MOVING!!!

Moving to erinsadler.wordpress.com

Please go to this site for a new improved blog.

Slacking... kind of.

I don't feel like I am slacking. I feel like I am exhausted. I have really thrown myself into photography and I am loving every minute of my creative experience with this medium of the arts. I'm not going to post a photo today. I will later this week. I have been doing so much work with my photography that I am finding less time than I expected to dedicated to this blog. I invested a lot of time in shooting a wedding and editing those photos over the past week, I think the photos turned out really well for my first wedding shoot. I'll share later. However, instead of analyzing a photograph and discussing its meaning, I am going to share a story about how connected and... well, funny, people can be.

A few weeks ago, I was running up the stairs to catch the train. The doors closed right in my face. And I mean right in my face. I was going to be late for class and I looked away from the train, obviously with some sort of distress portrayed in my face. Suddenly to doors opened and I turned back to the train and a man in a blue and orange baseball shirt had pulled the lever to let me in. Now, I've seen this happen before when a person has gotten on a train going the wrong way and pulled the lever to get off etc. and the doors shut and the train pulled away from the station.

However, in this case, the train was not moving, and a message over the speaker system said we were being delayed due to mechanical malfunctions... The conductor walked back through each car until he came to ours and realized that it was indeed our car that had pulled the lever. The man that actually pulled the lever was still standing under it. The conductor then began to interrogate the passengers, "Who pulled this lever? Who pulled this lever down? Nobody knows? Who pulled this lever?" The man who actually pulled the lever just shrugged his shoulders and the rest of the passengers showed no signs of life. Until....... one passenger, sitting in the middle of the car said loudly, "I pulled the lever." Another passenger then yelled, "No, I pulled the lever!' And another, "No, I pulled the lever!" Like the scene straight out of Spartacus. The conductor got mad and went back to the front of the train. The entire train car erupted with laughter. I kind of scared because the conductor was being quite hostile, but i couldn't help but laugh hysterically... and I even made it to class on time.

True story. I know it has nothing to do with photography, but I found this situation to be out of the ordinary, especially for being in the big city. I have always had the impression and felt disconnected from other people in the city, but that moment on the train really refreshing.

I Dare You

What is beauty? Where can you find it? Anywhere? Everywhere? What is it based on? The eye of the beholder? Can you see it in this?

I had never seen anything like this. It is a giant sticker bush. Falling into it could possibly mortally wound a person or an animal. Why has this plant developed such defense mechanisms? Nature has provided this plant with the tools it needs to protect itself from predators. The plant has continued to grow and in turn has continued to build its defenses. How is the sticker bush similar to humans? How is it different?

In psychology, Freud is known for many things, including a long list of developed human defense mechanisms. As people grow older and have more life experience, defense mechanisms can arise and deepen in our unconscious. Contrary to popular belief, defense mechanisms are not always harmful, and in fact, are naturally healthy. They are only pathological when they are overused or induce psychosis. If used in a healthy fashion, they protect our egos and self-esteem. So which defense mechanism is the sticker bush displaying? Is it healthy or unhealthy? Obviously, the sticker cannot speak for its behaviors. What does the photograph tell you? What does it imply about its life? I challenge you to create your own perception.

Look at me, look at me.

Let's play a little, whadduya say? Sometimes art is abstract, asking to be defined by the viewer. To me, abstract art is a complete personal experience for the artist AND the viewer. However, not all art is seemingly abstract. Take this picture for instance, it does not seem abstract in nature and does not seem to tell any story.

Or does it? It is more entertaining and enlightening if you take any piece of art, especially photographs and look at it from a contrasting perspective. Don't just look at this meerkat and say, "Oh, look at the cute little furry cat... or is it a dog?" What is it thinking looking up at you? If you could speak meerkat, what would he or she be saying? Have fun with it. Here is what I think:

The Dialogue of the Meerkat:

What are you lookin' at? Stop flashing those things at me, it gives me a headache. I know I'm cute, but please, tell me more. Do you wanna come play in the sand? Wait, make sure you get my good side. Can you put that thing down for a second and come play? No. Well, I guess its just another day at the office... lookin' all cute, pleasin' the people. Hop here, perch there, tilt my head, show my belly... blah blah blah. Just another day... just another day. When's dinner?

What do you think my little Meerkat friend is thinking? Look in his eyes, what do you see?

Starting simple.

I'm just starting out simply. I'm learning how to use this site and trying to create a decent and acceptable design. Right now, my cat is sleeping on my arm, disabling a typing hand... but I decided on a picture to post and discuss...

This is a large window in my living room. After creating this site, I sat out to take some new photos to post and this is the first picture from that session. When I moved into this apartment the landlady told me that this window used to be stained glass. I immediately thought, "What a pity." Times and styles change. This window, long and thin, has mantle full of photos of family and friends resting just beneath it. But what does the window portray? The lines that separate the glass and the grooves in between offer a distorted view, almost that vertical imprisonment. A sense of wonder of the clarity of the outside world is evoked. What is just past the grooves in the glass? It is just out of focus from the inside. It leaves the outside world up to imagination and we can make whatever we want out of it. Just above pictures depicting the world, the window gives up ambiguity and imagination to the wondering eye. What do you see?

Discovery.

I'm embarking on a new adventure.  I have been compartmentalizing different parts of my life for a very long time.  I am feeling a change in the winds, as cliche as that sounds.  I no longer feel the need to separate my creative self from my scientific/analytical self.  If they were to merge together I think I could finally find a balance in my life.

This blog will be a tool in helping me to do that.  I have come to the realization that I am an artistic soul and I don't want to lose that part of myself during my educational marathon in pursuing my doctorate and becoming a psychologist.  I want to use this blog post art and photography and study the psychology behind it.  At the same time I will discuss creative ideas ventures and techniques.

Lastly, I hope that this will serve as a timeline that documents my artistic and personal growth over time.  I'm just going to sit back and see where it takes me.