Comfort Zones

Week 34

Comfort Zones
August 26, 2010

Every once in a while I think it's important to go outside of our comfort zones.  Maybe that means taking a risk that we don't know for sure will work out that way we want it to. Maybe that means participating in something in which we don't have confidence in our own abilities. Maybe it means remaining open-minded to an idea that we don't understand. 

The image above was taken as part of an unconventional media project conceptualized by artist Trina Merry. Trina does body painting (among other visual arts) and wanted to explore the Hispanic celebration of Dia de Los Muertos in this piece. Most of the set was shot against a gray studio backdrop with slave strobes and a couple soft boxes on hot lights. A tripod and slow shutter allowed for the motion in this image. 

Now I've done work with Trina before, but the work is a bit outside of the norm for me, and something I like to do to force a different perspective on my work. This photo along with the other images I captured during the session got me thinking about the idea of comfort zones, what they mean to us, and how they impact us as people.

Comfort zones can allow us to have a "safe" place to be, where we know and are accustomed to our surroundings, confident in our ability to navigate in an environment that is predictable. It doesn't sound too bad until you consider that along with these positive things can come a stifling of ingenuity and creativity, suspicion and fear of those people or ideas outside of our comfort zone, and an intellectual isolation that can repress learning. 

I believe that stepping outside of our comfort zones can lead to a number of things: Professionally, we can develop broader skillsets and understanding of our business or industry.  Personally, we have chance to overcome assumptions and fears and even learn a bit about ourselves. Spiritually we can grow to have a deeper understanding of our faith or beliefs, and greater appreciation for others'. The downside is that it can be... well, uncomfortable.

I've heard or read a number of quotes I like regarding comfort zones (and similar ideas). Each of these speaks to entirely different aspects of us and our comfort zones, and my purpose here isn't to exhaustively explore the idea. Rather, it's to share a few thoughts and maybe get you to consider what your comfort zones are, why they are what they are, and what you can do to step outside of them.:




"Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort."
Peter McWilliams




"We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are."
Max DePree

"We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."  Romans 5:3-4

image taken with Canon 5D, MII, 24-70 2.8L lens, 1/10 @ f10, ISO 800

Learning

Week 33

 

Learning

August 18, 2010

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop put on by Mike Larson.  Mike is a wedding and lifestyle photographer, international speaker, and overall a super nice guy, and I feel privileged to have spent a couple days learning from him. The image above was one of many taken as the workshop participants all took turns directing the models, applying some of the things we were taught that day. While I can't take credit for direction on this shot, I loved the lighting and motion in the image all the same and so thought I'd share it with you.

One of the things I liked most about the workshop was the focused approach Mike brought. He spent time giving us some useful tools and knowledge from his years in the business, but didn't overload us with an unmanageable amount of information, just for information's sake. Could he have been more broad in what he covered with us? Probably. Would that have made the workshop better? Well, I'd argue no, not for his target audience, which was photographers in the first few years of their business. Mike stressed a few key ideas (as much if not more based in character than strategy) throughout his time with us, and gave us tools to accomplish the ideas he proposed.

I think we all too often go through life with an information-hungry attitude and forget to focus. We skim the surface of the ocean of information and experiences available to us and forget to dive into something with depth and intention. As a result, we look back over years of living with memories of pop-culture, 24-hour news network shows, and social network updates. I'd encourage you to explore ways to go deep into something that interests you and serves others. It could be intellectual, athletic, spiritual or otherwise, but I think the memories you create doing so will be much richer and provide a greater satisfaction with the journey you are taking.

image taken with Canon 5D, MII, 24-105 4L lens, 1/160 @ f4, ISO 100

Anticipation

Week 32

  
Anticipation

August 13, 2010

Waiting. We don't all do it well. Sometimes it's because we feel that something should have happened sooner. Sometimes it's because we're preoccupied with the next thing we feel we have to do. Sometimes, however, it's a barely suppressed excitement for something worth waiting for, an anticipation of the event itself. Christmas eve and birthdays as a child come to mind. As adults, weddings seem to be the best example of this anticipation.

I captured the image above as the groom was preparing for our pictures, and to see his bride for the first time on their wedding day. I liked the lighting, the mood it created, and the moment (albeit brief) of calm in the whirlwind of a day all weddings become.






image captured on Canon 5D MII, 16-35 2.8L lens, 1/60 sec @ f2.8, ISO 1000

Fences

Week 31

Fences

August 7, 2010

So last week I was feeling a little under the weather. But I was also a little stir crazy and needing to get out, so I decided to go walk the trails I usually run behind my home in San Jose, and bring the camera along to see what I could capture. Above is one of those images, and I enjoyed the sunset lighting and contrast of crooked metal fence-posts and meandering barbed-wire against the long, dried grasses on the hillside. Even the powerlines running behind the scene I think adds commentary to the image.

