Excerpt from a film: Ninteen Eighty-Four

Winston Smith: It’s not so much staying alive, it’s staying human that’s important. What counts is that we don’t betray each other.

Julia: If you mean confessing, we’re bound to do that. Everybody does. You can’t help it.

Winston Smith: I don’t mean confessing. Confessing isn’t betrayal. I mean feelings. If they can make me change my feelings. If they can stop me from loving you, that would be real betrayal.

Julia: They can’t do that. It’s the one thing they can’t do. They can torture you, make you say anything. But they can’t make you believe it. They can’t get inside you. They can’t get to your heart.

Say you find yourself in a dark or dimly lit room and before you, on a table or pedestal or what have you, there is a bright object. We needn’t give shape or label to what this object is for that will only delude ones thoughts. This object is giving of a light so intense and bright that one cannot bear to look at it even through partially closed eyes. Now, you have some options with what to do, you can choose to continue waiting for your eyes to acclimate to this bright object and in doing so wait an undetermined amount of time and endure the pain of staring at it in wait. You may always choose to simply locate the exit and leave, but I ask that if you chose to do so, observe your choice; figure out what within you is saying that you needn’t spend the time here. Keeping with the idea that you have chosen to stay and not leave, you may choose to shield your eyes from the object because you find it too bright to look at but then, how would you observe the object? One might ask, is it important that I even observe the object. Is it important that I know it’s form or it’s possible markings and that’s a logical question in it’s own right. However if one searches the walls of the room so that they come across a switch, and in activating that switch a larger, softer light is introduced unto the room, is not the brightness of the object somewhat subdued. Can our eyes not now adjust to the larger amount of light shining in so that we may view the object. The important part is not the object you see, that is a finite end result if your goal is simply to view the object and to understand it. Rather, the important portion in all of this is the introduction of additional light. Bring into the situation, that which is beyond yourself.

Peace,

-S.

Self Curatorial Project

–Press Release–

Emotional Impressions:

Visual Cognitions of Spaces

A duet of visual explorations presented by Stephen Shilling II and Alexey Titarenko

Curated by: Stephen Shilling II

Grouping view: Top Row: Stephen Shilling II's images 

Bottom Row: Alexey Titarenko's images

     Alexey Titarenko received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Department of Cinematic and Photographic Art at Leningrad's Institute of Culture in 1983. He began taking photographs at the beginning of the 1970s, and in 1978 became a member of the well-known Leningrad photographic club Zerkalo, where he had his first solo exhibition (1978).
     Titarenko has received numerous awards from institutions such as the Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Soros Center for Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg; and the Mosaique program of the Luxemburg National Audiovisual Centre. He has participated in many international festivals, biennales, and projects and has had more than 30 personal exhibitions, both in Europe and the United States.

     His works are in the collections of major European and American museums, including The State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg); the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art; George Eastman House (Rochester, N.Y.); the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston); the Museum of Fine Arts (Columbus, Ohio); the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston); the Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego); the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College (Mass.); the European House of Photography (Paris); ...

The artist is represented exclusively by Nailya Alexander Gallery 

41 East 57th street, 10022, New York, NY, USA  |  Phone: +1.212.315.2211

     Stephen Shilling II is a photography student currently exploring the photographic medium at the School of Visual Arts. Tired of the traditional and enduring past–mind of photography he focuses on energy and the theory of the “universal vibration resonance” of life’s energies. Believing that photographs, sculptures, paintings and so forth are not works of art but rather art products, a phrase first coined by Prof. John Dewey, he works to explore photography with a present–mind. The current norm among art institutions and in the critical world of art is focused on speaking about work in a predominantly non-progressive way, utilizing, to a great degree, only it’s “past–mind.”  he believes that, “if one begins to speak about a photograph so that in their mind they have formed an image from their memory, which is already in their “past–mind” or if one begins to consciously reference a previous work of art then what has happened is they have accepted a previously existing authority on the matter and transformed the current art product to the past object, to what has happened and neglected to look at what is happening.”  It is his own firm belief that “there should exist no criteria for producing or experiencing art” and that “art is either successfully brought about or not, and this of course depends on the personal cognitive interactions laid forth by each audience member individually.”

