I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer ...

This past Monday, I attended the Memorial Day Parade in a neighboring community.  The drive to the parade was almost an hour away from my home, but I was not deterred since this parade would display the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.  When I last saw the Weinermobile, I was ten years old so therefore this day trip was more of a reunion with a pleasant childhood memory.  During my first encounter with the Weinermobile,  I was gifted with the treasured "weinerwhistle" which remains to this day, one my favorite musical instruments second only to the kazoo.   Unfortunately, my parents didn't share my zest for the "weinerwhistle" since it mysteriously disappeared about one week later.  

All I wanted for this Memorial Day was to take a photo of the beloved Weinermobile.  My hope was to relive and reconfirm this happy childhood moment to see if it had any life other than within my memory.  Should the "hotdoggers",  the official title of those who travel in the Weinermobile, toss weinerwhistles or eight packs of hot dogs into the crowd that would be considered a bonus.  

With this in mind, I selected a strategic position behind two old gray haired ladies seated on lawn chairs in the very first row.  Later, this strategic choice would be revealed to be a failed assumption on my part.  Little did I know that their retirement home had substituted speed for their Lipitor on this holiday.  As soon as the parade began, they were up out of their chairs clapping, waving, and pointing out the choicest parade candies to the "youngins" all around them. To my suprise, they were the only folks who remained standing in the front row well after everyone else had returned to their seats.  Nearly forty minutes elapsed before their legs or perhaps the drugs gave way to sitting.  Just about that time, the Weinermobile entered the parade on the next block.  My wish for the day was about to be realized.

I am grateful that I could experience my reunion with the Weinermobile at a parade in rural Illinois in the presence of waving and shouting kids.   My first memory of the Weinermobile lies within the small secure neighborhood of a ten year old who lived during simpler times.  Would the presence of this brightly colored entree on wheels, still excite kids and adults alike who find entertainment only on digital screens?  For me, this photo confirmed that answer.

One of the reasons people love photography is its ability to preserve a memory.  This week's photo wasn't as much about preserving a memory as it was about reconnecting with my childhood once again to confirm that there are still kid like tendencies alive within me --- just like those gray haired ladies who thankfully are seated in front of me.  By taking the photo, I confirmed that I am not as grown up and packaged as I and others may perceive me to be.  

Today, I rediscovered that same feeling of overwhelming delight which I once experienced as a ten year old kid who pedaled his Ranger bike to a nearby supermarket only to encounter the Weinermobile for the first time.  Once again, I discovered that a brightly colored giant 27 foot long hot dog on wheels can still flood my soul with simple joy.  In a world with so many doubts and changes confronting us daily, this enduring connection brings great satisfaction.

What Pushes Your Photographic Buttons?

My blog subject for this week has less to do with the photo I posted and more to do with the person pushing the buttons.  In my last blog I stated that I when I reviewed photos from the past two years, I discovered that I have framed and posted fewer people photos. This caused me to wonder why this is true because I enjoy watching and working with people.  I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their ideas and life stories so I do not believe that I have many hermit tendencies.  

This week I watched a video on the website fstoppers.com. 

Your Personality Might Be Shaping Your Photography,          Here's How 

This article motivated me to further explore why I photograph and share certain subjects more than others,  and how my choice of photographic subjects may be related to my personality.  Fstoppers features video produced by Ben Harvey, where he references a website that contains a free online version of the Meyers/Briggs personality assessment.  He shared how he used his results to better understand how his photography is influenced by his personality traits.   Many years ago I had taken this assessment as part of a training session at work and here again, in retirement,  I took it once again looking for insights into my photography.  My results showed some nuances that have emerged as one proceeds from career to retirement years but basically my personality has remained unchanged --- something that I cannot claim for the size of my jeans during that period.

What this article prompted me to do was take a second look at my people photos, but not limit that look to only those photos which I have framed or posted.  I discovered that I appear to take take a fair amount of people photos, mostly family and friends who are participating in various events and casual settings.  What I discovered through this second review, by use of the results of my personality assessment, is that I do take people pictures but tend not to make many of them public.  Because I tend to be a private person I likely shield my family photos as a reaction to my impulse to protect them (yea, another older generation hang up as opposed to society's frequency in sharing of such on social media).  A second reason for not sharing family/friends photos is that doing so seems a bit boastful.  I'm proud of my family and regard them along with my friends as the greatest treasures in my life.  Many other people's life experiences have not led them to similar feelings.  Consequently, my photos may appear as jaded or even boastful like some Facebook posts and Christmas letters.

