ISO 1600, Exposure 1.6(sec), Aperture F/22
2.28.2007
2.25.2007
5 Question Interview Series with Bill Deasy
Last year, I attended my first book reading by author/singer/songwriter Bill Deasy. This year, I asked Bill to take part in my “5 Question Interview Series”. Congratulations to Bill for Ransom Seaborn being nominated for a 2006 Needle Award. Click here to get the whole scoop. The winner will be announced March 7th. To learn more about Bill Deasy click here & here.
How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by your music audience compare with writing music?
I didn’t really think about an audience as I wrote “Ransom.” I just wanted to see if I could do it, write a novel, I mean. In general, I get the same rush writing fiction that I get writing songs -- it just takes longer stretches of concentration.
Your life seems to be a journey that is totally expressed by your words either in song or in your novel: Do we know the real you or do you keep a private life that is not told to your readers/listeners?
I’m really not sure. I think there is definitely a big chunk of me revealed in my songs, but doubt I’m quite as tortured or sad or sensitive as my lyrics might indicate. At least I hope I’m not!
What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
I think I’m inspired by my love of the process. Feeling an inspiration, allowing it to grow and become something, working it into a form that moves me then sharing it with others and hoping it moves them, feeling it when they connect with it. That process is kind of addictive.
Will you give us a little info on your next/current project? (2nd novel? New CD?)
Just finished a draft of a second novel called “Traveling Clothes” and I’m inching toward a new CD. I have a bunch of songs written but don’t quite know how they all fit together yet.
Why Pittsburgh, PA? What keeps you based in Pittsburgh? Why have you not moved to Nashville or LA?
I LOVE PITTSBURGH!!! I love the rivers and the gray skies and all the little neighborhoods and the people. And I’m willing to travel so I go to all those cities on a regular basis but live here. It helps me to keep from burning out and to keep my priorities in line.
How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by your music audience compare with writing music?
I didn’t really think about an audience as I wrote “Ransom.” I just wanted to see if I could do it, write a novel, I mean. In general, I get the same rush writing fiction that I get writing songs -- it just takes longer stretches of concentration.
Your life seems to be a journey that is totally expressed by your words either in song or in your novel: Do we know the real you or do you keep a private life that is not told to your readers/listeners?
I’m really not sure. I think there is definitely a big chunk of me revealed in my songs, but doubt I’m quite as tortured or sad or sensitive as my lyrics might indicate. At least I hope I’m not!
What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
I think I’m inspired by my love of the process. Feeling an inspiration, allowing it to grow and become something, working it into a form that moves me then sharing it with others and hoping it moves them, feeling it when they connect with it. That process is kind of addictive.
Will you give us a little info on your next/current project? (2nd novel? New CD?)
Just finished a draft of a second novel called “Traveling Clothes” and I’m inching toward a new CD. I have a bunch of songs written but don’t quite know how they all fit together yet.
Why Pittsburgh, PA? What keeps you based in Pittsburgh? Why have you not moved to Nashville or LA?
I LOVE PITTSBURGH!!! I love the rivers and the gray skies and all the little neighborhoods and the people. And I’m willing to travel so I go to all those cities on a regular basis but live here. It helps me to keep from burning out and to keep my priorities in line.
2.23.2007
No Studio
I do not want a photography studio. That may seem odd because my profession is photography. It could be construed as a writer not wanting a desk, a wood worker not wanting a shop. As that may be, I do not want a photography studio. Why? It's not real. Photography is the art of painting with light. Photography is the art of documenting an instant. Thus, light is in motion and constantly recreates its own direction and self. Life is constantly in action, non-stopping episode. Hence, photography is alive, photography has breath, and photography is not predestined to be controlled by box lights, flashes and backdrops. Photographers should consult nature first.
2.21.2007
Self-Vision Statement
- A self-vision statement and searching for that internal “click”.
There has been much dialogue in the blogsphere as of late on the topic of “The Secret” and other spirituality/motivational books/ideas. Nevertheless the question of what causes the internal click for some and not others has not been answered entirely for a number of readers.
Personally I have not read The Secret, Power of Now or even Law of Attraction although I have been a student of perennial philosophy, which a great deal of this is based on. I often wonder if those types of books transform the reader’s life, if the text is a starting point or an ending point. I also speculate how the work is translated by the individual.
Late last night the subject of a self-vision statement was brought to my attention; I liked the idea. It could be as simple as a daily word (mantra) or a sentence of the week or a letter to yourself. The only goal is to put something out there (you get to pick the “out” & the “there”). Optimistically, the practice of a self-vision statement can be the “click” we are all searching for… even Oprah.
