Preconceived Notions

Taylor Fox and I... and a well timed photo bomb.

   Unfortunately sometimes you don't know how to or cannot tell people just what you think of them. At least for me, so many things go unsaid and having a blog is a good way to unsay the unsaid... say that which is not said... right? Something like that.

   Too often do we have preconceived notions about people and things. I am absolutely no different and I'd like to say that I am usually a fairly good judge of character. I am wrong from time to time but not so often. So you can see where I would develop preconceived notions about people frequently with little thought as to how the person really is or is not.

   I had not met Taylor Fox yet, not really, but we were in orientation together when I came to Korea. I must admit that preconceived notions were formed quite quickly in my mind about her. Here is a tall, very pretty, girl who is educated, and well liked (read popular). (Please keep in mind that I say all this about Taylor in a completely non pervy, non creepy, non romantic sort of way. I hate that I feel I have to explain that but a guy really can think a girl is pretty without wanting to be anything more than a friend.) It wasn't hard for me to imagine, and put a tag on, who she was as a person. Unfortunately that tag was negative, but well deserved by most women with said attributes. So my tag stuck until by some random chance we struck a small conversation.

   It is not uncommon for girls (seemingly) like Taylor to either pretend I do not exist entirely (which I am completely fine with honestly) or get the absurd notion that I am talking to them because I would like more than friendship. So striking up a conversation with Taylor was a bit like pulling a tooth I must admit. But not wanting to be impolite, I endured. To my surprise Taylor was quite different than what I thought. I don't really remember what we started talking about but I do remember her being really fun to talk to and she never made me feel awkward like other girls that I so mistakenly categorized her with.

   To be honest I really think Taylor would have been the last person I would have spoken to if she had not spoken to me. Which is sad to think about. Because not only is Taylor a really fun person, but she did something for me that she probably doesn't even realize she did. She restored something in me I had lost somewhere. Some of that cynicism I had about women with her attributes subsided when she simply treated me as a normal human being, something that some other girls like her seem to be incapable of. We don't hang out, we don't talk on a regular basis, but none of that really matters. She did a lot that I can't put into words. I can say with confidence that Taylor is a really good friend regardless of how often we talk.

   So my point is that Taylor surprised me very much. That surprise did a lot for me that I can never really put into words and I could never truly thank her for. All without her seemingly even noticing at all. Some people have a big, positive, impact on those around them without even trying and those kinds of people are ones to remember. Taylor will go off and continue to impact people's lives through the Peace Corps soon and I am in awe of how fitting that opportunity seems for her. If she can only impact people in the way she impacted me, then she is doing the world a favor.

   Thanks Taylor and I wish you luck in the Peace Corps. You are a deserving person for such an honorable opportunity. You are a role model and a friend no matter how many miles away.




  There are many other people I could and probably should write about. Perhaps some day I will. Taylor just seemed to be on my mind after this last TaLK trip. Speaking of which, I will write about said trip soon.

   Also, I am approaching 100 blog posts soon. It kind of feels nice. I am, as you may have been able to tell, not very good at keeping up with personal projects. I'm not good at keeping up with routines in general. I don't know why. One hundred blog posts really isn't that much considering how long ago I started this but to me it is a nice little mile stone. Thanks to all those who read and I hope you continue to read for hundreds more.

Snowy Yecheon

   Just a pointless video with me overly amazed about snow. Just thought I'd upload.

Change

Change.

Literally.

   I don't mean I am changing my clothes or changing my outlook on life, nothing profound like that. I have a very nasty habit of collecting my change. Or perhaps it is a good habit I don't know. If you have ever seen my computer desk it is always full of multiple layers of coins. Every month or so I get tired of it, throw it in this old cloth bag I got a long time ago, then continue to layer more change onto my desk. Eventually I end up with a lot of money saved up. In this case, 62,000won worth of change. Not a bad chunk of change if I might say so myself... ah... knee slapper.