When I view photos created by others, I will frequently ask them about their motivation to capture that moment in a certain manner.  How does their photo speak to them?  I never have asked another photographer why they posted or shared a framed photograph.  If I did so, maybe I would discover a bit more about their personality just as I have discovered from my own reflections this past week.

And It's Yesterday Once More

One photography goal I set for this year is to take more photos of people whether they are candids or portraits.  I came to settle on this goal after looking at the photos I have taken over the last two years.  I enjoy being around people and people watching, but I take very few people photos.  Maybe, I have been reluctant to take photos of others because I do not like having my photo taken for unknown reasons.  However, I got a good start on my goal this past weekend when we were invited to our daughter's home prior to attending a theater performance later that evening. 

Several weeks ago, my granddaughter called me after picking out her prom dress telling me about how excited she was about this beautiful dress which she ended up buying even though it was not at all like the dress she was intending to purchase.  She went on to tell me how she was looking forward to celebrating at prom with her friends and a young man who had recently entered her life. As we concluded our conversation, she reminded me to be sure to bring my camera when I came to her house that evening telling me she wanted me to take some photos of her and her date. What she left out of that conversation was the fact that she had invited eight of her friends and their dates to her house before going to the prom.  

As the kids continued to arrive, more requests for photos came from my granddaughter and her friends and also from the parents of her friends. Each of her friends had a phone as did their parents and before we knew it, we were immersed in a full blown photo frenzy.

The photo featured this week offered me a glimpse of what it was like to be sixteen after all these years.  Before any of her friends arrived, I watched her take a short video of herself which brought back personal memories about being sixteen back in the 60s. It's easy to recall the events, the people, and the music, but it is difficult to rediscover how intensely you embraced life at sixteen when each moment can  leave you feeling as if you are suspended somewhere between elation and utter exclusion.   

I noticed that my granddaughter was using her phone to capture a video of a private moment.  During the sixties it was unlikely that any of us would have carried a camera at our side to capture candid moments with our friends.  In that era, the best you may get is an obligatory parent photo or a minute or two of spontaneity in a photobooth at the Walgreens.  Today all teens carry cell phones as though they were a third arm, causing me to wonder if their culture of limitless candids and videos will help them better preserve those moments of intense feelings after they become staid middle aged parents.

My photo was intended to capture my granddaughter's contemplative mood and the emergence of pre-prom "butterflies".  I chose to make the outdoor background black and white while retaining my granddaughter and her phone in color to express what it is to be sixteen when the vibrance and glow of special moments falls only on you and the rest of the world seems unfocused and unimportant.  While I was photographing her friends,  what became apparent to me was the energy and exuberance of being sixteen and facing limitless adventures.  Being with them reminded me of what most of us oldies forget about when we were teens -- those moments of living without a filtered and seasoned perspective thereby experiencing life so adventurously that each moment can potentially take your breath away.   I can't say I miss that 16 year old feeling, but it sure helps me to cherish the love, patience and understanding of my parents and other adults who stood by me during those teen years. 

 Where Does the Border Begin?

Yellow Legs in Black and White

I have been thinking about  the use of borders placed upon an image during post processing.  For most of my photographs, I choose not to use one.  I think that for landscapes, street scenes, portraits, candid photos, wildlife, etc., borders add little to the presentation.  However, every now and then I see a photo where a border brings a feeling of completion to the photo.  What bothers me is that I don't seem to have a particular rule or reason to add a border.

Using this week's photo as an example, the reason that I placed it within a border was to make it stand out from the white background on this page.  This decision had nothing to due with the photo itself but everything to do with where I was intending to display it. "To border or not to border" is a question that doesn't seem to offer any guidelines similar to the way that the rule of thirds or use of leading lines offer to assist in creating a composition.  

Speaking of composition, I have been experimenting a bit by placing subjects in different areas of my compositions disregarding the rule of thirds guideline.  My thought is that sometimes it occasionally works by creating tension for the viewer by drawing their eye through the photo to an unfamiliar place.  There is a hint of that strategy in this week's photo where I intentionally left a greater amount of negative space at the top by using a severe portrait style crop referencing the traditional Eastern Asian scripts that are to be read vertically.  

As further research,  I plan to see if this placement of objects within a frame concept has an application aside from photography.  To do so, I will be placing our tupperware lids away from their corresponding containers just to get feedback from my wife.  Perhaps, it will lead to eating fewer leftovers!

