Tuesday, June 12, 2012

once in a blue moon.

so many times i get made fun of, or questioned, or simply just looked at with a sense of confusion. it confusing to me because if im not always pursuing a women, all of my friends simply think that im hiding something from them. your answer is no, its just that our priorities are not at all the same. my greatest aspirations will not be interrupted by the basic pleasures of life. the st important lesson i learned in high school (not because it was told to me, but because i lived it) is that 'fun is the end result of hard work, everything else is just cheap entertainment.' however it was often brought up that cheap entertainment is indeed needed, and that is what this blog post is for. its something i rarely think about or even concern myself with because there is so much more in this world than simple pleasures, but yeah they are nice sometimes and yes once in a blue moon it does get to me. however it is certainly something i have grown to get used to as well. i've been called ugly and goofy the majority of my life and i specifically remember times throughout school when i merely touched an article of clothing or brushed against someone by accident and had people muttering to their friends about how they need to burn their clothing or take a very long shower to be clean again. in a way i am thankful because i've hardened up and its made me realize the more important aspects of life, but it still comes around to get me every once in awhile. on nights like these i think about how often i try not to let it bug me, or how little meaning it has in my life, and how it came to be. its like one of these days its just gonna swallow me up. a compilation of all the shallow desires ive ever had will finally come back to eat me. it makes me angry that this gets to me but it does. i dont know why. i dont have an explanation for it. im not even necessarily looking for one. but we'll come back to that later. its really made me into who i am though. i am possibly the least touchy person you'll ever meet because im too afraid that i'll get practically yelled at (or the equivalent in some other form). its just gets really hard to live with every once in awhile. thats all. the ironic part is that everyone comes to ME with their boy/girl problems. well... not everyone, but someone is ALWAYS coming up to me for advice or just to let all of their shit out on. every time i hear a story about how a boyfriend is fucking other chicks, or some guy is using you for your good looks, or your girl doesn't always go down on you when you want you to, im just caught thinking to myself like 'damn man, im 19, in college, and when every other guy and girl seems to be as horny as possibly can be, i just see so far beyond that. it has such a small signifigance in my life. but it still has some.' the problem is when i do desire something of that variety i do not even know where to begin. it sucks. most of the time i dont give a shit. most of the time if not all of the time its not even worth it. its just something i needed to get out. something that bothers me more than it should. its just part of breaking out of the norms that society has placed for us. its hard, but its a growing process. however, regardless of what society tells me i should be doing, its something that is still desired once in a navy crescent. unfortunately its nothing i can do anything about, and i guess we'll see how things go as time moves on. nothing to get down about, just a flee on the windsh

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Valley "Behind the Scenes"

progressing with my work for 'the valley' which is comin out real soon. got asked to do a behind the scenes vid from a few people so i figured why not... narration for most of it... thar she blows:


When the Farmington Valley Film commission contacted me about creating something to be the opener for their summer film fete, at first I struggled to generate ideas as to what would be suitable, and worthwhile to them, to me, and to whoever would be watching. Knowing that the only limitations on what I could do was that I had to film specifically in the valley itself, I thought, why not capture the beauty of the entire valley, and what better a way to do it than with a series of time lapses taking in not only the most magnificent of scenes, but the little aspects that make the valley truly a special place.

When I first started talking to people about my idea, there was a surprising amount of interest that came along with it. Because it would be so hard to bring everybody along, a few people had asked me to make a behind the scenes video to really give people an idea of how much work actually goes into something like this, which is why this exists in the first place.

The scariest part along the way was the pressure to truly portray all that the valley is... to all of us. Not only the epic landscapes, breathtaking skyscapes and the memorable landmarks, but something I tried to really key in on was the human aspect of the valley as well. The trees and the mountains and the lakes were all here long before we were, and will be here long after we're gone, but the only thing to represent the present, the now, is us. The environment we live in coinciding with those who inhabit it is what I was primarily focusing on throughout the project.

One of the greatest challenges I encountered was the weather. Given only a month to complete the project I had to quickly determine where and when I was going to shoot, given whatever mother nature decided to dish out to me. Whether it be thunderstorm and tornado warnings, or rain droplets and morning dew getting on my lenses mid shoot, or having only one clear night a week to go out and shoot the stars demanding that I work around the clock, mother nature never failed at adding an extra level of stress to the work.

My favorite part of the project was definitely the people. Not only those who came along with me to some of the shoots, but to those I encountered along the way. From some crazy kids jumping off waterfalls to people slowing down their cars in the middle of the road to have driveby conversations with me about cameras and lenses and all things photography, it was a pleasant surprise to me as to where I found some of my inspiration.

Often times we forget that we live in such a beautiful area, but what I have learned in the past month is that we are also what makes this area as beautiful as it is. The cohesive flow of life hand in hand with the breathtaking nature around us is what makes the valley truly thrive. My only goal for this project became to capture that very flow, that raw beauty of everything that we are amerced in.

I hope more than anything else that its enjoyed and appreciated by all who live here, and have ever passed through. It feels good to finally give back to the place I have called home for so long. But I'm still not sure that any medium of art can truly do it justice.