Selfie

“Escape the ordinary.” – Unknown

This blog has had a lot of silence to it over the past couple of years. But it is still here.

And I am going to touch up on a subject that I could have sworn that I have discussed in a previous blog post. However, going through more than 800 posts to find out whether I am right or whether I am crazy is a daunting task. So if I actually have discussed this, then I must say that this is a topic that apparently needs repeating. As well as give anyone else who might be “newer” to the blog an opportunity to catch up on something that they might not want to dig for.

Over the past several years, I have jumped into the rabbit hole of taking photographs of people and then went even further and started taking selfies. Particularly when I am attending live music shows or going wherever there is a group of people to any event.

I do take a lot of selfies with musicians at shows. There are times when someone will volunteer to help take the photograph which allows for me to be in a photograph with more people, or the entire band.

Most people are willing to do so. And they will tell me so. But other people are not so willing. Even if they end up doing it, I already know that they do not really like it.

Photographs as a whole are taken because the person wants to help preserve a memory, a moment in time.

And the selfies that I have taken have been no exception. Yet there is a stronger point that I am attempting to make when I take selfies with people, whether colleagues or musicians or whatever.

I want to show the world that even though I am living with a disability, that I am not allowing that disability to overcome who I am. I want to show that I am getting out and away from these four walls and doing what I love. And meeting people along the way while doing so.

So I take photographs with people. And that is to also show the world that disabled people can be friends with those who are not. Or in the very least exist in the same space as one another.

Throughout the years, I have posted these selfies on my personal social media pages. And the same type of comments are always posted by some people, or the same comments posted by the same people. And let me say that jealousy, is a very ugly monster.

I just want to prove to the world that I can do just about anything that anyone else can do. I can make friends. I can make acquaintances. I can meet new people. And do so just as easily as the next person who may not have the same disability or not a disability at all.

So I preserve the memories, and I give a big middle finger out to the world who has ever doubted me, or has tried to keep me bottled up in the corner because it is convenient for them.

It Really Needs No Explanation

“Life moves so fast. You gotta document the good times, man.” ~ Big Boi

According to Wikipedia,The first partially successful photograph of a camera image was made in approximately 1816 by Nicéphore Niépce.

In just over two centuries through the constant development of technology, we have been able to capture our favorite moments with our most beloved people in our lives.

In the 21st Century, we take photographs of anything and everything that crosses our sight. In the press of a button, people upload an average of 1.8 BILLION images every single day!! That’s billion… with a B.

I have done my fair share of that. And I am unapologetic for many photographs that I have uploaded. And some will never be uploaded or shared because they are taken for personal reasons. (Get your head out of the gutter!)

In 2011, I started traveling. Many of you will remember the countless blog posts of shows that I attended in Houston. I started doing so because I was so excited about traveling that I wanted to share. I have spent a lot of money buying disposable cameras to document my travel, fun moments, and loved ones. And I have spent even more money getting that film developed.

Three years later, I found myself attending events locally. Particularly in the downtown area. As you can imagine, I have met some people and made some friends along the way.

Within those three years, I received an Olympus digital camera as a gift. And since then I have been using it extensively ever since. I didn’t ask or beg for it. It came from the kindness of that person’s heart.

Yet bringing it into the world of smart phones, it seems a bit ancient and archaic. But it still functions as it is supposed to.

Yeah, the flash is super bright. I am aware. People seem to think I don’t know that. I HAVE HEARD MANY OF YOU WHEN YOU THOUGHT I COULD NOT.

Throughout this summer, I have heard people mumbling about me wanting to take photographs. A majority of it actually are people who are complaining and bitching about it behind my back and they don’t think I know about it or even think that I actually heard them as the words actually came from their lips.

If it comes down to you not liking your picture taken, that is your choice. But 99.99999% of the photographs I have taken, that has not been the case. Plus you simply will not receive the benefits. Again, that is your choice.

So it is time for me to set this record straight. Even though I was not asked to, nor do I feel that I should. If I have ever taken a photograph of you, and/or taken a photograph WITH YOU…. you will see that this is for YOUR benefit.

