Paul Lester Photo

This past week when I was in Charlotte I viewed the weather forecast and saw that we were expecting pretty cold temperatures for Sunday morning. I hoped that there would be some frost. When I woke up, sure enough, it was about 25 degrees and there was indeed frost everywhere. I got out of bed, dressed, and headed for one of my favorite spots, the gardens at UNCC.

As I walked about the gardens, I noticed these plants. Some plants were in their full fall regalia and looking quite splendid. Others were newly green, and still others were a full green. Then, there were some that had died. Here, represented in these plants were the full cycle of life. Isn’t photography a wonderful exploratory tool?

I’ve been reading a book: Death of a hero, birth of a soul, by John C. Robinson. It’s a book about the things that men go through in midlife. To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. This is a book that had me searching for hidden cameras in my car, my house, and at my job, even inside of head! In reading the pages I saw my life unfold right before me in those printed words. My feelings bared on paper. It is interesting that men all go through these same things sometime between 40 and 60 years of age. He talks about the seasons of life:

Spring: When everything is new. This is from childhood through adolescence. This is when life was innocent, but where we took our first wounds from our parents, teachers, society, etc. These wounds would shape us and affect us all through our life and make themselves known and felt again in midlife.
Summer: Here is where we leave home and embark on the hero’s journey. Time to conquer the world, save the fair maiden, have our own kingdom, and become king.
Fall (Midlife): Uh oh. A time of disillusionment. Things didn’t work out as we planned. Body is changing and there are little aches and pains. I’m not young anymore. What’s that thing down the road? Mortality? You mean I don’t have forever? Questions! Questions! Questions! What is my purpose? Is there a purpose? Did I do all of this stuff because I wanted to or because I felt that I had to? More questions. Climbing the corporate ladder? Whose ladder? Time to face those childhood wounds now. No more running away. No more deflection. No fighting the pain, just let it come. Work through it. Compassion blossoms, competition diminishes.
Winter: A time of rest. Retirement. Time to do what I want to do. Time to learn more about letting go. Friends are passing on, dying. You can’t take it with you. In the end, you must let it all go, but what a wonderful ride it has been.

Those are not his words, but my summary of what I’ve taken from this wonderful book. I highly recommend it for guys between 40 and 60 who may wonder what the heck is going on. I thought back to my sudden urge to volunteer again. I’m very glad that I did. It has been very fulfilling. As one who is fully in the autumn of his life, I find it a very interesting and often unsettling place, but I know that it is something that I must go through. Some of it is really good, the other, well, let’s just say that it is necessary.

In response to my calendar, Cedric asked the question:

Just wondering, did you need to get a release form from the people in some of the shots or is that not necessary?

A very relevant question for those of us who take photos of people. Initially, I gave a short answer of “No. I didn’t, because I don’t need to.”; however, I deleted that comment, gave it some more thought, then did a bit of research to attempt to find the answer. Of course, I must state first and foremost that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advise in any way. Further, this information is based on the laws of the United States as I, a layman, understand them. Don’t take my word for it, ask an attorney.

OK, now that that stuff is out of the way. Here’s what I did. I looked into my Photographer’s Legal Guide that I purchased from Photo Attorney about two years ago. It’s very easy to read and is not filled with legal mumbo-jumbo.

Usage categories are split into two: Editorial and Commercial. Editorial content is protected under the First Amendment and, assuming that you got the photograph of a person in a public place where there was no expectation of privacy, such as on the street, you may use the photo as you wish without the person’s consent. An example that she gave was of using these types of photographs at gallery showings, perfectly legal.

There was, however, a lawsuit brought against a New York street photographer, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, in 2005. You can read about it here and a New York Times article about the same.. However, the various courts ruled in favor of the photographer. Score one for our side. The lower courts talked to both the statute of limitations for filing the suit as well as the photographer’s First Amendment Rights of freedom of speech and expression. The upper courts, upon appeal, only talked to the statute of limitations. At any rate, the entire lawsuit was dropped.

If you use a photograph for commercial reasons, then you need a model release. But, the tricky part is finding out what is commercial use. Commercial use is when the photograph has been used for advertising purposes, such as on a tee-shirt or coffee mug (given examples). Ms. Wright says that if someone looking at a photograph would think that the person in it is promoting or endorsing a product affiliated with the photograph, then its use is commercial. This seems to be the acid test. However, including someone’s photo inside of a book, or even on the cover, does not constitute advertising or commercial use. It is indeed sticky and still a bit unclear. People can still file a lawsuit and, even though you might win, it could cost a pretty penny.

In the end, Carolyn E. Wright, Esq., the author of the legal guide says that anytime that you take a photograph of someone, it’s a good idea to get a model release; even if, legally, you might not need it, it’s good to have it.

Sigh … trees are so much easier! Well, Cedric, that’s the long answer.

Big enough chain?

I saw these bicycles parked outside of a Bank of America in downtown Charleston. I’m not sure what these bikes are made of, but it must be pretty valuable! Dang! Those are some serious chains. I hope that whoever those chains belong to doesn’t ride home with them in their backpack! Talk about a tiring commute!

My own personal symbol.

This evening I took a ride down to the beach. I wanted to clear my head. Too many thoughts. Living here does have its advantages. The beach is a great place to go to wash away your cares and to reconnect with what is important. As soon as I walked onto the beach I could feel the anxiety fading. The sound of the waves carried my troubles out to sea. When I found the stump of a previously broken palmetto tree, I had a seat, faced west, and watched the sunset.

After a while a chilly breeze began to blow in from the ocean. It felt so good. It felt good to shiver, to have to zip up my jacket. As I sat on the palmetto stump, I decided to turn around. I’m glad that I did. The moon was just beginning to rise. I’ve been listening to Joseph Campbell’s PBS special about mythology and find it absolutely fascinating how it fits into religion, personal growth, and everyday life. Symbology, it seems, is very important to us. He mentioned that symbology, in general, is important to people, but that it is more important to artists such as painters, writers, singers, musicians, dancers, etc. He didn’t specifically mention photographers, but I’m sure that we’re in there for sure.

As I watched the moon rise I thought of all of the mythologies associated with the moon. Goddesses have been attributed to it. We even have a day of the week Monday (Moon Day) attributed to it. The moon is associated with romance as well as lunacy (a type of romance?), wolves, werewolves, and a host of other symbols depending on the culture, but it seems that every culture attributes some importance to it in song, stories, and symbology. Who can forget all of the movies where when bad things happen it’s usually done under a full moon. The moon is also seen as a symbol of feminine energy, reflecting the rays of the sun. The moon also lights the way on those dark nights, helping us to find our way.

Gazing upon it, I had a feeling of great calm to wash over me. It was just great to be there. I think that this is the power, for me, of photography. It gives me a reason to be there. Not that I need a reason, but, it opens my heart to the possibilities and gets me out there to experience life, I suppose.

BTW, there’s that picture that I always take. My symbology for something as yet consciously unknown, but very familiar to my subconscious. I don’t even try to avoid it anymore. I just let it take hold of me and present itself in as many ways as it wants. Big sky, small people, moon or sun, if available. We do like symbols.