Saturday, February 26, 2005

ansel adams, minus the appreciation for mountains, nature, or just about anything Another great disappointment of my life: photography. There has been many a time over the years that I have picked up my camera (on an other wise glum and meaningless Saturday) and said, "with this elegant instrument I am going to capture the power of humanity, the drama of everyday life, the very essence of our modern existence to which we our blind with our naked eyes!" (Well, I never said anything quite like this, but that was the gist of my feelings.  And then there was always this fantasy of meeitng a hot, photography-chick with a bobbed haircut and buddy holly glasses.  After discovering what a deep and mutual passion we shared in the photographic arts we were going to rip each others clothes off and have mad sex on her futon while glossy photos and negatives stuck to our sweaty, writhing bodies.) But the problem was, as soon as I picked up my camera and walked outdoors, there would be absolutely nothing to photograph. Well, to be more, precise, my photo essay would always start with a trip downtown, where I figured the heart of photogenic humanity was beating.  I would recall those Time/Life photography books I had seen in the library, where simple laborers and tradesmen had been transformed into poignant ambassadors of our culture with the click of a shutter. The negro shoe shine guy!  Singing and shoe-shining and radiating with humanity! The window washer dude!  Squee-geeing brilliant reflections into our souls! The bag lady!  Shuffling across the street with her bag and her own unique form of quiet dignity. But as soon as I picked up my camera, all of these types of things would completely disappear.  They would be replaced by featureless voids of undifferentiated blandness.  Like for instance, lots of cheap, early 90s sedans, like the Chevy Lumina, or dumpy middle aged couples in pleated khaki shorts. I could go on, but you get the idea.  I would take a few pictures of some buildings or clouds or cracks in the sidewalk.  If I got them developed at all, I would find them very depressing and sit down and watch tv.   4:28:47 PM    comment [] what more do you get? Its pretty funny to me that a porn site (Daily Galleries) is often near the top, or at the top of the Salon's most read blogs.  I mean, here is this enlightened forum for independent thinking and expression that is easily conquered by "hot back-door action," or "crazy bitches with dildos," etc. It seems sort of like having a baking contest at the country fair, only to find out that the prize winning recipie is a plate of cocaine. I'm kind of confused about what porn sites actually want me to do.  I mean, I know they want me to bust out my credit card and pay for their little movies.  But once you've seen full penetration (or various sorts) in the free clip, what more do you get in the full length feature?  Afterall, can't you just keep clicking on the free sample clip over and over and over?  (I know for a fact that you can). 3:08:56 PM    comment []

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