I've been missing in action for the past few weeks because I've been sick with the worst case of the flu that I've ever had. I started feeling like shit while in Chicago and can say with reasonable certainty that it's behind me now. Oh, and I turned 25 recently, too.
There used to be a time when photography was easy. Digital photography has changed everything. Technology has given us many more options and overall made digital photography more enjoyable. The benefits are obvious. Immediate feedback and ability to take as many photos as you wish are just two benefits that immediately come to mind. Most people in my generation (generation Y) have become so used to the immediate feedback to the point where they must always see the photo right after it is taken. Heaven forbid the photo was taken from your “bad side”.
Nothing is free
An initial cost analysis may lead one to think that digital photography is less expensive than traditional photography. I strong disagree. Digital photography has more options and more options mean more complexity. The immediate costs to take one photo or 100 photos are the same. Yet, the post processing costs are not free and they have become increasingly “expensive”. They require something much more valuable than money: time. Post processing costs include all of the time and energy required to transfer, organize, edit, categorize, share and backup those photos. I don’t know about you, but these costs have become increasingly burdensome for me.
Sharing
All of my friends are taking photos as well. Of course, I want those photos. Then I have to integrate those into the photos I took and start all over again. Oh yeah, then my friends want copies…copies that I must make smaller because the original photos are too large for email. They could download them off my flickr site one at a time (which again took time to upload to). But honestly, what normal person has time for that?
F#@K, I lost everything!
I’m betting there will be a large portion of my generation that will have their photos (read: memories) erased due to viri, hard drive crashes and other crazy reasons like "ransomware". I’ve already seen family and friends lose their data far too many times. An informal survery of my friends revealed that approximately 75% don’t have any type of backup. This is crazy. I don’t know about you, but losing my music, photos, videos and documents would be like losing part of me. I would probably cry.
Preserving these memories is already challenging and will become more difficult as the amount of data increases.There must be an easier way to manage this process from start to finish (end to end) and I must find it…fast. Please email me if you have any suggestions. If not, perhaps this is a business opportunity. Maybe I just gave you the best business idea ever. Invite me oven when you are an internet billionaire.
But first, immediately backup all of your files. You’ll thank me later.
I saw the following three mullets on my trip to Rome in July. I'm not sure if the second third qualify for mullets, but they sure are interesting.
I can vividly recall a free-throw tournament that I participated as an early teenager. A Catholic “fraternal society” called The Knights of Columbus hosted it. The objective was very simple: make as many successful free throws given ten attempts. The more the better. Duh. I think I made 1 out of 10. Nearly everyone in my age group made more than me. I obviously had no chance of winning anything. My young, fragile, impressionable ego would be crushed. I would always be a loser because of this traumatic tournament. Or so the adults must have thought , because I miraculously got 3rd place. At the time I didn’t think anything was unusual about it. I was far too excited. In fact, I could not contain my excitement as I rode home with my father, big medal around my neck.
It was not until recently that I realized that everyone got a medal. I imagine this “you’re all winners” mantra was meant to build confidence. Many people say that my generation is spoiled, sensitive, far too coddled and needs constant praise. I’m not surprised. Growing up, our parents and teachers made us believe that we were all special, so unique…one of a kind. Statistically speaking, this is impossible, of course. The sad, hard truth is that most people are average. You’re probably average. You don’t think it, but statistically, you probably are. You don’t think you’re average because psychology studies have shown that most people think they’re “above average”, regardless of what they are referring to (intellect, attractiveness, likability, etc). Don’t buy it? Go ahead; rate your own sexual attractiveness on a scale of 1 through 10.....
I bet it was higher than a 5. Oh, in case you were wondering, I think that I’m a 10 +. I know that it’s true because my parents told me. ;)
Below are a few interesting numbers from the last 12 months.
Older people in Europe seem to have more youthfulness and energy than their U.S. counterparts. I've always had an odd fascination with the elderly, mostly because I feel we can learn a lot of them. I plan to be a very eccentric older person. I plan to use my age as an excuse to do crazy things that only old people can get away with. If everything goes as planned, my brother and his wife will need to explain how Uncle Chris " just old" and "a little special." Until then, below is my photo tribute to the elderly of Europe. 
I noticed that I take a lot of street art and architecture photos and not a lot of "people" photos. The photos below are my first attempt to shoot random people in their everyday lives. I'm happy with the results.
More proof that Jose is an amazing graphic artist. Top to bottom: Me, Jose & Keyan. Done in the style of the cover artwork on the Best of Blur album. Simply amazing!
Please help me understand why...