  These thoughts have not brought about a radically new style of photography, nor has the artist expressed a desire to produce something that has never before been seen and is totally, visually original.  “I merely wish to produce objects which I feel embody a visual hint towards the emotions, the energies, the truths of a place, an object or what have you. Other than that how the audience interprets my work is up to them as it is and should be totally out of my control for, what authority do I have to tell people how to think? None. I’m merely dissatisfied with the current ‘past–mind’ point of view from which we approach art and the lack of progressive thought that’s restricted for not just photography but art as a whole form of expression. You see, art is a language, and languages should not have limitations, least of all art. There should not exist this photographic dialect that cannot be quite so understood by the painters, the carpenters, the designers, writers or the musicians who each have in turn their own dialect. Rather, art as a language, is an expression of emotions in hopes that members of the audience will be given a doorway into an experience similar to that of the producer.”

   “What must be brought about is not necessarily a new form of art. Rather, there must be a change in our consciousness from which art or the art product is created and thus, how it is viewed. This, I feel, can manifest itself in the minds of man as a way of transforming already created art products into new products themselves, almost as if a new style had come about. In the free mind, in the mind done away with past–mindedness authority, man can observe absolute truth in the world around him. By freeing the mind when viewing anything, something new can be brought about. This I believe to be totally true.”

    


       In Emotional Impressions: Visual Cognitions of Spaces curator and photographer Stephen Shilling II pairs his own work with the work of established contemporary Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko.  Titarenko has expressed that with the images of St. Petersburg he focused on trying to visually represent the feelings and emotions of places he found stimulating throughout the city of St. Petersburg.  His use of multiple exposures intend to assist in providing a disconnect between the viewer and the place represented in the photograph by showing a non-objective reality of the location. What’s photographed cannot be actually and objectively seen if one were to go and view those spaces. However, what is apparent is the sensation that Titarenko has translated inner emotional experiences into a sort of legible or understandable, visual language.

     Stemming from a similar philosophical approach to the photographic medium, Stephen Shilling II chose to focus more on the printing of the images rather than simply the photographing of them.  The rich tones of the images combined with the heavier contrast (in comparison to Titarenko’s work) create the sensation that some of the spaces photographed are about to experience an earthquake. There is a sense of vibration in the total and absolute stillness of his images. The relationship between Titarenko’s flowing and breathy, multiple motion exposures and Shilling’s stark and stagnant still images play very well together. Both artists bring about the sensation of emotion, and movement which can be thought about as Shillings’ “universal vibration resonance” theory.

Citation Notice: All information about Alexey Titarenko was gathered from his "About" page on his website.
-ALEXEY TITARENKO | PHOTOGRAPHY. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. <http://alexeytitarenko.com/about.html>.


Note: All my images are my own and all of Alexey Titarenko's images are under his Copyright protection. I've merely appropriated them for use in an educational context.


Additional Note: The beginning eight warm-toned images are of mine while the second group of eight neutral-toned images are Alexey's.

Universal Vibration Resoncance is not yet a set in stone term, nor has the definition been entirely laid out yet. Another possible and the original term was "Existential Vibrational Resonance(s)"; I've not yet decided which term to use. There may still be a better term out there.
This is similar to but working separately, apart from the information located on this site: http://www.u-res.com/. 

   

Our Responsibility as Man

"We are each one of us responsible for every war because of the aggressiveness of our own lives, because of our nationalism, our selfishness, our gods, our prejudices, our ideals, all of which divide us. And only when we realize, not intellectually but actually, as actually as we would recognize that we are hungry or in pain, that you and I are responsible for all this existing chaos, for all the misery throughout the entire world because we have contributed to it in our daily lives and are part of this monstrous society with its wars, divisions, its ugliness, brutality and greed - only then will we act. "

-J. Krishnamurti

An Old Poem by Jiddu Krishnamurt

An Old poem of J. Krishnamurti:

I have no name,
I am as the fresh breeze of the mountains.
I have no shelter;
I am as the wandering waters.
I have no sanctuary, like the dark gods;
Nor am I in the shadow of deep temples.
I have no sacred books;
Nor am I well-seasoned in tradition.
I am not in the incense
Mounting on the high altars,
Nor in the pomp of ceremonies.
I am neither in the graven image,
Nor in the rich chant of a melodious voice.
I am not bound by theories,
Nor corrupted by beliefs.
I am not held in the bondage of religions,
Nor in the pious agony of their priests.
I am not entrapped by philosophies,
Nor held in the power of their sects.
I am neither low nor high,
I am the worshipper and the worshipped.
I am free.
My song is the song of the river
Calling for the open seas,
Wandering, wandering,
I am Life.
I have no name,
I am as the fresh breeze of the mountains.

Source: http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Life_of_Masters/Jiddu/An_Old%20poem_of_J._Krishnamurti.htm

A Very Interesting Book Review

A "friend" of mine (at least by Facebook's standards), Makenzie Wark recently wrote a new book called The Beach Beneath the Street. I'm not going to give you my opinions on the book cause I've not yet read it. However I will direct you to an article reviewing it. This article is of particular interest to me because of the standard in which it's presented. It's a story, more or less, of two characters who meet up and discuss the book in detail. It's formatted much like a play, or the transcript of an interview. Now, I've read interviews before and found them to span the full spectrum of the mundane unless of course, the interviewee has interesting things to say, not always the case. Here however, we have several instances of location change and a linear moving plot that forms a sort of 'sub-text,' if you will. Anyway, it's an interesting and well written review about what I'm sure is an equally, if not more interesting book.

Sincerely,


-S

Click HERE to read the article.

Brief history of the Situationist International

This was my response to the article:

"This is an extremely interesting and quite engaging format to present a book review. I would enjoy seeing more articles written in this sort of scripted play/interview style. It gives a very good sense of the reader as a third party disembodied viewer constantly floating amidst the two characters like a spectre. We engage the text and therefore the “situation” presented to us with a more personally driven opinion. I find that I was able to participate (in the realm of thoughts) with the two characters as though I was there, constantly forming opinions and then having them altered as I continued listening to the two speak, but all the while I felt secure to stray from the path of their thoughts and even mine own. I felt protected by the fact that even if I were to physically speak my thoughts, my ideas aloud such trivial attempts to contribute would fall ‘silently’ on my laptop’s monitor. Truly, for me, this is a better way to present ideas, reviews, responses, etc."

Old Stamp "Karl-Marx-Stadt"

Here's a rather interesting stamp I recently acquired. I was over my grandmother's house one day and she had just received an anonymous donation of old stamps. In fact, she received an entire grocery bag full of them. Now, I'm no stamp collector, but might as well become one because I find many of these stamps quite interesting. This being one of them:  (keep in mind the stamp is only 29mm wide from blue border to blue border)

Right click and select "open in link in new window." Notice how they took care in printing even the smallest of details, the lettering of the background text. It reads Proletarier Aller Lander Vereinigt Euch! which roughly translates to Workers of the World Unite! It's displayed in multiple languages, even english. I find it interesting that such care would be taken to ensure that the text is legible even though without enlarging no human eye could read it. I had to scan it in at 64000 ppi in order to get an enlargement with the largest width being 18 inches.

Image of the Night (14)

My take on creating a simple three dimensional image.

Sorry for the pixelation but I'm going to hold off on uploading a hi-res image as this image might have sparked a project idea.

©Steve Shilling; 2011 - POPD

Letter to a Priest

I've recently been traveling around New York City in an attempt to photograph many of the churches and sacred spaces starting with Manhattan. Recently I stepped inside the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - St. John The Baptist church. It's located at 143 East 17th Street New York, NY 10003. You walk inside this dimly lit space with only one aisle, velvet red carpet, red candles, a beautiful alter and the walls are lined with dramatic paintings. It's a wonderful space and the priest is a kind man who used to build and ride motorcycles. If you ever find yourself in the area, stop by and see if he's in. His name is Father Vasilios Bassakyros.

Peace,

-S.

P.s. It you wish to read the letter it's best if you right click and select open in new window. unless you're running Firefox in which case I believe it does that automatically.

Also, please do not click download file. I understand I'm presenting this file on the web where nothing is safe or private or personal but these are my words and I'd like to feel that I can share my thoughts online.

Information regarding the swastika and it's uses in world religions.
Information taken from:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/swastika.htm

"The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm.

The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. It can be seen in the art of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans, and Persians as well Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

The swastika's Indian name comes the Sanskrit word svasti, meaning good fortune, luck and well being.

In Hinduism, the right-hand (clockwise) swastika is a symbol of the sun and the god Vishnu, while the left-hand (counterclockwise) swastika represents Kali and magic. The Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise"

Good Words from Morgan Freeman

Here is a great excerpt from an interview with Morgan Freeman conducted by Mike Wallace. In it Mr. Freeman expresses his dislike towards having a Black History Month and challenges Mike Wallace with a question Mr. Wallace clearly feels uncomfortable answering.  Freeman then goes on to offer a beautiful and simple humanist solution to racism.

