GIRAFFE OUT LOUD

• 2013-04-24 199,105 notes

  Anonymously tell me how you feel about me. I can’t reply, I just have to read it and post it.

  Make it splendid.

  (via sketchbookincarnate)

  Source: starspangledcaptainamerica

• 2013-04-23 177,857 notes

  awkwardsituationist:

  “world of averages” - composite images culled from thousands of individual portraits resulting in symmetrical average faces. 

  Genetic averages.

  (via fredjew)

  Source: awkwardsituationist

• 2 notes

  The month of April has afforded me the blessing of shooting with $3000 of rented camera equipment at little cost. In this time, I have discovered that money, while not the deal-breaker, makes a substantial difference in the quality of shots one may acquire. For the idealists who say that good photos only require skill and a good heart, piss off. Knowing what I know now, I’m off to make money and upgrade my shit.

  You’ll understand my frustrations when you care about something/someone this much.

• 2013-04-19 0 notes

  It is far better to hurt with the truth than soothe with a lie.

• 3 notes

  Don’t spam me on issues you haven’t researched.

  Earlier today, a friend spammed me a request to sign a gun control petition. It was faulty.

  I wrote a lengthy letter in response . Please read if you care at all about what’s happening to this country.

  Hi,

  Shame on all 45 Senators—including 4 Democrats—who just voted against requiring background checks for gun purchases—something 90% of Americans support. Four months after the Newtown massacre, they are still kowtowing to the gun lobby instead of protecting our kids and families.

  Make sure that they know what they did is shameful, and we’ll hold them accountable.

  Sign the petition:

  Thanks!

  Hello, [name withheld]. I truly admire that you value the safety of the people. And the Newtown massacre is a heartbreaking tragedy indeed. No parent should bury their child nor should any weapon be aimed at a helpless bystanders in any capacity.

  But I politely decline your request, on a number of factual and ethical discrepancies.

  First, there are 46 senators in opposition to the bill. Not 45.
  

  Second, background checks are already in place. The legislation is not an all encompassing switch, on-off writ. It is a significant strengthening of the already existing background checks that will remain even if the bill does not pass. If the bill does not pass, we do not lose background checks. The current barriers will remain the same. Guns will still be difficult to obtain legally by all consumers. 
  

  Third, yes, 90% of Americans encourage gun control—but only at gun trade shows. Half of America does not wish or even desire to strengthen current laws. The actual figures are more divisive. Stronger gun control support ranges within 40%-56%, and even then 56% is hardly a majority. That’s basically half. The other half believe the current laws regarding gun control are perfectly fine. And they are working well because…

  • http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/09/CNN-Poll-Obama-Is-Getting-Hammered-On-Guns
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/09/wonkbook-gun-control-shows-how-washington-really-works/
  • http://www.gallup.com/poll/1645/guns.aspx
  • http://www.pollingreport.com/guns.htm
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/postabc-poll-gun-control-politics/2013/04/12/1219fb2c-8b01-11e2-9b1a-deb258a24f2d_page.html

  …over 84% of the guns obtained from gun crime scenes were obtained through illegal means, i.e. stolen or black market purchase. Meaning, the people who are shot with guns are shot with guns that were illegally obtained in the first place. 
  

  Stricter gun control will not take guns from people who truly mean to do harm with them.

  Fourth, most Americans just don’t care, confused as to why gun control is on the chopping block in the first place. The economy is this nation’s MOST pressing concern. We are in a rut. We are over 13 trillion dollars in debt. We are losing jobs, yet more heated about gun violence and same-sex marriage…? What the fuck is wrong with public media and Congress? This is a misdirection of priorities and a serious cause for concern among the general public’s interests.

  • http://www.humanevents.com/2013/04/17/poll-americans-dont-think-gun-control-is-important/

  My last argument is one of ethical and practical ideology, in that gun control is not crime control. Gun control does not eradicate the evil of men and does not eliminate the originating factors for gun-related crimes: like psychosis, history of violence, and poverty.  In other words, the typical causes of gun crime.

  If evil men wish to commit a crime, they will most certainly carry it out.

  Yes, stricter gun control will obviously reduce gun-related deaths, but it will not cure the central violence that stems from its diseases. If you take away guns, evil men will use bombs. If you take away bombs, evil men will use knives. If you take away knives, evil men will use their hands. The problem is not gun control but something far greater and more nuanced in our society.

  I politely request that you disseminate the correct information before asking others to participate in petitions, especially one as controversial and heated as this. It is illogical and disingenuous to those with whom you discuss without first conducting research on the topic.

  Good day.

• 3 notes

  Be decisive with your actions. If you ride the fence for too long, you’ll catch splinters in your crotch.

• 2013-04-13 1 note

  I’m very weary of jumping into a relationship right now.

  Whenever a girl communicates sincere interest in me, one with whom I am also sincerely enamored, my initial and expected reaction is indifference. Or escape. 

  It’s not that I’m scared of requited love or harbor some traumatic emotional baggage, I just can’t handle this shit right now in my life. A relationship is fucking expensive—in time AND money, both factors of which are hurting in my life right now. I’m selfish and broke, but dedicated to my craft in a magnitude significantly out of proportion with urgency of other responsibilities in life. Having accepted this, I have also accepted the reality that I can’t invest righteous attention into a significant other when I’d rather be running around and learning new things like a da Vinci on speed. I’ve jumped into dating life without stability in my own and I have the experiential evidence to conclude that: no, being in love and being unfocused is a terrible combination. Ten priorities cannot be juggled when you’ve only got one hand and bad hand-eye coordination.

  I’ve been urged to date or sign up on OKCupid but I seriously don’t have the time or bravado to fuck around without having the means to pay for dinner. Contrary to what my friends believe, I don’t guilelessly sleep around, I don’t play the field, and I don’t take my relationships lightly. I commend anyone with the capacity to fuck another human being without sincerely caring for them. I just don’t think I’m capable of second-handing another living, breathing, affection-seeking person like that.

  I believe earnest, smart women deserve better attention than hungry eyes.

  So yeah. I’m trying to be practical about this shit. Disney romances only apply to Disney universes. This is the real world, where being broke can break up a family and make your kids hate you and make angry bankers harass with with late payment notices. I’ve accepted the reality that when the time comes, I’ll be an amazing lover and father.

  But until then I’m just a starving artist with immense reservations about being a cannibal.

• 2013-04-12 8 notes

  Hip-graphers Dictionary

  Every industry has its own unique vocabulary. The military has it. Business has it. Couples have it. The media and photography industries sure as hell have it.

  Having shot pretty extensively these past two years, I’ve actually come up with my own set of colorful terms for people and things that I tend to come across in my weekly shoots. None of this is intentionally aimed at anyone in the artistic community—hell, I’m guilty of a lot of these unflattering terms. A lot of this is just playful bantering in my own head, dumb stuff I say to keep my media discussions lively. So if you’re offended, I apologize.

  Or you need to learn and take yourself less seriously. 

  Here goes.

  People

  • The Ladder: person with exceptional networking skills/work ethic but demonstrates questionable shooting integrity.
  • The Tool: person with exceptional equipment but does not use it or know how to exploit full capacity of the technology; also derogatory term for a talented hobbyist who accepts gigs for little/no compensation. 
  • The Suit: person who places monetary transactions over artistic credibility. 
  • The Triple Threat: photographer who can shoot, conduct business, and socialize with exceptional fluency; few and far between.
  • The Voyeur: person who specializes in boudoir and erotic portraits; considered genius within niche communities but is otherwise a pervert in the public eye.
  • The Sage: person who says nothing or speaks little of their own visual exploits yet shoots with prodigious results; only speaks when harassed or when spoken too. 
  • The Hipster/Voguer: photographer who favors film or film effect; will meticulously edit clean digital photos to replicate semblance of old E6 film; favors noise, off-black, and curve manipulations.
  • The Dictionary: photographer who knows the tech but not the art.
  • The Crayon: photographer who knows the art but not the tech.
  • The Fossil: photographer who once ran a significant business/hobby but has declined in stature due to dSLR boom; struggles to adapt to digital transition and new competition.
  • The Loyalist: photographer who claims fanatic brand allegiance, not realizing methodology is more important than the fucking name on a camera.
  • The Surgeon: photographer who relies heavily on post-editing; can be attributed to artistic preference or lack of fundamental shooting methods.
  • The Saint: rigid photographer who strictly endorses film or hates to edit digital photos, so as to maintain a self-proclaimed desire of authenticity.
  • The Gem: photographer with exceptional talent who has yet to root a strong vocational path. Will eventually be recognized but for now is hindered by extraneous circumstances such as minor capital, lack of career focus, or unhealthy relationships.

  Places/Backdrops

  • (Dashboard) Confessional: dark moody room with great shadows
  • Secret Garden: venue with exceptional foliage and rocky textures; probably hides a dead body.
  • Park: self-explanatory.
  • Corporate: venue with recurring instances of cool neutral and glass.
  • Deco: named after eponymous architectural style; places with golden/brown tones and pilaster lines.
  • Cave: rocky backdrop with low ambiance.
  • Villa: open green with Venetian-type buildings.
  • Gothic: churchlike place with complex ornaments and high contrast.
  • Baywatch: beach or boardwalk front.
  • Black hole: black backdrop.
  • Heaven: white backdrop.

  Other

  • Sniping: the stalking or shooting of human subjects, subtly oft without their knowing.
  • Run-and-gun: to conduct a typically complex or logistically heavy production without any planning or with little consideration; also shooting without thoughtful composition in mind.
  • Dutch: composing shots with significant tilt; also refers to someone who shoots using said technique.
  • Monkeying: meticulously reviewing a shot on LCD, esp. at an event that requires fast-paced shooting.
  • Shooting naked/nude: using flashes with no diffuser.
  • Pirate: shooting with the lens cap on.
  • Shooting blanks: conducting a shoot without film or appropriate memory card.
  • Bombing: to inject one’s self into a shot without permission or expectancy.

• 2013-04-10 1 note

  

  This is how delirious I am. Enjoy.

• 2013-04-05 10 notes

  I have high hopes for art and people.

  We are born with limitless imaginations and hidden blessings. We have machines connected to ten million others, we have cars, we have cameras, and we have paint. We have encyclopedias of free information, forums of rich discourse, and, most importantly, we have wonderfully vibrant minds.
  

  But such potentials only surface when we choose to embrace them. Our creative volition. The bravery to speak the oddities that spring in our dreams, the ethic to produce a short film only three people may care about, the spirit to not give a fuck when everyone else insists that you should—this is what I hope for when I ask people to be original. Artistic. Unique. The last thing I want is for humans to become suffocated by unregulated consumption and a feeling of simply being “content.”

  We must never give up our sense of creation. Because everything you do is representative of the values you stand for, whether you may consciously realize this or not. Your hands define your actions and your actions in turn define who you are as a living breathing soul of the now.

  If this post makes no sense to you at all, I am asking you to make shit. To be innovative. To be absurd. To piss others off. People will call you crazy, but your ability to manifest dreams into material form will be fucking magic.