ccookphoto

I reach into the potential of all behaviors and scoop out what is

transiently valuable to me. I hold it upon the surface of my

personality, and I reflect the reality I'm immersed in. What makes me

unique is not my quality, but my position. From this aspect, these

things I cherish reflect this way. This is who I am. That which I

cannot understand or cannot hold on to slips over the side and back

into the ocean. All that "I" am is the light of life passing through

me, altering it slef through me, and coming out the other side of my

experience.

Thanks for commenting Jack, and making it clear that we are provoked by disparate influences.

This composition is provocative for me. It conjurs a swirling mix of

ideas and emotions that I cannot currently reconcile. The placid hole

filled with crystalline blue water, surrounded by jagged rocks with an

epic sunset in the distance creates a chaotic excitement within me

that defies legibility. I'll have to stew on this one before I can

write a more meaningful description.

I have always felt like I am incapable of reaching my own potential.

It's some kind of fallacy of thought because in retrospect I have

grown and learned, but through some trick of how I percieve the

future, I can't see where I'm going. Plans frequently miss the mark,

inspiration is difficult to hold onto, and my train of existence

frequently derails due to the disparity of how I think things should

go and how they actually go. Where I'm at now, I feel a great need to

figure this out... I don't know how I'm going to carry on in any of

the things that are important to me if I maintain some of my

entrenched habits.

gooseflesh, hair rising on the lower arm, scratch mark on the upper arm, sweat, dirt smudges, bleeding head wound.... the details are incredible and evocative.

 

Chris

I played with a shot like this of waikiki, and what bothered me about my shot is happening here as well... your depth of field isn't open enough. You need a tripod and an aperture at f22 or smaller, because the buildings to the right of the frame are all going blurry.

 

great composition.

 

Chris

I think that our faces, being the most centralized focus of our

ability to express ourselves physically, hold an archive of our

emotional history... an archive that is revealed in the countless

moments when we release conscious control of ourselves. All the

messages we've conveyed with our bodies leave there evidence in the

fiber of our skin.

Thanks for the comment Ken. The title is the result of the process of making the image, and it's my best effort to describe what the image was showing me. I feel that life is inherrently very difficult... very competitive, and that sufering is intirinsic. But there seems to be something in each of us that pushes through adversity that strives to live with or without purpose. So, for me, blind to the fire is blind to the pain with eyes open to the glory. Hope that explains it.

 

Chris

Jana,

This is striking, Your sense of color and your control of DOF is very impressive. I've seen several O'Keefe's, and this does not need to borrow her name for it's own worth to be recognized.

 

Your entire portfolio is incredible. I commend your eye for color, and your daring creativity.

 

Chris

Thank you all for the positive feedback and encouragement. Had no idea this photo would be such a hit.

 

I shot it at 1/800 seconds at F20 at a focal length of 35mm (with a 17-40mm lens on a canon 20d, so 56mm effective focal length.

 

I put the manip in because the old sky was bland and didn't offer enough of the "Destination Drama" I wanted. I got the dunes and the model, but the atmosphere wasn't helping in any way.

 

About the dual light source... as soon as I was done with it and started looking at it as a whole image, I realized the fault in the lighting. An interesting note is that friends of mine who aren't photographers can't put their finger on why the image seems so unwordly. It is just as you pointed out RAvi... there are 2 suns lighting the image.

 

Can't decide if I like that or not.

 

thanks again.

An exercise I set up for myself to explore the ability to montage

images. please critique honestly.

You got him at just the right moment! Ball touching the hand and everything, perfect. I really like the graphic effects of shooting through the net and that strong shadow. The poles are distracting though. Suggest cropping to include shadow and goalie only. Also, you've got some blur on his feet. On such a bright day, can't you shoot at a faster speed? Great image!