The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest, and it is Monday, the start of it. While those of a pinstripe & windsor persuasion are eager to get serious and shuffle around decimals to make the world go ‘round, that’s as satisfying as old french fries. So, this Monday, we’d like to treat ourselves and you to a little college stoner pontification, and the food for thought supplied by Matthew Rycroft, the video director at COOPH, who brings us ’13 Mind-Bending Thoughts About Photography.’
Unless you have the mental agility of a goldfish, defining these as ‘mind-bending’ is a bit of a stretch, but none-the-less worthy of a raised eyebrow and a nod, and it’s done very well. In fact, it’s a sort of internet melting pot with public domain video footage from Pond5, a voiceover from Fiverr, subtitles inspired by the Spritz reading app, and all put together in drawn inspiration from the famous Reddit ‘Shower Thoughts.’
Hopefully, you’ll be able to draw some inspiration from this of your own, and I’ll wager some of the points made will actually have you pause and reflect, if even for a moment. So it’s not about the technicalities of camera design, nor about instruction on framing, but it may re-frame how you view our craft and its purposes and effects on a whole, and make you a little more appreciative of the power of a photograph.
[REWIND: Inspiration & Plagiarism: The Good, Bad, & The Ugly ]
My Three Favorites Are:
- The photograph of you that might be displayed at your funeral might already exist: part of me now wants to hire someone to shoot me for this purpose so whatever remaining friend or relative I have doesn’t take out a lingering grudge and using some hideous image from my teens.
- Before photography, nobody knew what they looked like with their eyes closed: not something I’d cry over, but it is interesting.
- Every photo that you take is a once in a lifetime photo – make it awesome: This is succinct and wise. If we start thinking more this way, I feel we’ll be less frivolous with our images, and that will make what we do create, that much better.
What are your favorites?