There has been much dialogue in the blogsphere as of late on the topic of “The Secret” and other spirituality/motivational books/ideas. Nevertheless the question of what causes the internal click for some and not others has not been answered entirely for a number of readers.
Personally I have not read The Secret, Power of Now or even Law of Attraction although I have been a student of perennial philosophy, which a great deal of this is based on. I often wonder if those types of books transform the reader’s life, if the text is a starting point or an ending point. I also speculate how the work is translated by the individual.
Late last night the subject of a self-vision statement was brought to my attention; I liked the idea. It could be as simple as a daily word (mantra) or a sentence of the week or a letter to yourself. The only goal is to put something out there (you get to pick the “out” & the “there”). Optimistically, the practice of a self-vision statement can be the “click” we are all searching for… even Oprah.
2.20.2007
Subtle Thoughts
Renovate, Render & Reform
Rip, Mix & Burn
Not opposing our values on others
Judgment without being judgmental
Separation between Corporate and personal dealings
2.19.2007
Good News Now
GoodNewsNow.com online publication used one of my photos for their "Shot of
the Day". My gratitude to CC & Good News, (p.s. GoodNewsNow.com was
mentioned on The View this past Friday, the same day I was listed.)
the Day". My gratitude to CC & Good News, (p.s. GoodNewsNow.com was
mentioned on The View this past Friday, the same day I was listed.)
2.15.2007
Solidarity & Icy
The day after a snow storm, a day of loveliness; rooftops are blanketed with snow and tree branches are lined with a thin covering of ice. Icy covered tree branches - can you envision an image that is more poetic and artful? Days akin to this give inspiration for what life can be. There is pure silence and stillness that encompasses the environment. Weather transports nature back into society, it's a reminder that we are only a part of the greater whole. Solidarity with all sentient beings is a communal understanding that compassion and simplicity of lifestyle is a virtue.
As I conclude this journal entry I look at my camera: enjoy every season and embrace it fully.
Moment
Current Reading: The Magus of Java: Teaching of an Authentic Taoist Immortal by Kosta Danaos
Music: Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin – recommended by Mathew Dallman
Mood: Peaceful
Sounds: Conversations between Michael Monroe & Stuart Davis on Integral Naked
Smells: Hojicha Roasted Green Tea
Sights: Ice cover tree tops – hope the tree limbs don’t break.
Temperature: Low of 8 degrees, High of 20 degrees
Thoughts: Therapy is not alterative
Music: Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin – recommended by Mathew Dallman
Mood: Peaceful
Sounds: Conversations between Michael Monroe & Stuart Davis on Integral Naked
Smells: Hojicha Roasted Green Tea
Sights: Ice cover tree tops – hope the tree limbs don’t break.
Temperature: Low of 8 degrees, High of 20 degrees
Thoughts: Therapy is not alterative
2.14.2007
2.12.2007
Holons News
Integral Institute's online publication Holons listed Craig Photography as one of its "staff picks" for blogs. - Much gratitude Holons!
2.11.2007
Live Consciously + Think Integrally
In my prior writings I have been focusing on worldviews, self-effort and conscious economics. In doing this I realized that most of my spending comes down to ecological and/or political acts. Where do I want my footprints to be left? In an effort of trying not to tread in the greed of monopolizing corporations I try my best to spend my money in accordance with my ethics. With that said I do not drive a hybrid car (yet) nor do I live in a sustainable home, nevertheless efforts to purchase eco-friendly, energy-saving products and local produce is at the forefront of how I prefer to spend my money. Honestly, sometimes I have to shop at corporations that put profits before people. In these places I know that my purchase will help to support sweatshops, animal cruelty, toxins in our food and global warming; however I walk away with the knowledge that my purchase was made from an educated, conscious decision. For that I am thankful to the citizens that provide us daily with information of how our money is being spent. I can walk away from a corporation that is not aligned with my ethics, offer a prayer of gratitude in my heart for the people and land that produced the merchandise and ask for forgiveness for what I have done.
That is the lesson I am trying to learn and live: To be conscious of my economics no matter how the money is spent. Not to neglect or turn away from the information that is provided to me, to live consciously in growth and effort.
That is the lesson I am trying to learn and live: To be conscious of my economics no matter how the money is spent. Not to neglect or turn away from the information that is provided to me, to live consciously in growth and effort.
02/10/2007 + City Night Photography
10 February - 20 degrees - 10:28pm
ISO 200 Aperture F/29 Exposure 10 Sec
2.08.2007
5 Tips to Exceeding Expectations
A photographer (dual) guide to exceeding expectations: the following 5 guidelines are mutually useful for in-camera tips and client relationship tips.
