Pittsburgh at Night

Net neutrality

Evolution is subtle until it's not.
See (this) (this) & (this)

Moment

Current Book: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman & The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil
Music: NYC Man: The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection
Mood: A little groggy: my TM is flaring up today; should of ate better yesterday: also I skipped my yoga and meditation this morning. ( bad ILP today)
Sounds: Silence
Sights: A sunny morning with a bright reflective glow from the window.
Smells: Coffee Coffee Coffee + Man I drink way too much coffee
Temperature: Perfect out side 53 degree and clear blue skies
Thoughts: Understating future philosophy systems theory and applying it to photography industries.

Save the Internet

This is from an e-mail conversation that I was having yesterday about “Save the Internet” campaign.
- It’s widely seen as a plot to control online political speech and to force people to view advertisements while surfing.

I have been fortunate enough to be a working photographer and musician for a long time. It has only been feasible do to the internet. In music I did not need a label or to travel the county touring to earn a living playing music. I was able to sell CD’s, book my own shows and promote myself all vie the internet. In photography I do not have to advertise or have a retail store front where I need to pay rent and utilities. I base my business out of my home all do to the internet. I can charge fair price to my clients at the same time provide an income for my family. Everybody happy and everybody win.

Please read through Save the Internet and forward it on…

Bach's wife may have composed

Bach is the Godfather of composition to me. If his wife composed some of his best works that’s ok to me: behind every successful man is a talented woman smirking. My wife has improved my composition skills in music, photography and writing further than every academic institution or bar side prophet that I have ever met.

Man is only

Click photo to read

Fifty Ways to Help Save the Planet

What you can do (read this) Great article in Vanity Fair: if a fashion magazine can take a non partisan stand on global sustainable. Can we take on a sustainable view beyond our own perspective.

Me as a South Park Character

Save the Internet

Internet Freedom is under attack. Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.

Thanks to Integral Practice Blog for the heads up..

Earth Day

I missed Earth Day? How could that be possible? I am a self described tree hugger. I live in sandals, love granola, recycle for fun. I could be a full time walk in woods type of guy ( Walden wanna be) if I did not have to pay the mortgage. Deep bows of sorrows to mother earth.

p.s. click on Earth Day title for a great photo

Pittsburgh, PA Wedding + Photography

The start of wedding season officially began tomorrow for us. I love photographing weddings it represents everything grand about photography. First, the preservation of memories; Second, great composition (if you are a reader of this blog then you know how important composition is to me) Third, photojournalist and documentation style of photographing and Fourth or possibly first, the capturing of love.

Thank you and gratitude to all the brides and grooms that we will be working with this year.

Creativity and Fear

"The enemy of creativity is fear...In the long run, the enemy of fear is creativity. I'm sure of it." (via Seth Godin)

Genre

Art could be interesting if: "I'm impatient with genre as a label of quality. But if we could stop critics being ignorant, genre would be interesting." Ursula K. Le Guin

Introducing Myself

The no-self of this I is a nexus point with no beginning or no ending it is where my introduction starts. Some say that I am the essences of circular thought, but the singularity “I” of critical thought would surly tear me apart. I am waiting to be reincarnated again like the newsiest invention to start the latest dance craze. A person of style; not fashion or dress but mode of rhythms & words; rhythms leads me to dialogue where my wrong words come out with sweet corrections put in place by the use of …, -, & semicolons(;) all keep me safe. Norman Mailer, Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller have all mooched off of me. Let’s all meet again in this same time in this same space.

I am a stealer of ideas; but only the good ones.

