Why many of us take pictures and/or video.And why and how it matters.

These two articles are from www.digitalcameraworld.com:

The joy of taking photos that no one else will ever see: stop feeding the algorithm

The best work I’ve made lately is the work that no one’s seen

Since stepping away from the world of professional sports photography, I’ve found myself picking up the camera for a very different reason: because I want to, not because I have to.

There’s no deadline. No editor waiting for a caption. No need to catch the winning moment in perfect focus. These days, I wander my local area with a camera slung over my shoulder, taking pictures not for clients, not for clout, and certainly not for the algorithm, but for me.

And that, I’ve realised, is something we don’t talk about enough: that it’s perfectly okay to shoot for yourself. [...]

 

I enjoyed this article, because to me, he is describing the real essense of photography/videography that attracted me to the film arts in the firstplace; it's worth staying in touch with, always, because there is more joy in that than just only trying to please other people, potentially turning what you love to do into a competition instead.

I think it applies to videography/filmmaking as well. Because what are videos and movies? They are pictures that move. I often pull still frames from the videos I take, to capture particular moments. But sometimes it's fun to see the moments move and unfold as a sequence as well...

I enjoyed this article also:

Now I see photography as mindfulness, it's changed my whole outlook

Forget costly wellness retreats; your camera is the only mindfulness teacher you need.

I'll be honest with you. Five years ago, whenever I took a picture, I was fundamentally chasing likes. That dopamine hit of validation that comes with a popular social media feed. Of course, as you might expect, none of this was making me particularly happy, deep down. A moment came eventually, though, when I started seeing photography in a different way.

I was standing in a grimy street after a sleepless night followed by a soul-crushing day at work. I rain-soaked, miserable and late for dinner with friends I was no longer in the mood to see.

Then I saw it. A simple puddle reflecting a neon shop sign, a pigeon pecking at its edge. Something made me stop. Made me crouch down. Really look. [...]

He goes on to describe what he saw, how he interacted with it, and for how long. And described how it... transformed him. I've experienced thas so many, many times, that I could really relate to it. Photographic/flimic awareness, can be a very powerful mindfullness tool, effortlessly grounding you in the present momemnt, and giving you a wonderful mood change and energy boost as well!      

9/11. 24 years later, I can't, don't, and won't forget.

I also find it difficult to keep talking about. Partly because of the subject matter. Partly because of the way some people politicise it. And partly because I did a lengthy post about it once:

The 9-11 jumpers; they didn't "jump"

This is an issue that isn't talked about a lot, because it's so unpleasant, and extremely emotional. It's about the people who supposedly "jumped" from the WTC towers before they collapsed.

So many in the media seemed to claim at the time that they were jumping out of "despair"; as if it were just an emotional response, a suicide choice; an act of will, that they could simply choose to do or not do.

That just seems like such an unfair judgment to me. I don't believe that most, if any, of those people "chose" to jump. I think SMOKE, HEAT and FLAMES simply FORCED them to their deaths by falling.

You can't "choose" whether or not you want to stand close to burning jet fuel; you simply can't. If there is nowhere safe to move away to, you move anyway. Just the smoke alone, making it impossible for you to even breath... if you were suffocating, what would you do for air?:

To call it jumping, like it was a choice, just seems wrong. When people went to work at the WTC that morning, they were not expecting to have to jump to their deaths. These poor souls did NOT choose this... [...]

If you follow the link to the rest of that post, it's filled with pictures of people jumping. I don't want to re-post them here. Some things get easier to deal with over time... for me, this is not one of them. That post also includes commentary about jumping, falling and suicide, and how those terms do and don't relate to what actually happened.

I don't post about it much anymore, because I eventually said all I had to say about it. Some people left some very thoughtful comments on that post; they understood what I was getting at. Many others left some really shitty, ugly, horrible comments that were sickening to read. I deleted all of those. And will continue to do so.

I used to have Site Meter on this blog, and for a long time it said that that particular post was more popular than any other blog post I've done. I've gotten rid of site meter since then, so I don't know if any or many see it anymore. I don't particularly care about being popular or having huge amounts of traffic to this blog.

I post what I care about, and things I've been reading about, and if it resonates with someone, fine. If it doesn't, fine, no one has to read it or like it. But I also am not obligated to post other peoples drek; they can make their own place to post that, I'm not interested in hosting it here.

But I still remember. The people who faced impossible choices. It can still make me cry. May they Rest In Peace. Condolences to their families.

     

The film editing legacy of Sally Menke

5 things we can learn from Tarantino's editor Sally Menke

Sally Menke’s name may not be the first that comes to mind when you think of Quentin Tarantino films, but her work behind the scenes was integral to the success of many of his most iconic movies. Having earned 12 awards and many more nominations, Sally Menke solidified herself as one of the greats in film editing. And there’s a lot we can learn from her 32-year career.

Here, we dive deep into her catalog and discuss what you can learn to improve your editing. [...]

This is from an article on Videomaker.com that I really enjoyed. Quentin Tarantino's films had a unique style and feel, and I believe the editing played a huge part in that. This article breaks down and examines many of the techniques his editor, Sally Menke, employed to great effect. Techniques we (video-makers) can all learn from, even as she learned them from other filmmakers and repurposed them in unique and fresh contexts.

Sadly, Sally Menke died in 2010 from heatstroke while hiking near Los Angeles during a heat wave. But she did leave behind a valuable legacy that all filmmakers/videographers can learn from. This article explores that legacy, whilst citing examples from films she worked on and their effects on audiences.