perception. Read up, understand what each candidate stands for before voting. And don’t forget about third party candidates, i.e. Ralph Nader, Bob Barr. You’d be surprised how much more you might agree with their platforms than the Mc’bama choice.

Even if you aren’t fired up about the presidential elections, there are still tons of propositions to vote on in California. My guess is that everybody cares strongly about at least one of the issues on the ballot. So get off your lazy ass, fire up that world wide web, get educated on the issues and exercise the privilege of voting on Nov. 4.

I’m not sure if I have ever met Cindy before this session at Manhattan Beach, but we have a strangely entwined history. My parents met Cindy’s parents many years ago, and my Reverend dad actually baptized and married them. Crazy, right? Okay, but it doesn’t even end there. Cindy was planning to vacation in LA from Seattle and wanted to do some engagement pictures while she was down here. Her mom mentions me since she heard about me from my parents. Cindy then goes on my website and realizes she knows one of my previous brides from participating in rowing together in Hong Kong almost 10 years ago. Just crazy.

Anyway, being really interested in mysteries of human connection, I knew I absolutely had to shoot the session, and it was amazing. Cindy and Andre have this really deep and beautiful bond, and I feel so privileged to be allowed participate through my photographs.

One picture that stands out to me is one photograph that looks like a normal photograph of them standing next to each (#13 in the slideshow). I actually shot it as a photograph of only Andre, and then only Cindy, and then overlaid them in post-production. I had the concept in my mind when I shot it, but I had no idea the affect it would have on me when I saw it come together. It just looks like I shot it with them together in the same frame. It’s something I’d like to explore deeper in future sessions, but I’d love to hear what you guys think of it.

I was browsing BoingBoing today, and I came across this posted video. There’s more information if you follow the BoingBoing link above, but here’s a a quick quote regarding the background of this video:

Matthew Harding spent 14 months visiting 42 countries in order to produce “Where the Hell is Matt?”, a four-and-a-half minute video featuring Harding (and anyone else he could rope into it) doing an incredibly silly, high-energy dance in some of the most breathtaking scenery around the world.

I’m sharing this video because it made me deeply happy - happy in a way that makes me appreciate the mysteries of life and marvel at the connectedness between us all. Some of the footage is breathtaking, and some of it just silly. I find so much comfort in the simplicity of the world portrayed in this 4+ minute video.

edit: I’m also adding his second video (the one above is his third)… he just goes to so many cool places. If you do a search on YouTube, you can also find a series of him talking about the making of these videos. The cool thing about this second video is that he’s using vocals recorded by this guy who went around trying to document dying languages.

Link to Matt:
www.wherethehellismatt.com

I thought I’d follow up Adams with some Weston, albeit, Weston was a bit more conceited about the craft and Adams a bit more pensive. After all, Weston would punch a hole through his negatives after he had “perfected” his print, so that nobody could reprint his negatives in any other way.

“My own eyes are no more than scouts on a preliminary search, for the camera’s eye may entirely change my idea.”

“The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer’s understanding of his subject and mastery of his process.”

“My true program is summed up in one word: life. I expect to photograph anything suggested by that word which appeals to me.”

“Ultimately success or failure in photographing people depends on the photographer’s ability to understand his fellow man.”

“When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches.”