   At about 2 in the morning I was lying in bed when suddenly I got the idea for this photo. So I stacked up all my change and arranged it in neat rows. Artistic inspiration sometimes comes at the most inconvenient of times and leads us down paths that are... odd I must admit.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

   First, I don't have a macro lens. For those learning photography perhaps I will cover what a macro lens is sometime in the future. But basically it allows you to focus really close to a subject. Usually insects or flowers. This is good for small things. Normal lenses, however, have to focus on things a bit further away from them. I first tried my 85mm to try and get at least a nice tight crop on the coins. It turns out that I had to be so far back to focus that it just ended up looking dull. It simply wasn't the photo I had in my head.

   But then I remembered there are these really awful, cheap lens converters on eBay all the time that basically allow you to mount your lens backwards and get a little bit closer to a macro look. I don't, and never want to, own one of those converters but I had an idea. I took off my 85mm and held it up to the body backwards and took the shot. What I got was kind of interesting. Not what I wanted of course, but I thought I would just play around anyways.

   Ultimately I had to rely on my phone for the image at the top of this post. Yes, thousands of dollars spent on camera gear and my phone was able to do what my gear couldn't. As I have said in the past, having expensive gear does not make you a photographer. A photographer can use any camera and be able to create something. The only issue is the image quality, it is a tiny sensor after all and can only shoot JPEG files. It was, however, just for fun and I kinda like it. What do you think?

Follow the Rabbit

Follow the rabbit.

   It seems like since coming to Korea I have come to understand Alice so much more than before. She followed the rabbit down the rabbit hole and ended up head over heels. As have I. Everyday I am reminded that I am a foreigner in a land I will never fully understand but always find fascinating.

   I have followed my white rabbit down a very peculiar hole just the same. Everywhere I turn there is something new and fascinating, even if only on the smallest scale, for me to wonder at and be confused about. I do not speak the language, and I will never fully understand the culture. But just like Alice, this will be an adventure to remember forever.




   I haven't been shooting much this past week as you may have seen. Rain is one thing, a week of torrential downpours are another. Couple that with cold temperatures and you have one photographer who does not wish to leave a warm dry building. Really, though, my camera body has developed a few cracks and has made a weather proofed camera not so weather proof. Whereas before I would have been fine taking my camera out in a light rain, I am a bit more afraid to take over $2,000 worth of gear out not trusting the weather proofing capabilities any longer.

   I would love to buy a new camera but there is nothing on the market that interests me more than the current Nikon D610 I have. Sure I could upgrade to one of the more top end Nikon's but none of them really appeal to me. The D610 is relatively cheap, small, and does everything I need it to. If I were to buy a new camera I would just be buying the same model. That seems like a waste, I think I'd rather wait until a Nikon D620 or whatever the upgrade to this will be.

Ok... camera geek tangent over.

Yecheon Music Video

Bob Westfall

   Here you see the one and only Bob Westfall. I have shown photos of him in the past on my blog. I met him here in Yecheon and he plays a sort of music style reminiscent of the past. I value that kind of nostalgic artist.

   On this particular day Bob dragged me around the city shooting clips for a music video. Unfortunately I am terrible at cinematography but I tried none the less. I caught this photo towards the end of the night. No clue how the video will turn out but if you are interested, click on his name above to go to his website.

Pretentious Brain Plasticity

   Perhaps this image has no real substance to it, and in a general sense, no it doesn't. But I am kind of drawn to images like this. Images that you can't easily distinguish a shape from. I guess people would call it "fine art" but to add that label sounds a little pretentious at times. Plus, I don't really feel I am the best at this type of photography. I like it, without a doubt, and I am deeply moved by some fine art images. I am just not that great at it. That doesn't matter though as I feel that always practicing every aspect of an art makes you better in some way. Even if it doesn't necessarily make you better at, say, fine art, simply practicing should improve you in other ways. I think in doing this we are helping to keep our brain's plasticity.

Or perhaps I am full of shit.

Lost CTRS Video

   Here is a video I barely found on my hard drive. I meant to upload this video as a final one when I left Japan but I think I was waiting to add something to the end. I do not know what though. As such, it is not quite finished but seeing as how that was a year ago now... I think it is safe to just release it as is. I miss Japan a lot. I really can't wait to visit again.