1) There is no neutral experience.
2) Problem recovery
3) Active listening
4) The customer is the benchmark
5) Communicate understanding
1) There is no neutral experience.
2) Problem recovery
3) Active listening
4) The customer is the benchmark
5) Communicate understanding
2.07.2007
7, February 2007 + Rant
7, February 2007 and its two degrees above zero; that is cold, feel your nose hair type of cold. Global warming is on my mind. What will the next 100 years be like? Will I leave this world a better place for the next generation? Economic and ecology what will you teach me? Education of nature past haunts my mind. Consult nature first and do no harm to others. The earth was flat until it was not; slavery was legal until it was not, evolution is subtle until it’s not. What is in our current culture that will not be there when history tells our story? What sin do we commit daily that we are blind too?
This is why photography is important, documentation of our past with the ability to shift perceptions to create our new world view.
This is why photography is important, documentation of our past with the ability to shift perceptions to create our new world view.
2.06.2007
City Night Photography + Gallery
City Night Photography is this year gallery project (you can see last year gallery here). The goal of this work will be to document stark, dark urban nights. The images will be essentially in black and white with a grainy sub-texture (fast ISO of 800 to 1600).
2.05.2007
City Night Photography
3 February @ 8:47 PM 6 degrees outside
ISO 1600 Aperture F/22 Exposure 1.6 sec
2.02.2007
Effort is the only solution
Things that bug me:
1) Global Warming
2) Toxins in our food
3) Dependency on oil
4) People being too numb to care
Often I have conversations about the state of the world. Repeatedly, people agree with the problems facing humanity. Nevertheless they feel the issues are too overwhelming for the average citizen to make a difference. That is where I take the utmost offense. There is no longer any confidence in the endeavor to revolutionize the world. Effort is the only solution.
How do you feel when looking into the collective conscience to find that individual effort has fallen short? That individual behavior is unaffected by the information provided to us? What will history write regarding our generation? In the end the Earth will not lose. She will heal herself to be reborn again and again: however, will she invite humanity back?
Sustainability happens within the interior of our emotions: if we can star with compassion in our heart and minds. Then the exteriors action of our dollars will be spent in conjunction with the ethics needed to save this planet. Self effort is the only solution.
1) Global Warming
2) Toxins in our food
3) Dependency on oil
4) People being too numb to care
Often I have conversations about the state of the world. Repeatedly, people agree with the problems facing humanity. Nevertheless they feel the issues are too overwhelming for the average citizen to make a difference. That is where I take the utmost offense. There is no longer any confidence in the endeavor to revolutionize the world. Effort is the only solution.
How do you feel when looking into the collective conscience to find that individual effort has fallen short? That individual behavior is unaffected by the information provided to us? What will history write regarding our generation? In the end the Earth will not lose. She will heal herself to be reborn again and again: however, will she invite humanity back?
Sustainability happens within the interior of our emotions: if we can star with compassion in our heart and minds. Then the exteriors action of our dollars will be spent in conjunction with the ethics needed to save this planet. Self effort is the only solution.
Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study
"Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today." Read entire post here
- A big thank you to Bill at Intergral Options for providing the link.
- A big thank you to Bill at Intergral Options for providing the link.
2.01.2007
Who Runs the World? + Response
I want to share a well written responses to my Who runs the world post.
Jono Cono said...
How very true! Nicely said and quite succinctly. How often it is that I wonder just how much of what happens in this World is perceived or otherwise correctly interpreted by it's inhabitants. People look but they don't see, listen but do not hear, touch and do not feel, speak but do not think. As you say the answer is simple but not easy and it lies within each one of us. We are the masters of decision our very existence demands it of us. Should we not also be masters of strategy? Are we not capable of mulling quickly through various consequences that could possibly unfold through the concatenation of events our decisions will lead us to? It all goes back to how people think and I have a bit of a nasty habit of saying "People just don't think" Obviously not quite a correct statement, more of an articulation of my frustration at times although I may be on to something!
Jono Cono said...
How very true! Nicely said and quite succinctly. How often it is that I wonder just how much of what happens in this World is perceived or otherwise correctly interpreted by it's inhabitants. People look but they don't see, listen but do not hear, touch and do not feel, speak but do not think. As you say the answer is simple but not easy and it lies within each one of us. We are the masters of decision our very existence demands it of us. Should we not also be masters of strategy? Are we not capable of mulling quickly through various consequences that could possibly unfold through the concatenation of events our decisions will lead us to? It all goes back to how people think and I have a bit of a nasty habit of saying "People just don't think" Obviously not quite a correct statement, more of an articulation of my frustration at times although I may be on to something!
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