Yesterday I offered you a look at an image I made in Orvieto. It is here again today. Why? Did I run out of images? Hardly.
I offer it again today because I am human. Sometimes too much human. Allow me to explain…
I offended my neighbors. No. Not them. The ones I love. Of course I did. And of course I apologized. And now the big reveal.
I have looked inside. And I do not like what I see. So… a complete rebuild is necessary. That reconstruction began on 28 July, and will be finished when I done. I, morbidly, digress…
Here’s the same image from yesterday. My best friend, and yes, I have one, Larry Price, sent me a video of how some Japanese photographers view themselves and their work: through the filter of the beauty of the mistake. And here is where I land on this image.
I was so tough on myself because I wanted the man at the bottom of the “V” in the frame. But, as per usual, I was daydreaming of My Orvieto, pinching myself because I cannot believe I live here, or planning my next dish of pasta when the man walked past me. I didn’t see him coming. It was what we called at The Denver Post, a grab shot. When I saw that I was about 1/1000 of a second late, it just tormented me… a chance at a perfect frame and I was not prepared.
“Chance favors the prepared mind.” Ansel Adams. And here is what I have learned about myself…
I am human. And that makes me perfect. It isn’t what I make or what I miss. It is how one frame leads to the next. Until I come to the end of my roll. So to speak.
The Japanese phrase, Wabi-Sabi… loosely translated is: the simplicity, austerity, and finding beauty in modest, imperfect and humble things.”
To seek perfection in my art and in my life, is to see things through vulgar eyes. I will return to soft eyes. Because soft eyes lead to a soft heart and a soft heart leads to a firm mind. So…
It is onward I go, in silence, to spare those around me from unclean eyes that, at a snail’s pace, become clearer.
All you all… I love you most. I do…
Here’s the video:
