Hump Day Sunday — STREET SILHOUETTES

I don’t use expletives on this dog and pony show. Now, isn’t that a peculiarity in this day and age. I mean, even the New York Times drops an expletive bomb from time to time - when journalistic accuracy calls for it - in the case of quoting a source with an indiscriminate mouth. Obviously, loosening that once followed rule to forbid expletives is really just a response to what society has become. In short, expletives have become so common in everyday use that it would be unrealistic not to allow it. That said, it doesn’t mean I have to follow suit.

It is not as if I am morally better than the New York Times or any Tom, Dick, or Harriet with a penchant to speak or write with expletives. My issue with expletives is the way it is used. Generally, expletives are used much too broadly that its definition has become imprecise. Expletives can be positive or negative. It can be pretty much any part of speech. In fact, it can even be a substitute for any word, much like the word “smurf” can be used as a substitute for any word said by a Smurf. Frankly, using an expletive is as exact as using the word “thing”.

That said, expletives actually do have meaning. However, I cannot think of a situation in which I would actually have a material need to use an expletive as its definition intended. And even if I did, I am quite confident that I can find an alternative that’s even more precise. Though to be fair to expletives, much of that lack of precision is a consequence of overuse varying from the actual definition. As such, expletives - like the word ‘thing’ - are crutches that the linguistically indifferent relies on when failing to conjure a word that offers greater precision.

Downtown Salem, Oregon - Leica M11 + Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH-M

Of course, finding the right words to express one’s self isn’t always forthcoming. To be precise all the time can be very taxing. And, it is not just in writing. The need for precision can be just as taxing when it comes to other forms of expression. Photography for example. There are days when I’m really not in the mood to take photos, let alone take photos of my partner-in-crime. It is the preparation in scheduling, styling, and location scouting. Plus there’s still the photowalk, where I have to subject direct, be observant, be imaginative, and be decisive.

It’s not just me. I am sure there are days - especially in the early morning - when my partner-in-crime is just as unenthusiastic as me. Take this photowalk. You can clearly see my partner-in-crime was not really in the mood to go out on a photowalk. All natural without make-up. Hair tied up with a scrunchy. Styling akin to throwing on the first article of clothing within arms reach. Clearly not one’s A-game in full view. But, I can’t fault my partner-in-crime for demonstrating a lack of enthusiasm. It’s not like I preemptively intervened with styling directions.

Such was the mood of the photowalk. The clouds threatened rain in the early September morning. Clearly the colloquial blah day. A Hump Day photowalk it was - albeit not quite mid-week - if Sunday could be considered mid week. But for those of us who do not adhere to regular working hours five days a week, that very lethargic Sunday photowalk could just as well be another Hump Day drudgery. It felt that way, dragging myself through the fog of sluggishness from one arbitrary photo opportunity to the next. I mean, what was the point of it all!

Nevertheless, I know I must do my best because I know I will regret my lack of enthusiasm when I stare at my lapse of personal excellence plainly on the resulting photographs. Poor subject direction. Poor environmental observation. Lost photo opportunities. A wasted effort. I could just imagine the day-after carnage in review on my computer screen. One photo after another falling short of the standard I require for posting on my dog and pony show. But, what is one to do when one just cannot get into the right mindset to optimize a photowalk?

On days like this, I start to wonder if there is a photo taking equivalent of using an expletive or the word “thing” when enthusiasm isn’t in the heart and mind? Is there a crutch that I can depend on when taking a photo? Can I go on cruise control without suffering the consequences of poorly taken photos? I suppose the equivalent of an expletive used in communication would be the substitution of at least one variable from the chore of photo taking. Of course, now the question is which variable to substitute and what that substitution would be?

Well, I suppose I could simplify the task of photo taking by substituting the variance of background to a single background. That way, I would only need to concentrate on subject direction. But, how very boring that would be! Or perhaps, I suppose I could simplify the task by substituting the variance of poses to a single pose. That way, I would only need to concentrate on environmental observation. But, how very boring that would be! Or, I could get off my high horse and lower my standards to accept the photo taking equivalent of an expletive.

Downtown Salem, Oregon - Leica M11 + Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH-M. Top left hand corner has been edited with a combination of the Content Aware Function on Adobe Photoshop and a little elbow grease.

Would it be the end of the world if all my thirty one photos had the same background? Or, would it be the end of the world if all my thirty one photos had the same pose? Better yet, would it be the end of the world if all my thirty one photos had the same pose and background? If I did that, my lack of enthusiasm would certainly be in full view. But it shouldn’t be in full view because it would be ridiculous. I mean, each and every photo will be the same. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between one photo over another, which is the point.

And, therein lies the problem of this kind of simplification for the sake of abetting to a lack of enthusiasm on a hump day. That is to say, if I were to really make a substitution of a photo taking variable with the photo taking equivalent of an expletive, the resulting photos will look like an expletive. It would be the biggest bird flipped in your general direction. The disrespect would be monumental. On top of that, you wouldn’t know what I was trying to accomplish because the precision of my photo narrative would be as exact as using an expletive.

So on a hump day such as this, when enthusiasm is at a lost to me, what is someone like me supposed to do? Just go with it? Colloquially speaking. Just go through the motions? Take one step at a time and muster up the strength of character to finish the task with some personal excellence? Or as a wise person once said - which wise person, I don’t know - stop whining and get on with it. Really! I should be so lucky to have an opportunity like this to photograph a willing subject, such as my partner-in-crime - albeit just as unenthusiastic as me.

I know what you must all be thinking. You cannot believe that I spent all this effort sermonizing about nothing. Moreover, you probably cannot believe that you have spent the effort to read this sermon about nothing. Fact is, I really didn’t want to go through the motions and do this photowalk. To some extent, the photos do show a lack of preparedness on both sides of the camera. Even so, I did summon the strength of character to salvage as much as I could from this unpromising photowalk. What I failed to do on the spot, I belt-sanded in post.

But was all this for nothing? I believe the lesson from this post is that we can’t always be on our A-game. From time to time, we all exhibit human failings. It happens. So, there’s no point in bleating out expletives. That said, I do not have anything inspiring to say or any real advice on the matter. All I can say is that the photos we take will not be our best examples when our hearts and mind are elsewhere, and we should just accept it. I for one do not regard the photos I took on this photowalk to be my amongst my best. But, it’s not my worst either!

Last, why did I feel the necessity to pen this so-called lesson in human failings? Frankly, I do not believe there is enough dissenting opinion written about photography by photo bloggers. Why it is important to share such dissenting views, I believe it helps in providing us a more measured view of the undertaking we love. As much as we love photography, it isn’t the be all and end all. And if it just so happens that you don’t want to go out for a photowalk, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you don’t like photography anymore. It just means you’re human.

I’d rather be having brunch than wandering around one block to the next in hopes of imagining possibilities to be captured decisively for this blog. That was how I felt that hump day Sunday morning. Did that mean I hated photography all of a sudden? Of course not. I just wasn’t in the mood, that’s all. And, there is no expletive used in this blog post to express my mood, since it really wouldn’t have added any precision to its objective.

Special thanks to Grace for joining me on this photowalk.

Disclaimer

Sep 3 Hump Day Sunday

Disclaimer

Sep 3 Hump Day Sunday

Sep 17 On Visual Narratives

Aug 27 Boundaries