Hell on Earth

     Religion is about learning how to love yourself so you will be able to love others. It's about learning how to forgive and turn the other cheek. It is about caring for those who are less fortunate. Religion teaches things like compassion, understanding, sharing, and empathy.  It helps us to understand our suffering and how it can make us stronger. It teaches us how to live in peace in our communities, and accept people for who they are, and understand that none of us are perfect.
     I believe this is the sole purpose of religion. These are important lessons we can learn from religion. If one is able to extract these ideas from religion, and avoid focusing on all the crap that people who know nothing about religion try to emphasize, you will avoid a hellish life on earth. Hell on earth is definitely real.
     Religion is not about judging people and condemning them to hell if they don't believe everything you believe. I am willing to bet my own life that there is no place called hell, where if you don't live a perfect life, you will be condemned to this place for eternity. The idea that a loving and forgiving god would create a place like that is asinine.
     But if there was a Hell, I kinda wonder what would that Hell would be like? For some people it my be an enclosed space with only a single TV. And that TV only will allow you to turn off the power if you have the remote. And the remote is nowhere to be found. As you spend eternity searching for this non-existing remote you are forced to watch re-runs of "Joey" or "Cop Rocks." Or maybe your Hell would be an eternity of driving in Florida traffic where the person in front of you avoids the left-turning lane to make a left turn, stops at green lights, and travels 15 mph under the posted speed limit.
     My personal Hell would be sitting and listening to right-winged fundamentalists speak about religion (something they know nothing about) and being annoyed by stupid, pointless religious messages on an interstate highway. So to all those fundamentalists and stupid religious billboard makers out there; "you are all annoying cock-weasels, and if I am going to hell, I can guarantee now that god knows what my personal hell would be, I will be taking you with me."   PEACE :)

Two Birds with one Stone

     I travelled to Nashville this weekend to attend my nieces' birthday party and the baptism ceremony of my nephew. The first night I had a sleep over with my niece Libby. She was upset because her cousin did not want to sleep over in her room the night before her party. My sister said, "I bet uncle jack will have a sleep over with you." I agreed and before too long was snuggled up in a princess sleeping bag that was bursting at the seems as I attempted to fit inside it.
     Libby wanted me to sing her some songs before "sleep time" and requested "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." I gladly sung it for her. Her next request I was concerned that I did not know all the words. She requested that I sing "The Camptown Ladies." I informed her that I did not know the whole song and she said "do your best." This is all I knew:


The Campptown ladies sing this song,
Doo-da, Doo-da
The Camptown racetrack's five miles long
Oh, de doo-da day
Goin' to run all night
Goin' to run all day

At this point I just started making up words hoping that she would not notice. I mean come on she just turned four. After I was done she said "You were right Uncle Jack you don't know that song" I asked her to help refresh my memory to see if she knew the words. In her High Pitched Nashville twang she said;

"I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag
Somebody bet on the gray"

I could not stop laughing. Anyway it was a fun trip and we hit a snow storm on the way back.

   Libby loves dogs. She asked me what my favorite animal was and I said the Duckbill Platypus.
   She then proceeded to ask if the platypus was nocturnal or diurnal. I said "nocturnal of course."

Drawing vs. Photography

     I am intrigued by the subtle differences in the detail of the human face. When we look at images of ourselves we find some images we like and others we don't. It is amazing how the direction, and the properties of light, can give our faces many subtle differences. I have seen pictures of myself that I like and pictures I do not like.  I have even seen photos of myself and I don't even recognize myself. Maybe the camera just doesn't really know us that well. Or maybe we don't really know ourselves.  Due to the limitations of exposure latitude of film, and many other limitations, the camera does not see things the same way we see them. In some cases this is a blessing and in others cases it becomes quite frustrating.
    Artists that create drawings from photos will generally request several photos of a subject to get a better idea of features that remain consistent. One photo does not always do justice to it's subject. You really have to get to know the geography of the face for an accurate portrayal. When a photographer takes your picture he/she has control over the light, your pose, and the overall composition. However, considering the camera is a mechanical device, there is no guarantee the photo will reflect how the photographer as an individual sees you. In simple terms a photograph is made by a machine.
     A drawing, on the other hand, is more about the individual's interpretation of how you look as opposed to the camera's record of the light reflecting from the subject. You are likely to get a better idea of how others might see you from a drawing. The drawing is more like an impression of you as it exists in the eyes of the artist. I like the idea that the drawing possesses a quality that the photo does not. That quality is human touch. The filtration of the image through the artist's hand adds a sense of humanity to the image. This is something the camera, in all it's magnificent glory, is unable to produce.
      I'm not saying drawing is better than photography for the purpose of portraiture. I believe the two mediums serve completely different purposes.  I am disturbed by the direction photography has taken when it comes to fashion and advertising. There is so much make-up, airbrushing, and unnatural lighting schemes used that the identity of the person becomes lost or hidden. The images are not photographs anymore they are photographic. Photographic is a generalized term that means of or related to photography. Photography is an aid in making a photographic image. Instead of using the camera's ability to record things with natural exactness photographers take that image and change it to fit  the parameters of ideal beauty. In situations like this I have only one thing to say. Why use a camera at all?

