Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Feeling a little Etsy...

I've been starting to pay more attention to Etsy since I saw my nomadically blogging friend Janice McLeod selling art in her Etsy shop. Which unfortunately shall remain empty while she wanders the world. She did some very cool art.

This has all gotten me thinking, as many things do, and I'm now considering the idea of selling some of my very best photos on Etsy. Now, I must add here that the presumption that someone might actually pay money for my photos (although this has happened in the past - when I was doing wedding photography) is not one I'm inclined towards very easily. But I've had so many people telling me how much they love the photography on my blog that I have started to wonder if maybe the very cream of the crop might actually be worthy of some pocket money.

What do you think?

Some posts containing photos of mine are here. But most of them I would never consider "payment worthy". I'll do a post soon with ones I think could be.

Macro Madness
Foto Fun With Flitting Fireflies
A Villa Called Love
Let's go back...all the way to Mother's Day
Wineries, Waves & Birthdays

Comments on my blog are quite rare, Janice being the main (and often only) contributor, but I encourage you to tell me what you REALLY think of this idea. I am actually open to any constructive comments. This could include anything from "when can I buy one" to "well, it might work if you do some nice mounting" to "I think most people are taking photos as good as yours themselves and wouldn't bother spending the money."

The latter seems most likely to me. And furthermore, having not blown up any of my digital photos to 8" x 10" before (only film photos, which I don't really do much of anymore) I'm a little concerned whether I'll be happy with the result.

There may be other applications for the photos, and this could be the subject of your comments also. The photo edits I do could even be part of this? Greeting cards? Post cards? Motivational photo/quote related gifts? Who knows. As you can see though, even the idea itself encourages creativity.

So apply some creativity yourself and share you ideas and thoughts. If you aren't into the public comments (i.e. you're uncomfortable telling me my idea sticks on a public forum) then e-mail me at;

myfighttowrite@gmail.com 

With all the above in mind I'm going to put some photos here that I edited on my iPhone, which is something I'm trying out at the moment, just for something that's different to my norm and that's very accessible at all times.

I figure this would be a stellar reason to get a really fancy new digital SLR such as I used in this post. Yeah, that's a great idea! I also broke my compact camera in Bali. So the reasons are stacking up. In truth I'd like to just get out my film SLR more often. I never thought I'd end up so content with digital. Although it has progressed incredibly since I was selling 2 Megapixel Nikon digital cameras for $2500 back in 2001, while also doing the now basically obsolete job of manual print-density selection on a film processing machine. It's on the wish list anyway...

The photos below are of a beautiful beach in Malibu called Dumé Beach which Sam and I went to a few weeks ago. I did the edits the other day. I hope you like!

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA
Those are surfers there, but they look pretty small when the photo is this size.

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA

Dumé Beach Malibu Los Angeles California CA USA
Gnarly surf brah!

Monday, July 25, 2011

The Dichotomy of Humanity & Simplicity

Earlier in this blog's life I was writing more motivational entries. Sometimes I didn't like posting these as they made me feel "preachy", as if I have everything worked out, which I don't.

What I've realised of late is that I'm more motivated when I'm writing motivational blogs, proving to myself that I actually write them for me. I don't necessarily put them on the blog for me but the process of putting them on the blog requires me to ponder further than I might otherwise, simplify and condense my thoughts into the most concise, effective form I can muster.

So today is going to be a motivational blog post, for the benefit of myself as much (or more) than anyone else.

So...

I'm going to use quotes to illustrate my points as I go along.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~ Confucius

And herein lies life's dichotomy of humanity and simplicity. It can be said that the real point of life itself, what it is that truly brings happiness, what it is that truly brings peace and contentment, are very simple things. But humans are not simple. As a physical machine we are more complex than we are able to entirely understand. As a mental machine we are substantially more complicated again. So trying to achieve simplicity in life is certainly no simple task.

Our complicated minds are the crux of the problem so to achieve simplicity we must break down the complicated into something simple and focus on that.

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results. ~ Albert Einstein

I can totally relate to this - literally and metaphorically. I'm always drawn to the task that gets immediate results, and writing is rarely the simplest task, offering immediate results. It's very satisfying, sure, but it's by no means simple. Inspiration can be a mystery and a challenge and this can easily lead to lack of productivity and distraction.