 Warp Speed

My blog is a bit of a turkey this week.  Easter plans and preparations and a handful of delightful interuptions hindered a more thoughtful commentary.  Never the less, who said that photography shouldn't be fun?

My photo this week was taken about two weeks ago at a local state park.  I had gone there to photograph some loons that others had reported to be passing through the area.  I longed for that loon shot where they are serenely gliding across the water's smooth surface.  No loons for me that day.  However, before exiting the park, I pulled to the side of the road to take a call.  This turkey scurried by me along the roadway like he was heading for a five alarm fire.

His scurrying by me caused me to believe he was having a day similar to those I have had this week -- rushed and a blur of activity.  Sometimes you roll with the cosmic forces, and so I assisted this old bird in post processing by adding a little extra speed blur.  I wish Photoshop would create an app that would allow me to introduce this concept into those days when I feel like I need to move at warp speed.  

Hope you all have a nice Easter and  your day was blessed by bunnies and not turkeys!

 Where You Sits is How You See It!

Nygren Wetland Pelicans Spring 25 

During my college days, I had a philosophy professor use the expression, "Where you sits is how you sees it!"  He used it on the opening days of class when speaking about the gray areas in assigning student grades, but it was very appropriate for the content of the course where we were introduced to different philosphers from different eras and studied their world views.  It has been a statement that resonated with me after all the years reminding me about my relationships with people and their ideas.

What initially motivated me to write this blog was my participation in a 52 weeks photo project where I committed to creating one photo per week responding to some loosely interpreted subject or concept.  I think the idea of such projects is a good one because it makes you practice your photography each week and depending on the theme for the week, it can push you outside of your comfort zone. The downside for me was that it made me feel like I was in competition with others or even with myself to produce something better and more creative each week.  I discovered that when I focused on trying to produce a beautiful image (product) to share, it came at my expense in experiencing photography as a personal expression.  In other words, I was looking for a specific thing to photograph and ignored my own feelings and thoughts as the scene unfolded before me.  I lost the wonder within the moment by not being fully available to the present.

The photo for this week is my interpretation of a drab spring scene at the wetlands this past Wednesday.  The photo is not intended to be an actual record of the day, but what I experienced, felt, and remembered about the moment.  The texture I added in post processing flattened and subdued colors of spring which were trying to emerge from winter's chilly grasp.  A pod of pelicans flashing through the frame added light and vitality to an image that otherwise would have been another windy and dreary, early spring day.  

PS:  (For those of you who remain strict adherents to the product side of photography, you have likely noted that there are an even number of pelicans {8} which breaks the ridgid rule of odd numbers specifying the proper amount of birds, racoons, or possums allowed within a photograph.  God, forbid that there would have been five or nine birds within this frame -- that would have just ruined my day.)  "Where you sits is how you see it!"

 Walking Together

This past week has been true to the old saying about March-- "In like a lamb out like a lion",  The winds have been roaring and the temperatures have felt colder due to the damp and rainy conditions.  I remained inside and began sorting through old digital files when I came upon this one, an old favorite.

It is a favorite photo because it shares a very simple story in symbolic way.  This unposed photo was taken within the hallway at a local elementary school nearly twelve years ago.  Ethically, I feel comfortable posting it because the children are not identifiable.  Furthermore, I was invited to take photos within the building that day understanding the guidelines surrounding my task.

What struck me as I was taking the photo was it was so characteristic of younger elementary kids behavior when they placed within an environment that feels a bit too big for them.  When I looked at the digital print, I noted how the various elements within the photo spoke to the message that it's good to travel with others .  I liked the dreamy reflections on the floor behind them, and the light from the opaque glass blocks ahead of them.  The children walked confidently together through hallways surrounded by their own work displayed side by side with the work of their classmates.   

Being around young children for most of my career, I have noticed how natural it is for youngsters to want to hold hands as they walk together.  As we grow older, we either forget how good it is to walk with others or we are influenced to walk alone to assert ourselves as individuals. I find it ironic that American culture, which proudly promotes a me first perspective, is experiencing an "epidemic of loneliness*" as proclaimed by the surgeon general in 2023.   It's not until much later in life that I see older folks, in their golden years, walking together and holding on to one another once more.       

 *What is Causing Our Epidemic of Loneliness and How Can We Fix It?                      Elizabeth M. Ross 

  https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/what-causing-our-epidemic-loneliness-and-how-can-we-fix-it