Finally!!!!

     Twelve years I've been shooting pictures for newspapers and I have never followed a local team to a State Championship and had the team I was following actually win. Thank you to the New Trier Varsity girls Swimming and Diving Team for actually winning.  I was almost as excited as they were. Not really, but, kinda really.

What do you see?

I need some feedback on this abstract photo.  Does this look like anything or does it read as just a bunch of random colors? What do you  think this is a photo of? Anyone....I would like to know what you see. If anything at all.

Dream Girl? She's Not all That.

    

     You know when you have a really weird dream that you cant quite explain? You want to talk about it because of it's disturbing quality but you just can't find the words. I had one of those dreams recently. In my dream I met Barbie and a couple of her friends. We actually had a lot of fun at first. I went driving in her Corvette, hung out in her RV, and even attended a fashion show with her. She had some life-like qualities but also retained some of her doll-like features. On the one hand, I will have to admit, I was intrigued by her spontaneity and attractive qualities. On the other hand there was something strange and plastic about her.
     As the dream progressed I became more and more dissatisfied with her company. Things just started to go seriously downhill. She had this fetish. A fetish common to every girl I have ever dated. She liked to wake up every morning, dress up as herself, and act like a bitch all day long. It wasn't long before I got fed up with the dream and woke up.
     I know there is no way to illustrate all the disturbing feelings I experienced during my dream. As a response to this dream I was inspired to make some images to try to illustrate my mind's image of Barbie. The disturbing external qualities of these images serve as a metaphor to the anxiety I felt while interacting with Barbie.
 

Chicago Marathon

     I photographed the Chicago Marathon this weekend. I didn't get down there early enough to secure the spot I wanted, so I had to find some new locations at the last minute. I wanted to shoot from the bridge that overlooks Columbus Drive where the race started. I figured with nearly 40, 000 participants this would make for an interesting image.
     The crowds were too thick on the bridge and I did not want to force my way through the crowd of people who had the discipline to get there early enough to secure that location. I noticed there were some people who had entered a garden that overlooked Columbus Drive. I went into an open gate to check out this location. There was a young boy, his mother and father, along with six or eight other random people.
     After investigating the spot I decided it was not that great. I started to make my way out of the garden. A few seconds after I made the decision to leave a security guard appeared, and in a very rude manner, told everyone they had to leave and could not watch the race from the garden.  No one offered any resistance. They truly did not know they were on private property.  As they were starting to leave the rent-a-cop began to threaten people with "your all going to jail" even though we were all very cooperative. He even threatened the eleven year old boy with jail time if he did not leave. The family of the boy was trying to console him as they exited the garden to ensure him that he did nothing wrong and would not be going to jail.
     There was a time in my life where I would have lost my temper with this security guard and challenged his authority. He had no authority to detain or take anyone to jail. All he could do was ask us to leave. The threats were unnecessary.  If you choose not to leave, he can call the police, and have you charged with trespassing. This security guard's behavior was appalling.
     All I could think about was my Uncle John, who was born and raised in Macon Georgia, and how he would have reacted in this situation. Uncle John is the most laid back southerner you will ever meet. I could just hear him saying it under his breath. "Ya no wut makes men act that way"? "small dick syndrome" he would say.  I began to laugh hoping the security guard would not see me snickering. Uncle John had a theory that all man's aggressions were due to fear of inadequacy. Men wage war to compensate for their small penises. Maybe Uncle John is on to something.