But all complicated tasks can be broken down to smaller simple tasks. I feel like I'm repeating myself a bit here, as I've also covered this idea here, here, here and here. But I'll continue.

Let's take washing the dishes. A pile of dishes is a job where the result looks difficult, or certainly not immediate, to achieve. The job of washing one plate seems quite achievable though. So the more dishes in the sink the less likely you will want to wash them, although at some point you won't have a choice - unless of course you're one of these people... (if this link doesn't take you straight to the preview for Episode 40 "Hannah, Kathy & Gary", under season 3, then go there first! Then go to Episode 27 "Robin & Ken" preview - also a cracker. Crazy stuff!!)

So if we don't want to be distracted by the things that are less important to us - or to put it another way - if we want to finish the day feeling happy as we've prioritized the things that truly matter to our daily happiness, then we need to make the more complicated tasks (often the most important ones) simpler by breaking them down.

This is crucial for me as an artist because even if I manage to write a song or poem or story one day that writing in itself is only one VERY small part of the larger process which could potentially result in that creative moment truly becoming a career. So the daunting nature of this bigger picture can be quite paralyzing, and tends to lead me to do something else which offers more immediate results, like the wood chopping Einstein mentions in the quote earlier.

In my case the largest, most daunting task is making a career of being an artist. This is a really complicated, uncertain, confusing, daunting thing and to dwell on that for too long is counter-productive. But let's break it down.

To have a career as a musician I have to >>> 

                      have an album to sell and music to perform.

To have music to record and perform I have to (among many, many other things) >>> 

                      write the songs.

To write the songs I have to >>> 

                       sit down and start writing.

So we're simplifying but we haven't yet reached a point that offers us immediate results. So it's still hard to get focused on it and avoid the distraction of things with more immediate results. Let's break it down further.

To sit down and start writing I have to >>>  

                      solidify (and preferably record in some fashion) one musical idea.

More achievable yes, but let's take it one step further.

To solidify one musical idea I have to >>> 
              
                      tune my guitar.

So here we are. A task with an immediate result. And the sound of a well-tuned guitar is a pleasurable thing to a musician. This process will basically always result in me spending time playing the guitar. This in turn will basically always result in the conjuring up of a musical idea. If I hold my focus then this idea will likely become a song.

I feel this illustrates that if I focus on the task with an immediate result I'm much more likely to actually sit down with my guitar, which MUST happen if I'm ever to achieve the large, daunting goal. From there step 2 - writing the music - will likely occur quite organically.

I will then face many more complicated things such as getting a manager.

To get a manager I have to >>> 
 
                       have a manager hear and like my music.

To have a manager hear and like my music I have to >>> 
               
                      find out the names and contact details of managers.

To find out the names and contact details of managers I have to >>> 

                     search, network, investigate.

This still isn't something with immediate result so I'll take it a step further.

To search I have to >>> 

                      enter the words  "Music Manager Los Angeles " into a search engine.

This will of course yield immediate results. It is almost certain that I will find at least one name in that search that has a phone number that I can then call and hopefully organise a meeting, or any sort of further contact.


Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~ Leonardo DaVinci
 
These words come from an achieved artist with one of the most celebrated, influential and enduring bodies of work ever produced. Such is our dichotomy - achieving simplicity is not simple. But going through this slightly complicated process brings us to what is simple.

I'll leave you with that.

Bring any important but daunting goal/job down to the most simple task with an immediate result; imagine achieving the result of a single clean fork. Once that first fork is clean you will find yourself continuing on that job. As you find happiness in seeing each single dish clean, the large goal will soon enough be achieved.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Turn, Turn, Turn

I have one more lot of Oz trip photos to put up but while I get them rounded down to a the essentials I've got something else to share with you. I guess it fits with my motivational themes which haven't featured much of late.


As you may know Sam and I ran the HBF Run For A Reason on our second day in Perth, May 22nd. Here is a photo of Sam and I at about kilometer 5 of 14, about to enter the Graham Farmer Tunnel, or "Polly Pipe" to locals.

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I know - eat your heart out Bjorn Borg! I would've been so cool in the 70's!


Anyway, the running got progressively less frequent once the run was over and it got to a point last week that I had only run once in a month. So I turned over a new leaf (again) on Sunday and ran 4.5 miles. I then ran another 2.5 yesterday, and both times I was pushing myself pretty hard, feeling the need to punish myself for letting what had become a positive habit slip to the wayside. 


