All too familiar

 Personal  15 Responses »
Aug 072011
 

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Since I’ve been back from ‘down under’, people want to know what it was like. My answer, in general, is that Sydney was rather like New York City, only much, much farther away. The main difference being that the people drove on the left side of the street and some talked with an Aussie accent, but certainly no one spoke like Crocodile Dundee! There was little that was unique and many things quite familiar.
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Each morning, I walked past 7-11 to get to Starbucks, which was almost right next door to Subway and right across the street, one block down was McDonald’s. One of the tallest buildings in downtown Sydney was the Ernst & Young building. Everywhere you went, there was familiar signs of ‘home’. So, it didn’t seem like much of a get away.

In attempting to put together my SoFoBoMo book for this year, of which I have about 6 more days to do, I’m finding it difficult to know what exactly it is that I want to say. Of course, I could simply put in 35 pictures and be done, but that, somehow, just wouldn’t suffice. I’m going to spend a bit more time on it today and make a good go to try to finish it or at least get really close. Perhaps I’ll go t my local Starbucks, sit there with my computer, and contemplate. Perhaps that will put me back in the mood of being in Australia. Yeah! That’s it. Starbucks! Reminds me of Sydney. LOL

On my return flight, I spoke to a lady who had been to, it seemed like, most everywhere. She said that most places are starting to look the same. Everywhere you go: McDonald’s, Burger King (Hungry Jacks), Starbucks, and even Walmart is showing, which reminds me that there was news in Sydney about the first Costco that had opened there. The lady even mentioned that when she was in Moscow that she saw in a TGI Fridays! Of course, it was written Cyrillic, but there was no mistaking that it was Friday’s!

Of course, this seems natural, I suppose with satellite television, jet travel, and the need or desire for better income to buy more stuff that countries would start losing their original ‘flavor’ in favor of more commerce and employment opportunities, but it is unfortunate that when you land in a land so very far away that it looks all too familiar.

Oh, well! Next international stop planned: Quito, Ecuador. March 2012!

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 Posted by Paul at 6:55 am  Tagged with: , ,

An extension of the vision

 Photography  7 Responses »
May 282011
 

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Our school’s grandmaster came to give a workshop last year on Tai Chi spear form. I really like to hear our Sifu and our grandmaster talk. There are always pearls of wisdom to be found if you listen closely. Words to live by. On this particular visit, Grandmaster spoke of being your martial art. In particular, about weapons. He said that you must practice until the weapon is no longer a weapon, but has become a part of you. Your staff, for example, is an extension of your arm. His advice was to carry it with you all day, every day, if possible. To carry it around your house, to sleep with it. To become one with it. This in your practice, too. Practice until you become Kung Fu or Tai Chi. Until there is no difference.

Certainly, this pays dividends, I believe with photography, or anything else that we wish to become good at. Sure, photography is more than about the primary tool, the camera, but it’s also about the camera. If the camera is simply an extension of your vision, it’s not in the way.

I’ve been using my iPhone’s camera a lot, getting over my personal opinions on what it can do, cannot do, and how it should be used. I’ve just been enjoying using it, almost daily. It’s invaluable on my walk. It slips easily into my pocket and should I see something that I want to photograph, such as this ivy growing along the fence, I can do it.

I enjoy Hipstamatic. It’s to the point now that I can almost see how something will look when photographed with a certainly lens/”film” combination. My favorite combination, thus far, what you see displayed here:

Film: Claunch 72 Monochrome
Lens:Lucifer VI Lens

The more that I use the app, the more that I like it and can get that look that I want. No, it’s not a replacement for the M9, but it sure is fun! I’m sure that I have lots more to learn about it before it becomes an extension of my vision, but that’s the fun part. Learning.

 Posted by Paul at 9:26 am  Tagged with:

Crayons

 Photography  5 Responses »
Jan 082011
 

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Today is semi-annual testing at The Peaceful Dragon. I will be testing for Intermediate Block “B”. Basically, I’m moving from beginner to novice. Very fitting. Our Grandmaster, Ma Foren, has been learning the martial arts for 60+ years and he is still a gung-ho student. I subscribe to his newsletter. Today, appropriately so, we received an e-mail entitled: Time. It starts:

In real Kung Fu ranking it is all about, TIME. If you were to go to China and someone asking you how long are you training in the Arts? And you said five years, they would consider you just a beginner. To understand, try to compare five years of training to a person just starting school. So Five years would be equal to a fifth grader, how much can a fifth grader know? Even Ten years of training is only equal to a person in the second year of high school, again I ask, what can a teenager really understand at that point in time? …

I suppose, or rather, I know that I had never considered learning Tai Chi the equivalent of going through school. My learning, so far, would put somewhere in Kindergarten. :) Here I am testing today. What will the test be? Well, the equivalent of being able to use one Crayon out of a box of 64 and being able to color within the lines of a simple shape. That’s about it. After that, I shall retire with a some cookies, milk, and a blanket. Life is good.