To my understanding this is an excerpt from CBS' 60 Minutes conducted by Mike Wallace, one of the show's original correspondents. As to the date of publication, that I do not know.

Peace,


-Steve

New Images from a Recent Roll #2

Here are some recent images (about half that I decided were good enough to scan) that I shot. They're only 35mm Agfa slide film images. There's no real thesis that I had in mind when shooting them. Just the usual whatever interests me type of mentality.

Hope you enjoy.

Sincerely,

-S

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
A tree that's won against the city.

©Steve Shilling II -  2011

©Steve Shilling II -  2011

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
While walking around Chelsea one morning I found an urban Crucifix. 

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
An especially interesting and somewhat musical find.

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
On the High Line Park

Mouse on the Keys

View larger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjpOhR_Q9xw

     Here is a band that I think everyone should experience. They're a Japanese Jazz / Rock band called Mouse on the Keys and here is their song Saigo No Bansan. I'm not entirely certain what the title means but knowing the word 'bansan' means diner and 'saigo' means last, end, completion it could mean something as deep as the last supper or as simple as completing dinner or not doing so (not sure what the no means). Personally I find it to be incredibly gripping music when focused upon. For those of you who enjoy audio over-stimulation such as myself then I feel you'll seriously enjoy picking apart all the dynamic aspects of the drumming and the intricate interplay between the piano and keyboard.
     Admittedly, for all you classically trained musicians who are steadfast in your puritan ways this music may open up your mind...or simply not be for you. Nevertheless it is something you should listen to at least once. It's a bit difficult to accept the wall of sound that is thrown at you initially in songs such as Toccatina but I found myself very quickly (about 35 seconds in) getting in flux with the jam.

Here is a horribly compressed YouTube upload of Mouse on the Keys song Toccatina:

There desire to express visual sensations through the experience of sound (as most successful music attempts to do -in my opinion) leads me to categorize them with bands like The Cinematic Orchestra.
    Here is Last.fm's write up of them which can probably be attributed to Wikipedia:

     "A blend of minimal phrased piano and dynamic drumming. The pursuit of a live experience composed of visual and audio expression.Formed in 2006, with elements of jazz, funk, post‐rock and electronic music, Mouse on the Keys fits into a genre of their own.

     The unique sound of the band’s drums, two pianos, and two keyboards combines the sense of urgency from rock, hard core and heavy metal with tastes of early/contemporary classical, jazz and various dance music.
     At their concerts, the band projects a variety of images chosen to match their sound ―views of Tokyo, geometric symbols, 3D objects, and abstractions. Residents of Tokyo, the members of Mouse on the Keys represent the haunting restlessness of their home city at their live appearances. They would transform even a venue in Germany or France into a kind of virtual Tokyo."

     There latest album An Anxious Object (2009) differs from their first album entitled Sezession (2007) but many of the core inspirations and motivations for the band I think can still be felt. I hope you all enjoy Mouse on the Keys. I may have to agree with Youtube user DeSterrennacht when he said this about Saigo No Bansam, "If this was MY last supper, I would be content with crucifixion."

Sincerely,

-S.

P.S.- Here is a link to a copy of the songs that have not been compressed as much: 
  Toccatina:  http://grooveshark.com/s/Toccatina/30NEtw?src=5

  Saigo No Bansan:  http://grooveshark.com/s/+/30NEdj?src=5

New Filming Project - Never Ending...

     I've signed on to help a friend of mine (Joel Campbell) with a short feature film to begin shooting some time in February. He's set up an IndieGoGo page in order to raise some of the funds necessary to complete this film.

Here is the page: http://igg.me/p/48491?a=299839&i=shlk

     I'd appreciate any and all donations you can offer towards the making of this film. It's going to be an edition to my film reel which will assist in securing future cinematography jobs. Also it'd be appreciated because while the idea and creation of the project is ultimately Joel's I've been working closely with him tweaking the script and location scouting and I really feel that it can be if not an impressive looking film for the budget, certainly a big step towards something.
I believe that as it stands the film with be under the production of CIS Unlimited which is my friend Joel's production company name. The project will be completed in conjunction with Sophisticated Lions production company of which I am a co-founder along with my friend Anthony.
As I said earlier, any and all support you can show would be greatly appreciated, so please check out the campaign page.