Knowledge for free

I love books, I love reading, and I love my local library: The idea of a library is wonderful; they give us knowledge for free. Any subject or thought can be research to completion at your local library. My current reading: Art As Experience by John Dewey & The Wave in the Mind by Ursula K. Le Guin (p.s. pay your late fees)

Service and Kindness

Lately, I have been making new friends though this blog and Zaadz site: Serendipity of what I need to learn and what I have to offer combining into different dialogs. I have started relationships with people in Thailand, Edinburgh, Lothians, Austria, Denver Co, Chicago Il, New Mexico…(you get the point; any PC with a right click equals communications). I had conversations with novelist, musician, magazine publisher, self –employed bloggers; I have met people who want to change the world. The only goal of the dialogs is to share perspective, reinterpretation, and perennial philosophy of the ages. I could not believe that these people who produce such high end works would take the time to talk to me….then I realized that-THAT is EXACLTY WHY they are so successful – they are dedicated to service and kindness of others.

What private service can I publicly bring to the world? Art can serve: there is old proverb that says. “In time of war send the musician in first.”

Proverbe for the 21st Century

Click photo to read

Reflections on Compositions

I wanted to share with you part of a dialog that I am having on my ZAADZ POD (if you never hear of Zaddz, check it out) When Paul compares photography to a “craft of waiting” I could not agree more with him: Photography and composition is wrapped up in our five senses.


(Via Paul) “Photography for me has always been a little bit of an odd art form. Composition in music is rather akin to using a paint brush and painting from your head. You know what you want to make, and you actively craft it. The inspiration comes, but rarely does an entire work appear in my mind for me to then jot down. Photography, on the other hand, has always been something where I let the art come to me. My photography has been a craft of waiting. I let the art appear before me, and at the correct moment, I snap my shot”.

Pittsburgh PA 6:30am

In time of war send the musician in first

If you live in a world were all you want for is “more” it is time for you to take notice of it. You can always tell the state of the world by what people are complaining about. If gas price are too high and the president should be impeached then you are probably having a good day. If there is money in your pocket and food on your table then most likely you spent too much time watching TV last night.

For myself - Last night, after eating too much pizza I sat my butt down in front of the TV to blindly view prime time TV. Accidentally I flipped on a Bill Clinton speech: The speech was entitled “Private Citizens and Public Service”. Bam, I was hypnotized by his dedication to service. I was asking myself if his current role was penance for past sin. Not really caring what the answer is.

Clinton speech had me reflected upon the past years of my life. In addition to photography I am a guitarist and after 9/11 everybody wanted to hear inspirational music. Collectively we needed to be uplifted and transform to a better world if it was only for the time of a song. Music can heal and it was a blessing to play music during that time period. I can no longer feel if 9/11 was 5yrs ago or 5minutes ago but the music still resonates with me today.

What private service can I publicly bring to the world? Art can serve: there is old proverb that says. “In time of war send the musician in first.”

Ambivalence (m-bv-lns)

How does the inspired person find inspiration? Is pondering a subject, simply the act of not completing a thought? Does having forethought mean you can see the future? If you are being present in the moment is that a gift to yourself? What happens to serendipity if you are not paying attention to it? Can common sense be applied to an outcast? When I title something an oxymoron when writing about an oxymoron is that the act of an oxymoron? Silly person says what? Uh, D-oh. Can an ambivalence thought be a completion to a pondering thought?

A rambling thought from the ordinary mind

(VIA)Dating God - “Believe in love, Life, and creative expression as a path to salvation. I believe that we are all already saved but are too consumed by all the shiny things to realize it. I believe that all the love we need is inside of us.”

What a great way to think about life: I am a son a brother a husband a father a friend a photographer a musician a citizen. I can find no separation between me & society. We must serve in any manner we can. I am what I am.

Photography and Ethics

“Secular Ethics” that embraces the key ethical principles, such as compassion, tolerance, a sense of caring, consideration of others, and the responsible use of knowledge and power - principles that transcend the barriers between religious believers and non-believers, and followers of this religion or that religion. - Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama: Science at the Crossroads : Ethics is an exercise of taking different perspectives.” - KW

Lately, I have been thinking about photography and ethics. The current project that I have just completed has brought this thought to the forefront of my mind. I was documenting from a photojournalistic perspecitve, local city landscapes and roadways. The purpose of this project is to identify a dedicated source of transportation funding. The problem that I incurred was being true to the ethics required to complete the project while maintaining true to the subject matter. I needed to take on the perspective and intension of the clients while setting aside my own thoughts and judgments of the subject. Initially my view on the subject matter was in agreement with the client’s needs. Throughout the project my view via experiences changed my focal perspective on the subject.