Further along, Grandmaster says:

After about twenty years people start to listen to you, and about thirty years people start to respect your knowledge. Learning forms and techniques is but the beginning, when you reach high levels of time, Forms and Techniques simply disappear, and your Kung Fu becomes real, not just memorized sets, but rather free flowing responses to any action that flow from you naturally without thought or planning. This is the stage where real expertise will materialize.

Thinking about my photography, I picked up a camera some 30+ years ago and have not really put it down since. I guess that I’m just starting to get to the point where the techniques are falling away and my photography is becoming real, an expression of myself rather than something planned or thought about. At least I hope so. If not, I’ll keep on shooting anyway.

This brings home the Zen parable that I heard about an archer. His teacher told him to learn everything possible that he could about archery, then forget everything that he knew about archery. That when he has become the bow and the arrow, only then will he become a great archer.

Nice food for thought before taking the test.

 Posted by Paul at 9:47 am  Tagged with: , ,

It might just make a difference

 Personal, Spirituality  7 Responses »
Dec 172010
 

I love it when people ask me why I think the way that I do about certain things. It gives me an opportunity to really think about it and put into perspective and a chance to get to know myself a bit better. And, so it was that a coworker asked the “Why” question.

We were having lunch and I mentioned that I was thinking, on the way up from the parking lot as the cold slapped and stung my face, that if any homeless person approached me and asked for money, I would give him or her the $5 that I had in my wallet. He asked: Why would you do that? Don’t you know that they could be scamming you, be going to buy a drink, etc.
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I paused, thought for a moment and said: Yes! That is true. That could be what is happening, but what difference does it make to me? I offer it of my own free will and it just might help to make a difference in that person’s day. Also, when I look at him or her, I see myself. We are all walking along the edge. We could be in that same place next week, next month, next year.

How did they get that way? Were they a programmer making a good salary then hit suddenly with an injury, mental illness, sickness, a mistake that landed them in jail for just enough to make them lose their job? I don’t know their story, but I do no that I don’t need to have that story to have compassion for them. What’s $5 to me?

I think asked, what if it happened to you? What if, through no fault of your own, you lost your job, your health, went bankrupt. Then, when you returned to health, you couldn’t get a job because your skills had aged, or whatever reason and you were forced to the street. No one to help. What then? What if you hadn’t eaten in days and you approached me and I gave you $5, or bought you breakfast. Would that make a difference? He agreed that it would and that maybe he could look at things a different way.

The other day, I missed a perfect opportunity to help because I laser focused on the fact that I didn’t have any cash on me. An older gentleman in a wheel chair asked me if I could give him some money to get some breakfast. I told him that I didn’t have any cash, and I didn’t. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about my debit card. There are a number of places that I could have taken him and bought him breakfast. By the time I thought of this, I was already in the building and on the 9th floor. I missed the opportunity.

I’ll be ready the next time. It might just make a difference.

 Posted by Paul at 12:01 am  Tagged with:

Thoughts above the dirt

 Personal  5 Responses »
Dec 092010
 

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I walk past this cemetery every day. I always look, but most times, I think nothing of it. I have noticed that there is a playground right next to it and, at one time, thought that was an interesting juxtaposition, but gave it no further thought.

The other day, I noticed that there are always fresh flowers near the headstones. Someone, or perhaps, many people come and take the time to commemorate their dearly departed. Humans have many rituals in relationship to death, yet, we have no idea of what it is, and we cannot stand to have things be ambiguous, so we come up with mythologies about what happens after life. If we’ve been good, we get to go to a better place, if not, a worse place. Or perhaps we pass into the spirit world, or maybe we just cease to exist … how about we go back into the energy pool and wait to be reincarnated as something/someone else to pay our karmic debt? Who knows?

I was thinking that when that day comes for me, I would like to have a pretty large insurance policy in place for those ‘left behind’. The stipulation on getting this money would be that you do that which you have always wanted to do but, for whatever reason, you’ve not done it. Open a business to get out of the corporate world, take the trip of a lifetime, do something that fulfills your soul.

Death, as I see it, is not a bad thing, it is just another event in life, perhaps the final one. Surely, it can be a great reminder that there is no promise of tomorrow, or the next minute, and fear is certainly the enemy. Time is precious and there is only now. Yesterday, a memory. Tomorrow, an idea, a thought. What will you do with ‘now’?