As I scanned through the photographs from the shoot, this image brought to mind the idea of fences that we put up in our lives. Now fences can be a good thing. They can keep out predators, make property lines clear for a mutual understanding between neighbors, or provide an area of safety for pets and children. However, I believe when fences are put up in our hearts and minds, and consequently in our lives and societies, the benefit of those fences can start to decay, and sometimes even disappear. 

Some examples of this idea that come to mind are represented below. I think the initial thoughts behind the fences can be justified, well intentioned, and even good. I also think they can deteriorate quickly and transform unnoticed into harmful things that actually work against their original purpose. 

A fence of patriotism can become nationalism, fear, judgement & hatred toward other cultures.

A fence of protection of our children can become sheltering, deprivation of experience, ill-equipping and mis-informing.

A fence of morality can generate fear, judgement, gross misunderstanding and division amongst and towards those we are put here to love.

What fences do you have in your life? Are they in good repair? Are they support systems for a way to love other people or tools for sychophantic behavior?

We all have fences, and I think positive things like personal barriers and accountability, protection for our children or appreciation of culture can be benefited by these fences. I'd encourage you to think about the fences in your life and ask... "Do they serve their purpose, or have they been put up too hastily? Do they need to be re-planted or re-purposed?"

 

image taken with Canon 5D MII, 24-105 4L lens, 1/125 @ f11, ISO 400

Behind the Blinds

Week 30

Behind the Blinds
July 26, 2010

So for week 30 I've decided to make you uncomfortable. The photo above is from a shoot last week having nothing to do with this installment of the 52Photos blog, but I liked the imagery of a window, blinds partly open, leaving us to think... well, nothing. Nothing because we walk by it every day. Nothing because we don't necessarily want it to mean anything. Nothing because we have our own lives going on that prevent us from thinking there may be anything wrong at all. But what if something horrible was going on behind those blinds? Something atrocious and difficult to hear about, much less imagine. Well, we live in a world of many atrocities and horrors, most of which the majority of us in the U.S. very seldom have to face or think about because we have the convenience of "blinds" like jobs, like a culture that values human life, like food and shelter and protection from those that would exploit us. Now we are in no utopia, don't get me wrong, but we have so much, so many resources available to us that we forget or even find it hard to believe that behind these "blinds", horrible, unspeakable things are happening. We're told about them... even see things on the news, but our reaction is almost to treat this information as rumor. If not rumor, then something we are separate from and have no obligation to respond to. We use excuses like "I can't send money because times are tough", or "What can I possibly do from thousands of miles away", or "nothing I do will make a difference".  Some of us even chalk up the horror to "cultural diffences".

One such atrocity is that of human trafficking. Yep, slavery. Thankfully, there seems to be a bit more awareness and coverage of the issue than there was even 10 years ago, but most of us here in the U.S. rarely if ever think about it. The truth is, estimates are that:

27 million adults and children are in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world; 56 percent of these victims are women and girls 

$32 billion annual trade for the traffickers 

Prevalence of trafficking victims in the world: 1.8 per 1,000 inhabitants (in Asia and the Pacific: 3 per 1,000)

Countries that have yet to convict a trafficker under laws in compliance with the Palermo Protocol (from the year 2000): 62 

Countries currently (2010) without laws, policies, or regulations to prevent victims’ deportation: 104

Up to and possibly more than 17,000 persons trafficked TO THE UNITED STATES annually, mostly women and children 
  
-the above statistics compiled from multiple sources, including the US Dept of State Trafficking in Persons Report

Now there are many more facts and figures, most of which are just as shocking and disturbing as those above. You can find more information on this issue through many organizations. Several websites are listed below to help you become more informed, and get involved. I hope you take a few minutes from your day to follow one or some of these and learn more.

http://www.ijm.org/

http://love146.org/

http://www.slavefree.com/

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/


Getting involved could be as easy as sharing this blogpost with someone, giving a small or moderate donation, hosting an awareness party, or if you feel compelled, partnering with one of the organizations above in a larger commitment of service and action.

image above taken with Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105 4L lens, 1/160 @ f11, ISO 400