Free Range
Recently, I’ve added free range eggs into my diet. First and foremost, I believe the high cholesterol is increasing my power even more than just eating red meat. Perhaps it’s wise for me to eat eggs while on the carnivore diet because I’m feeling great.
When I read the text, “free range,” it had me thinking about the way that humans live in the city. We are confined to a grid, living in small cells, sitting down, fattening ourselves up with sugary foods, and spending most days indoors. Why do we spend so much money for free range eggs, but treat our own bodies like factory-grown meat?
It’s unhealthy to spend too much time inside, sitting down, or walking on concrete. My thought is that it is actually completely unnatural to be sitting down at all. School has programmed us to sit down for the entire day and complete our tasks since childhood. When’s the last time you touched grass? Like seriously, touched the grass with your bare feet… Humans are becoming machines and we’re treating the animals how we should be treated. Humans thrive outside, in the great outdoors, under the sun, touching grass.
Cave People
My general thought is that most people prefer to be indoors. This has become more apparent to me as I observe the way people wear sunglasses anytime they’re outside. The use of sunglasses is essentially tricking your eyes into thinking that you’re inside. I believe this stunts the production of melanin in their skin, forcing them to wear sunscreen, and fear the sun even more.
Consider the television, computer, and iPhone screens that people live vicariously through the entire day while inside. My radical thought is that nothing is really happening when you’re operating these technologies. There’s a series of shadows displayed before your eyes, crafting the reality for you. The news, media, Hollywood, and all of the entertainment is one big smokescreen separating you from reality. Why do so many people think about the lives of others or even celebrities? Perhaps we are becoming people of the cave, finding truth in the shadows more than the light.
Touch Grass
The reason why Philadelphia is such a great city is because we have numerous beautiful parks in center city and trails along the river. We also have a large forest, the Wissahickon, FDR Park, Belmont Plateau, and Bartram’s Garden. There are so many green spaces that I can enjoy while living in a concrete jungle.
In video games, players look for ways to upgrade their character by finding better armor or weapons to use. Wearing barefoot shoes has been the greatest upgrade to my real life. Not only are my feet and legs becoming stronger, but I’m able to connect with the Earth in the parks, feeling the sensation of the grass, dirt paths, and rocks beneath my feet.
Sun is Power
Allow the sunlight to be your power source. I feel as though humans are like batteries that need to be charged, and the sun is that source of power that provides us with a full charge. For the past few days, it has been raining, and I can definitely feel the difference in my mood and power. Without the sunlight, it is inevitable that my mood will be lower. Maybe because I spend so much time in the sun, lifting weights, and eating meat, I have extra power in my battery pack that keeps me going with close to full power during the time without sunlight. Maybe the source of all depression and mental health problems during the winter months are due to the cold weather and lack of sunlight.
Clothing is Armor
Because it has been raining recently, I’ve been wearing my raincoat and Gore-Tex shoes. I find that a long raincoat that goes down to my ankles with a hood is critical to thrive during inclement conditions. I have no excuse not to go for my daily walk and be outside. A little bit of rain isn’t going to put me in any pain, but if you have the right armor, you will be able to keep going out there with full force. Don’t let the weather control your mood, attitude, and how you will conquer your day. Treat your clothing as armor and head out there onto the frontlines of life.
Sublime
I’ve been thinking a lot about this notion of the sublime. I find that when I walk these mundane streets each day with my camera, it is becoming more and more beautiful. You would think that you get tired of walking the same lane every single day, and that it will become less interesting, but this is far from the truth. The power of photography lies in the eyes of the beholder and will be the key that unlocks the door to your perception of reality. Perhaps beauty is objective. When you look at architecture, paintings, faces, natural spaces, and flowing water, it’s easy to determine what is beautiful.
My thought about the sublime is that it is beyond beauty—a feeling or emotion that is evoked through your individual perception of life itself. Everyday experiences and objects that are oftentimes seen as ordinary become extraordinary. My attention is drawn to the things in the world that are overlooked, providing me with a deep sense of beauty, awe, and profound significance in these everyday experiences. It’s hard for me to explain in words, but going forward, I want to strive to evoke the feeling of sublime through my photographs.
Time
When I’m outside, photographing, I exist outside the passage of time. Perhaps you can’t live forever, but you can make photographs! I find that separating yourself from the work or the outcome is critical to thrive as a photographer. So far, it has been a year and a half of me photographing with my newfound process of shooting high-contrast black-and-white. I believe after two years, I will find something interesting throughout the sea of pictures that I’ve made. Don’t get caught up in the photos you made yesterday, but look forward to what you will make today. Allow your photographs to be a stream of becoming, forever making more work. Don’t get caught up with what’s good or bad, and recognize that street photography requires repetition, and a long passage of time for you to find something that works.