This morning I came across this definition of secular ethics and a few posts back I linked a definition of ethics. Neither definition focuses on the agreed upon view of common sense or simplicities of a single view. When photography become a service we as photographers have to take an all inclusive viewpoint so not to cloud (out of focus) the subject matter; to hold on to our practice of ethics.

Moment

Current Books: The Thrid Secret by Steve Berry
Music: Tears in the Rain by Ottmar Liebert: this cd has been in my car for two weeks now,everytime I listen to it I hear something new.
Mood: Good, Great, Energizer, Happy, Feel like Dancing
Sounds: Brids chirping, I think this is my favorite sound in nature.
Sights: See this: 6:30 am in Pitsburgh, who would of thought?
Smells: Coffee Coffee Coffee
Temperature: Current,
Thoughts: Photojournalism is hard!! (&) Look both ways before walking in traffic. I learned this the hard way this morning.

Fiction or Photography

We all love Photoshop; having the ability to right click our way to the perfect picture is greatly satisfying. The pondering question is: When does Photoshop (a.k.a. the fictionalizing of a documented moment) become more important than the act of taking the original photos? My current project has me photographing out doors city landscape. The problem is that first Mother Nature has to be on my side for good lighting and second I am working towards a dead line. It is April in Pittsburgh and we do not have dawn or dusk only graying skies to light and graying skies to dark. How can Seattle get the wrap for being the rainiest city in Untied States? What to do? Out door photography and bad lighting equals boring flat photographs. Photoshop to the rescue: bright blue skies sharp distinctive tones completed a project with a happy client.

In many aspect of my creative process I keep a balance of extremes on how I use technology while keeping true to the essence of the discipline. In music I play a classical nylon guitar, no pick or cut away and also I play a hybrid classical guitar with a two pick up system that I run through a Roland synth into Pro Tool on MAC. For writing I keep a moleskin journal (coolest notebook in the world – get one) and also this blog: which gives me all the tools I need for correct grammar, hyperlinks & spell check. In photography I totally embrace the digital culture at the same time only allowing myself to use Photoshop as a tool.

When fiction becomes photography I have to keep a constant reminder to myself that art is the practice of composition. I will continue to embrace the idea of stepping away form Photoshop and that photography is the art of painting with light.

WHY LEARN MUSIC

WHY LEARN MUSIC?

Music is mathematical
It is rhythmically based on the subdivision of time into fraction. These fractions must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a foreign language
Musical notation on the staff is a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. Music is its own complete and universal language.

Music is history
Music reflects the environment and times of its creation.

Music is physical education
Our bodies respond instinctively to the sound of music. The hear hears a sound, the mind interprets and the body moves. It requires fantastic coordination of the body to feel and keep the beat for an entire song.

Music is a science
It is exact, specific, and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor's full score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time.

Music is all these things, but most of all, MUSIC IS ART
It allows us to take seemingly dry, technically difficult skills and use them to create emotion. Music expresses human feelings.

Pretty good list, huh? The only thing I'd add is that while music training (piano and voice) has been documented to develop, in particular, spatial and logical/mathematical intelligences, that sort of utilitarian, even pragmatic analysis ought be deemphasized, because music is fun. The fun of music ought be the primary guide through one's discovery of music. It is fun to vibrate together. It is fun to co-experience the tonal mystery-in-time that is good music. It is fun to discover new expression. It is fun to improvise. It is fun to perform a composition knowing people are listening with their inhibitions lowered. It is fun to be off-key with another and then find a consonance, even a unison. And it is fun to know that music is there for you whenever you need it, want it, or imagine it. All other effects are important but secondary. Its fun is its own primary reward. (VIA)Mathew Dallman

A Walk in the Park

Sometimes it's good to carry a camera

Goal setting

Setting goals for my photography business & everyday life: Ok –everybody tells us to write down our goals for them to manifest into our daily lives. Balancing the point between dreaming and achieving them has been the real goal for me. The first half of my goal writing is from a previous post and it was written as my business paradigm. The second half is directed specifically to my home life.