As I stated already, photographs are taken when I wish to document a special moment. Or if I am with people that I have deemed special to keep in my life that I would always want to remember those moments.

Think about for a moment. I WANT to remember that time when I was with you. Flattery should fall upon you, not loathing.

Over the last three years, a majority of my social life has involved entertainment in music. Live music mostly. The Olympus coming right along with me.

So I sit there right up in front of the stage to be able to feel in the moment when the music is playing. I take my photographs to the best of my ability with what I have.

And at the end of the night (by way of habit) I take selfies or pose for pictures with the musicians that are participating. After that I take more pictures of those who also attended. Mostly those whom I have grown to have a personal relationship with.

Then those photographs will obviously be uploaded. And just about everyone whom I have taken a photo with knows it and knows just where to find it.

Good or bad. Pretty or ugly. That is all subjective. They serve a higher purpose than your self-image based opinions. (I don’t like how I look in pictures either. But oh well!)

I have never charged any person or public entity for the photographs that I have taken over the years. It is not a business to me. Other people use photography for business and profit. Kudos to them! If they can make a living from it.. good for them! I wish them all success.

It would be very nice for people to think the photographs that I take are for the following reasons. Because it is 100% true:

1. Promotion. 100% FREE promotion. People that you do not know are going to see these photographs. If they are ever curious as to what I am doing or what I like, they are going to look to see who and what is there. Musicians and entertainers in particular, if you want the message of what you are doing and saying to be spread to people who don’t know, the photographs I take act as that kind of promotion. And it has been more successful than you think. Just think of the different people’s faces that you see at your events that you never saw before.
2. Personal documentation & reflection. Many entertainers share the same common dream: Making it big in the business. If nobody knows your product, nobody is going to buy it. And yet personally for those that I believe have the ability and potential to fulfill those dreams, I can hold these images dear to my heart to have the ability to say that I knew you. Chances are that I won’t be able to do so again if at some time you “made it” in your chosen field.

If you are in the entertainment industry, you should have been well aware that people such as I are going to ask to take photographs of you. If you didn’t think about that before, or don’t like your picture taken, you should probably leave the business.

“Graphs” ARE your business.  They are your life. PhotoGRAPHS and autoGRAPHS.

And finally the most personal reason of all. If by now you still are not understanding of why I do what I do, hopefully this will sink in.

In these most recent years, I have had so many people expressing their “concern” about how they wished I would do something more than just sit around the house. I made the choice to go and enjoy music. It was something that for most of my life I never thought that I could do.

I was wrong. I was totally wrong.

YES I CAN!!!

Photographing and documenting gives me a reminder that I CAN do these things and that I should do them as much as possible. Life is too short to do nothing!

It is proof positive that I am living a more fulfilling life.

I recall a conversation with a colleague a few years ago. I told them that I was going out to see a particular event and I asked that person if I would see them there.

Unknowingly that person had broken their toe (or foot, I don’t remember specifically) and therefore stated that they could not go anywhere.

I expressed some sympathy towards their most recent plight as I was totally unaware of that happening to them and ended the inquiry and conversation altogether.

Then I was very discouraged and filled with frustration. This person was choosing not to go out because of their temporary situation.

On the other hand MY SITUATION is very permanent. Someone with the worst and most severe form of Spina Bifida, a birth defect is willing to make the choice to go out and have some fun while someone who has more physical ability 99% of their life decides to whine and moan over a temporary setback.

I bring along my digital camera and use it to show to the WORLD that even though I am living with the most severe of disabilities, I make the choice to get out. My photographs are my proof that I have done so. And I hope that it brings encouragement to those who sit at home alone.

So instead of whining about me “always asking to take pictures,” understand what the real reason to it is.  Even if I ask again and again and again and again.

And finally, I want to address something about the selfies that I have taken in the past. A lot of people are thinking incorrectly about them.

If you already follow me on social media, you know that a vast majority of selfies that I have posted include other females. Not ALL, but a lot of them. That’s my choice.

However more than just a few people have told me that they are jealous of those women. And when I ask them why they are jealous, they say:

BECAUSE THOSE WOMEN ARE SITTING ON YOUR LAP!!