It’s interesting how once you cross a certain age and you realize that you probably have fewer years left than you have lived, based on the averages, that you have lower tolerance for games, delay, fear, or anything that is not working for you. Some get it. Some don’t. I wonder how many of those on the other side of the dirt got it before ‘the end’. I wonder. Naturally, I am talking to and reminding myself. :)

 Posted by Paul at 1:00 am  Tagged with:

This year’s calendar

 Photography  5 Responses »
Nov 092010
 

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I was reading Earl’s blog the other day about the Cake Lady and the thought suddenly hit me: I haven’t selected my photos for this year’s calendar. I had forgotten all about it. :)

Each year, for the past 3 years, I have made a calendar and sent it to a few friends and family as Christmas presents. Last year it was about my travels; The year before, Arizona/Utah, and before that, vacations and such. When I first thought about it after reading Earl’s post, I thought: Hmmmm, I’ve not really been anywhere this year, to speak of, let me take a trip through the archives.

What will be the theme? Nothing seemed to be tying together, then it hit me. What is it that I do every, single day? Yep! Walk. I have lots of photos from walking, lots of them. So, I guess that it can be a journey of 1,000 miles because, by early December, I will have walked over 1,000 miles since April. What a way to commemorate that event. Maybe one of my worn out shoes will grace the cover. LOL!

Remembering from past years, just because I have the theme, doesn’t mean that I have the photos selected. That’s going to take some time. At least I have an idea to start with.

This year has been a heck of a journey, not only in miles, but in life. Some of you know what I’m talking about, others don’t. Suffice it to say that the road continues and I shall continue to walk it one step at a time.

 Posted by Paul at 7:00 pm  Tagged with: ,

Pushing oneself

 Photography  6 Responses »
May 222010
 

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Our gang!

I’m not really sure how to tie all of this together, but I’ll give a shot. I’ve often heard how being part of a sports team can teach an individual a lot about life. I think that being part of martial arts can teach this guy a lot about photography, and life in general.

This morning, I tested to move from Block A, essentially, Newbie, to Block B, Novice. I, along with about 14 others, passed. Did this mean that we were perfect in our knowledge or in our moves. Ummmmm … No! Far from it. It just means that we knew the basics. We have a lifetime to practice them. This test was just about giving us a tiny marker, something to achieve in the short term. It gives you a measure of where you are, so to speak. Testing is purely voluntary. We are all given areas that we need to work on. I, personally, need to work on my stances as I tend to lean forward. I remember that I used to always lean forward in my bowling approach as well and this always hurt me in my scoring.
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I attended class this morning prior to testing. After finishing the warm up, which is designed to really push you, no matter what your fitness level, I stood there, sweating, looking in the mirror. Suddenly, a burst of pride came forth. I was so proud of myself. Here I was, 48 years old, out of shape, sweating like crazy, but feeling great about it. Heck! Holding down the nausea was an accomplishment enough for the first week!

Today, I pushed myself to do some things that I couldn’t do in the first week, only 6 weeks ago. Today, I was able to do about 7 or 8 of the 20 cat stretches that we do each warm up. Today, I was able to, from a sitting position, lean to the left and actually grab my feet! I could do it to the right, too!

My first visit to The Peaceful Dragon was on Saturday, April 3rd. My introductory talk was on Thursday, April 8th, and my first class was on Saturday, April 10th. Since then I have averaged 3 classes per week, which is the maximum for the introductory level. Today was my 19th class. Nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Sifu Eric Sbarge is a great teacher, as are all of the other instructors. The thing that I like about Sifu is that he’s always dropping little nuggets of wisdom. He’s not in your face shouting, making sure that you hear him. He’s a very quite, unassuming man. It’s up to you to pick them up or not. One of them is to always push yourself just a little tiny bit more than the day before. Also, another one that I’ve heard second-hand: You’re a martial artist now, you don’t take crap from anyone, especially yourself. What does that mean? Does it mean that you should go out and beat up the neighborhood? No. It just talks to discipline in training and in life. Don’t make excuses.

What’s the point?

Well, that’s all nice, Paul, but WTF does this have to do with photography? Get to the point!!! :-) OK. Breathe … Relax.

SoFoBoMo is coming up soon. Some of you will participate, some will not. Some have participated before; some have not. Some are intimidated; some think that it makes photography too business-like and spoils the fun. Again, like the testing that I took today, SoFoBoMo is purely voluntary and fun. Sure, you can create your own anxiety by trying to figure out what to do, how to do it, when to do it, etc, but that’s not exactly letting go and ‘sinking into the move’. :-) One of the things that our instructors keep telling us is to let that upper body relax. Don’t restrict the flow of Chi (energy). One can get a great flow of creative energy from participating, if nothing more than the ideas that it generates.

Though I’ve been doing photography for 30+ years, there are still so many areas where I can improve myself and learn more. No one says that I have to go into an area of photography that I dislike. I still know little about book making, but the past two years of participating has been a great experience. I found that I do have a lot to say and learning how to put a book together just helps we learn to say it differently.

 Posted by Paul at 6:09 pm  Tagged with: , , ,
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