Work with a purpose
1)Balance lifestyle of professional & personal
2) Satisfying & delighting clients
3) Increase earning a living & contributing to the well being of others
4) Community & environmental responsibility and service


Service with a purpose
1) Family – Bond with my daughter (New born) I should write some type of goal here about my wife, but we are perfect together. Ok - the goal is to always remember how perfect we are.
2) Spiritual – Increase meditation practice
3) Social – Become active in community service (donate photography services)
4) Financial – Understand tax accounting and how it effect my business (any help here would be much appreciated)
5) Physical – Increase yoga practice & start weight lifting
6) Mental – Never stop growing: Read two books a month, one for fun & one for development.

There it is, I will give updates periodically on how I am doing. Let the manifesting begin.

Why do we look for miracles?

A previous cover story on CNN health page reported that’s prayer does not affect outcome. The article goes on to talk about 2 focus groups: Unbeknownst to the first group they were randomly assigned to be the subjects of multi-faith prayers before their procedures. Group 1 had 728 people who had prayer, music & touch therapy applied to them. In group two 728 people had knowingly had prayer, music & touch therapy applied to them. The results show that neither group showed better results: hence, prayer does not affect outcome.

After reading the article my thoughts were: Why do we look for miracles? Why would the providers of this study wait for the 728 people to need surgery? Would it not provide more usable data if we took 728 people and help them develop a practice of health that included prayer, music & touch therapy?

Passion

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, originally uploaded by Craig-Photography.

Photography nature

Interrupt regular scheduled bloging

Your socks don’t like you!

We all know that the only proof of a mysterious universe cosmic power that controls the all in all is the disappearance of a single sock. Truly, has to be one of the only experiences that we all share (that is if you live in a country where you are lucky enough to have socks). Ok let’s run through the life of a sock, “The narrative”; it is laundry day in any town USA and two sock are stripped off of your stinky feet (they are all sticky feet & no I am not talking about someone else; this is directed right at you). The socks go into (a pair) the wash first to be drowned in the soak mode then they get to swim through the soap filled general wash and then violently to the rinse cycle for them. Some have speculated that a single sock can vibrate to the next level during the rinse cycle but this has been highly discredited by many debunkers.

Next, onto the dryer – the place were any cotton product can be killed (lint is Purgatory). The dryer is the place that most of us collectively agree is the magical portal to sock freedom. Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Wave Theory and quantum physics and string theory have all been ruled out by CERN (CERN is no way affiliated to this writing/blog, they asked I said no) The only conclusion that can be made is your socks don’t like you! Yes you- the person reading this…do I have to explain this again that I am not talking to someone else – I am talking to you…the one with stinky feet.

Why? Maybe they want to be in a sock puppet show or simply be golf club covers, it has been rumored that they like to become wristbands. Know this: Your socks don’t like you! Your socks do not want to run in pairs…

Working for Good

Working for Good is designed to inspire and support entrepreneurial initiative in service to society and to celebrate the role of business in promoting peace and prosperity.

This is why I love the internet and bloging. I stumble or right click my way to this web site today. The soul idea of this website is cultivating a community for the idea of working with a purpose. Photography with purpose equals service – This past weekend my mind was filled with outlining my currents photography project. The idea/thought that I was walking through the woods but still working is a blessing.

How to Have a 36 Hour Day

Check out this post from John Bischke it is a longer read, but worth it.