As fun as I think that might be, the only person that has ever sat on my lap in order to take a selfie with them, is Kimberly Freeman from One-Eyed Doll when they are in town on tour. But the last few times she has not done so. I am guessing maybe only two times in all. I also had a friend of mine do so to take a photograph together but she only agreed to do so after a lengthy explanation as to why it would look better in the photograph.

The others have stood close by me to make sure that they are within the shot and they have to squeeze in close to do so.

The truth is that other than Kimberly Freeman, two other women have sat on my lap to take a photo. But those photographs are not uploaded for a purpose. Nor will they ever be. Mainly because at the time they were extremely drunk and it could come back to bite them. So I don’t publish as I refuse to put myself in a situation to be blamed for consequences they could receive for their decision and action.

I think that the truth of the matter is that people in general are afraid to sit upon my lap. Of course again, the exception of those who are extremely intoxicated.

I hope that clears the confusion. There’s no need at all to be jealous.

I still stand firm in the opinion that a person SHOULD sit on my lap for a selfie because it is for their personal benefit so they don’t hurt their back or their legs or knees from squatting or bending over just to make sure they are within frame. But I can not convince the world of it.

And lastly I will end this post with a bit of self defense from what I touched on at the beginning.

A majority of selfies I have taken by myself. I have long arms and can stretch out a digital camera enough to get two people (maybe three) in frame. I honestly would prefer someone else to take the picture for me. I simply just don’t ask any more.

But for those who offer, whenever I hand over the camera I constantly hear comments and remarks about how the camera is a “dinosaur” or outdated technology or whatever. And remarks about the flash being “bright and blinding.”

I am a personal believer in “if you can fix it, you should.”

If you don’t like the flash on the camera or if you cannot figure out the button on the top of the camera is what you press to make the camera function or if you think it is too old, then why don’t you step up and offer to help upgrade it? I don’t have much disposable income as many other people do.

Should I just start another GoFundMe campaign to find a camera in which I can use without a flash and the photos turn out just as well?? Or am I just really stupid in believing that could really be something that someone would want to do???

If you can fix it, you should. So allow me to start you on your journey to help out everyone involved…………………………………

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RKNND2W/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1QJMCDBR7M5ON&colid=14ORUMN2Y06CD

I started out small, I can upgrade and grow as we go along. Does that help???

Heart Shaped Nature

“If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?”~ Khalil Gibran

So here is a post for nature lovers, as well as those getting ready to celebrate what is just simply the 45th day of the year.

You can take a peek at this and many more photographs of nature in a heart shape here:

http://www.weather.com/travel/heart-shaped-islands-and-lakes-photos-20140204

And who knows? Maybe it will brighten your holiday mood.

Enjoy!!!

 

Jaded Earth

I do not know whether or not this story is true. I could not find anything online about it. But whether or not it is true, it is a very interesting story. I was told this story not through e-mail, but by word of mouth. But since I thought it was interesting, I am going to share it with you.

There was a couple in California who were involved in an online, long distance relationship. Not the kind of long distance as you may think, like she was in California and he was in some place, like Ohio. The story says that they lived only a few hours away from one another. The distance was great enough to the point where they both would drive and meet at a central point in between them, thus making the drive almost equally as long for each other.

I guess I’ll name them, “Kelly” and “Jacob” as to not get things confused. Honestly, when I heard this story I was not told any names. It was difficult to follow.

So anyway, Kelly and Jacob had been seeing each other in this manner for quite some time. Their busy schedules did not permit either one of them to travel the entire distance to go see the other person at their homes. It was something they had adapted to and were content on doing.

After a while, Kelly had sent Jacob this nice little love package in the mail. Jacob was thrilled to the core as pondered everything with love in his heart for his girlfriend that she would take the time to do something so sentimental like this.

In his excitement, he took the return address and decided to look it up. He wanted to see what her house looked like, and the neighborhood. Anything to learn more about her and her surroundings because he was unable to do so himself. Plus their arrangement did not allow it either.

So he chose Google Earth. He saw that she lived in a fairly decent neighborhood. Nothing fancy and for sure nothing like the ghetto. Then he manipulated the view all around the house to see what color her house was, and saw the various plants she had growing.