Subsequently I'm in a fair bit of pain today. Ironically I was in no pain whatsoever after the nearly 9 miles I ran for the HBF run. More throrough stretching and hydrating for that event is one reason but the fact that'd I'd jogged 3 - 5 miles every single day for a week or more and most days in a couple of months before that was the bigger reason.


So I'm also learning not to be so hard on myself for having to "turn a new leaf" again. 


I adjusted my perspective after thinking more about the saying, where it came from and what it really means. I then condensed and sculpted (to make it sound more pretentious) my thoughts in the following poem. Have a listen to me reciting it on the MP3 player while you read along. 


Then maybe you will also think more about what "turning over a new leaf" really means.




Turn, Turn, Turn




I was pondering today upon a saying many know
It's recited with excited vows and this is how it goes
"I've turned over a new leaf" and this belief is worth a pile
But to not think of the many implications is denial

Let's consider first from where it is this verse came into being 
It was based on books, the way each page is like a new beginning
But you must agree a book isn't much to read with just one page
And this implies that many times we must turn this leaf again.

Now, even if you don't believe that etymology is true 
And prefer to just infer the more apparent meaning you
Will still find this situation seeming somewhat like a clone
'cause when did you last see a leaf left wholly on it's own?

So, you see? You need to always be prepared to turn the leaf 
As frequently as needed and not rest on the belief
That your decision meant that corners never more need to be turned
When in fact you should decide that there is always more to learn
'cause for all new leaves or corners turned another will appear
So be intent to turn again - you only crash if you don't steer

Sunday, July 17, 2011

I may have reached a new level of corny...

OK - so I may have gotten carried away using the latest version of Windows Movie Maker to create a really corny video of Australian Animals I took footage of on our trip. If you've not seen many of Australia's very unique animals though I think it's a good value watch. Most of the the usual suspects are there, with the notable exception of the platypus.

So if you don't mind me getting a bit over-creative with my video editing then watch the video below. This blog is about creativity after all, so going a little overboard is OK I think.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Wineries, Waves and a Birthday...

There's still more to cover on our Australian trip so I'm going to try to get it all posted over this week. There'll be a video of Australian Animals I've made for one. That'll be the next post though.

Today is dedicated to Sam's birthday and WA's Southwest coast.

So here are some photos...

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Prevelly Beach - home of the Margaret River Masters

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Sunset over Yallingup Beach

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Flinders Bay - near Cape Leeuwin, Australia's most South-western point and land-marker of the division between the Indian and Southern Oceans.

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Wineries, wineries and more wineries - this one is Will's Domain, a favourite of mine.

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My brother Caleb on the left, an Emu on the right. When you live at an Ice Creamery (as does this Emu) it's not long before grass just doesn't cut it anymore. 

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This is a Kookaburra. There was about 6 of them around at this time, on Meelup Beach. Sam didn't get to hear their interesting "laugh" though unfortunately.

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Canal Rocks, just south of Yalingup, at Sunset and with a big swell.

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Sam and I standing on Canal Rocks, the waves crashing over the rocks behind us.

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Did I mention we saw a few grapevines...

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Bees very busy on the blossoms of a Wattle tree.

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Redgate Beach - I'll post some video sometime soon. There was some big splashing going on.

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Also at the rocks on the north side of Redgate beach.

So I'm going to let the photos do the talking today as far as the trip is concerned. I will just add that the whole immediate family (well, those who live in Perth) and some other relatives came down for part of the time and we really enjoyed some quality time. It's a beautiful place Western Australia's Southwest. I recommend you check it out some day if you haven't already.

To finish with something creative here is a poem I wrote for Sam for her birthday today.


When I think about the life I'd lead
If you weren't living life with me
I'm so immensely thankful and
Ecstatic that you'll hold my hand
Through every trial and every smile
The wild rides and the crying eyes
Through every day until we lie
With weary eyes by this life's finish line

And this is why I rejoice today
It's the date my soul mate joined the fray
And fought til the day came that we met
And happiness became our certain bet
So we'll party every year that passes
With laugh lines, saggy behinds and bi-focal glasses
Knowing that every year we share
Is one more of love and not despair