My Morning - Reunited with a Friend

I had the pleasure of having one of the most enjoyable mornings today. I set out just before six to Joe Junior's on sixteenth and third avenue. The coffee is... so-so, as is the music but the food is delicious and the people are such characters. There I met and was therefore reunited with close friend of mine, Professor Robinson Lilienthal (Phd). I've included a Youtube video that contains a compilation of clips and excerpts from some of his many lectures. Almost exactly one year ago we met on the sidewalk of seventeenth street where he took me on a tour of roughly half the block and taught me about the history of the buildings and the architecture, the sculptural aspects and the neighborhood mentality.  This morning we spoke from our reuniting at the diner till nine o'clock and his topics, as always, held my fascination and intrigue till the very end. We spoke about a multitude of philosophical ideologies, the difficulty he's having in finding a third definition for religion because he in unsatisfied with the two takes society currently holds true. Those are that religion or the idea of the spiritual existence is wholly true and 'physical' and the oppositional idea is that it is strictly metaphorical. Among other things he also spoke to me about his love of the Peter Stuyvesant statue and it's direct influence in the creation of Melville's character Captain Ahab. If I were to report on everything we spoke about I'd undoubtedly be here for at least double the length of time he and I spoke. This is of course due to the fact that my skills as a typist are...somewhat lacking. Anyway, here's the video clip, I hope you all enjoy it. For those of you whom are my family members reading this and are familiar with another one of my close friends Mr. Richard Marcucci I have no doubt that you'll see a striking resemblance both in mannerisms as well as his vocal qualities.

Sincerely,


-S.

Early Morning at Inwood Park

Left my apartment at around 5 this morning in order to watch the sun come up in Inwood Park up around 214th street, the northernmost part of Manhattan.  It was very cold but I was able to set up my tripod and get some images on film. Pictured below is just a simply stitching of several cell phone images and below that is a Bing Maps image of the section of Inwood Park I was in.

Take care,

-S.

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Bing Maps - 2011

Returning to the City

These are the images I took with Agfa Digibase CR200 while waiting for the train at the Auberndale LIRR station.  Hope you enjoy (even though the scans are terrible).

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011             This is an alternative shot selection

All in all I've got to say that even with these less than desirable scans the color rendition of this film is impressive.  I find that the colors are rich without being over saturated. They're very true to what my memory recalls.  Especially with outdoor daytime lighting.  In the previous posts the images contained mixed lighting and as long as you know what color temperature the lights are the images make sense. With the portrait of my friend Anthony, the image was shot in very low lighting and under-exposed by either one or one half stop and the film still performed exceptionally well and presents the very mood of the lighting and the situation accurately. All in all even with these poor reproductions I feel that I've found a new favorite color film –step aside Fuji (at least 35mm films).

Sincerely,


-S.

Slides from a Recent Roll

As I mentioned earlier I recently purchased and shot my way through a roll of Agfa Digibase CR200 slide film and here are some of the images. Forgive the poor scans, my scanner is seriously on it's last few weeks.
There will be soon to follow a short photo-narrative...whatever you want to call it. It's just a small compiling of the last frames on the roll I shot. It focuses on a single train station in Auberndale, Queens.

Hope you enjoy,


-S.

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

Portrait of a Screenwriter

I purchased some Agfa Digibase CR 200 Pro 35mm film and loaded it into my rangefinder and tho I've never been one to attempt portraiture here's a snapshot I took of my friend and screenwriter Anthony.
If anyone looking at this site is in need of a screenwriter, or assistance in the field give him a holler: AnthonyL1991@Gmail.com.

Sincerely,


-S.
P.S. The reason the focus is fuzzy is either because the cardboard frame of the slide is holding the film too far away from the glass and thus preventing a sharp scan...OR...the more likely option is that my scanner is in need of some maintenance and a little more TLC from me.