Then he had the image change to the backyard. The satellite image that was being uploaded to his computer would change the relationship he had with Kelly forever.

There in the backyard, up against the fence he saw what he thought was the image of his girlfriend, performing sex acts on another man.

Jacob was crushed. He was filled with shock and disbelief. But the more he manipulated the satellite image, the more and more certain he was that it was Kelly.

Jacob did nothing at first. But then a couple of days later when he was told that Kelly was at work, Jacob did his search again. Only to find Kelly to be involved with the same man in the backyard again.

This time, Jacob picked up the telephone and called his beloved girlfriend. Kelly answered the telephone pretty quickly and was excited to hear Jacob’s voice on the other line. She explained that she had gone into work by mistake, only to find that she had the day off so she came home.

Kelly so anxious and willing to talk with Jacob, but Jacob was distracted as he refreshed and manipulated the image again, only to find her on the phone. (Which this part of the story actually causes doubt because I was told by others that I’ve shared this with, that Google Earth refreshes their images that frequently. But still what happened is interesting.)

Jacob had saved the image of his girlfriend getting her freak on with this strange man, and uploaded it to his hard drive. Every angle, every shot was now documented.

He still was unable to speak to her as Jacob kept hearing a faint male voice in the background. When he asked who was there, Kelly had told him that a neighbor had stopped by to help her with some heavier yard work that she was unable to do by herself. Jacob continued his silence about the matter.

The story as it was told to me was that Jacob repeated this time and time and time again. And almost every time he would do so, he would find Kelly in the arms of another man, conducting herself in lewd acts. And each time, he would save the satellite images to his computer.

Until one day, Jacob was getting ready to go meet with Kelly and her family during a family party or event. He took the three hour drive and was met by his girlfriend and her parents. Moments later, Jacob was standing face to face with the man whom he had first originally saw Kelly performing sexual acts in her backyard via satellite images.

Jacob then went to his car and pulled out the computer disk in which he had uploaded every image that he could take of Kelly cheating on him. He asked Kelly’s parents if he could download the disk because he had a surprise for Kelly and they welcomed him to the family computer.

He shut the door and uploaded all of the images onto the family’s hard drive. Then he printed several copies off and spread them all around the house as the family was involving themselves at their outdoor activity.

Jacob then came back and uploaded several of the images and attached them to the family’s e-mail account and sent them off to everyone that was listed in the family’s contacts. He went into his own e-mail account and did the same. Even included his own girlfriend to the list of recipients.

All that time, he was nervous that someone was going to walk in on him. To his surprise, he was given complete and total privacy until he emerged from the room.

Several of the printed copies of the photographs were then taken by Jacob and he handed them personally to Kelly, Kelly’s parents, and Kelly’s closest and personal friends.

He announced that the relationship was then over. He walked out of the house and got into his vehicle and went home. He turned off his cell phone and drove home in peaceful silence. When he arrived at his house, he disconnected his telephone and closed his Internet connection.

But he would change all of that the next day. Jacob would get a new telephone number eventually and then change what he was using for his personal e-mail account.

So then, let us assume that this story that I was told is true:

As much as I personally give others the benefit of the doubt, I think that this guy was a lot stronger than I would have been. I’m not saying that I would have went over there with guns blazing or anything, but I definitely would have been asking questions to the point where it could appear to be the Inquisition. Even after giving the benefit of the doubt. If I had seen these images appearing more than once, then I would have definitely been questioning somebody. Anybody!!

As for her, I think she got what she deserved. She was foolish enough to be unfaithful. And what makes it worse is that she was outside while doing so. Not only would satellite images have been able to pick up on her cheating, but anyone could see it… really.

What this guy did, took a lot of courage and patience. Especially after being so willing to see her and date her for a while longer. All that time between the first discovery of those images and the time where he terminated the relationship by humiliating her, I don’t think that I would have been able to go that long like that.

I would have been losing sleep, I would have been sick to my stomach, and I probably would have been a lot faster to accuse her of infidelity with proof in hand long before he ever did.

At any rate, this does make for an interesting story to read about. Even if it is not true. One would hope that it is total fiction.