Return to Carl Schurz Park

There's something alluring about Carl Schurz park and I can't seem to put my finger on it.  I recently returned to my favorite park up on 86th street with a 4x5 press camera and some slide film. Having looked at my results using 6x6 negative film I decided that they insufficiently captured the 'essence' of the spaces to be found within the park.  Now, in my absent mindedness I found myself approaching the park under post-rain circumstances having neglected to bring a tripod with me.  If I shoot in color (4x5) I shoot ISO 50 speed film. I favored the clouds because the diffusion of light they provide allows the true feeling of the environment to come through and be transferred onto the film. We even get this sensation when we walk about just before or after a storm. There are no deep black shadows and no blaring highlights, the world has this extra-dimensional flatness to it which somehow manifests itself in our minds as a sort of expanded depth.  It's as if the already wide dynamic range (range of light values that can be recorded) of our eyes has been increased and the entirety of what's in front of us can be seen for what it truly is and what it truly holds.
My ONLY reservation with these clouds is that since I shoot ISO 50 on slide film a tripod is almost always necessary. In it's stead I wad to fabricate several on location tripods out of trashcans and other objects I was able to find while I was there. The only photograph to be shot 'handheld' is the photograph of the Triborough bridge in the background.

Enjoy.

Sincerely,


-S.

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of an upcoming art installation/body of work I've started on.

Image of the Night (Early Morning) # 13 [Carl Schurz Park]

I've undertaken a fair amount of photographic endeavors and so posting will be sparse.

I recently developed a roll of ISO 400 Fujifilm and here are my favorite images.
The images are of various locations in the Carl Schurz park (favorite entrance @ 86th street).

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Patience Running Rampant

Patience and waiting:

“Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”
-Anonymous

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”
-Anonymous

“All good things come to he who waits”
-Proverb

“Patience can't be acquired overnight. It is just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it.”
-Eknath Easwaran

“Patience is the art of hoping.”
-Marquis deVauvenargues

“Patience can conquer destiny”
-Irish Saying

“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”
-Buddhist Proverb

So as you can probably tell I'm struggling with patience. I value patience immensly and know it is an important virtue to have and I pride myself with actually having a great deal of it despite my ADHD "gifts."

"Desire exists as the enemy of patience and in turn sometimes even the enemy of the desire-er themself. "
-Me

Patience means waiting to act or speak until you can do so without causing harm. “Patience has a quality of enormous honesty in it.” [Chodron pg. 1 Emphasis added] “It also has a quality of not escalating things, allowing a lot of space for the other person to speak, for the other person to express themselves, while you don’t react, even though inside you are reacting.”[*1]
While this article is mainly abut stemming anger (of which I posess non at the moment) I still found it's counselings beneficial. I especially liked the sentimate of patient containing a "enormous honesty." Something I think a large portion of people don't often stop and consider. I myself was foreign to the concept that delaying action in order to persue a more passive and contemplative pespective showed an increase in respect and honesty towards the situation. It gives you, the persuer of action, the ability to stand back and evaluate their true stance on a subject by melding your initial emotional instincts with your logical brain and thus, arriving at a more honest conclusion.
Emotions are indeed very honest but remember that they are also bised. In order to come to the most honest conclusion of a scenario you must be patient and ask yourself questions from many different angles.

To be honest, I'm having a difficult time gathering my thoughts and coherently directing myself to a conclusion.
Suffice it to say that the smartest and most succesful decisions are those given an adequate period of evaluation.
I believe in taking time to make the best possible decision you can and then sticking to that decision as firmly as you can.

That last quote about walking the right path brings up another question and that is, how do I know I'm on the righ path? I feel so strongly that I am but are my feelings enough. My feelings are biased and logic dictates therefore not to be trusted. However, at the moment they're all I have- feelngs and hopeful aspirations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*1]Chodron, Pema. "The Answer to Anger & Aggression Is Patience." About Buddhism. Shambhala Sun Foundation. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. <http://buddhism.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ>.

Image(s) of The Night #12

It's been a weird (rough) day. It started off quite well around five thirty this morning but then began lengthy downhill stumble as the day progressed.  Last night I accompanied a great friend of mine to a new gallery that a mutual friend of ours recently opened up called Open Space Studio and had a wonderful time. If any of you readers are local (Greater NYC area) I strongly recommend you take a trip over to Long Island City (45th st Court House Sq. stop on the 7 train).

With nothing to do tonight I took to the streets with my camera and these are just a few of the resulting images:

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Sincerely,


-S.


P.S. I'm hoping to arrange for a show or to be part of a show at OpenSpace and will keep you all informed as to any possible show dates to look forward to.

P.P.S. I'll probably be going to THIS exhibit tomorrow (Night Vision: Photography After Dark) and I recommend anyone who might be interested...GO! It's bound to be an excellent display of night photography.