SwirlingStillness' photostream

I am here on flickr sharing fragments of my life. I don't consier myself a skilled photographer, but I aspire to such and find immense inspiration in the work of others here.

All artists must express a perspective, yes? Something they claim is their unique contribution. So here I make up a personal manifesto. But we all know it is just a game. Isn't it?


My image play embraces the manipulation of the colors, lines, and/or constituent elements of a scene or subject. This is a vehicle by which I attempt to draw attention to that which is usually not noticed becuase it is ordinary. It is an exploration that calls forth awareness through anti-recognition.


My perspective:

Modern life has us moving from morning to night at 30 screens per second, 24 frames per second, 60 miles per hour, 20 cuts-pans-zooms per minute, even when we're stuck in traffic crawling along our minds are racing and possibly we're yabbering away at 100 words per minute on the mobile. Fast, Fast, Fast.

In all this motion we pass by moments of beauty. Small things have become invisible either because they are un-noticed or taken-for-granted. The delicacy of the natural world has been forgotten, overloaded by the sounds of engines and iPods, the endless internal monologue, and the hardness of man-made objects whose presence intercedes and obscures the delicate whispers of nature's magnanimous wonders. There is a reckless danger in this because once invisible and forgotten, we tend not to care. A tree is a tree is a tree, so why not cut them down, except for the one in the tree museum.

The camera in hand forces me to look at the world in a different manner. It demands that I pay attention. It calls me to see beyond the gross and notice the beauty that has become occluded by the conditions of so-called "modern" life: either too slow or small or soft or quiet to demand its own attention.

But in this regard I am far from alone for the work of many Flickrers captures beauty in a multide of settings and perspectives. In this I am honored to be among you. Thank you for sharing your views of the World. You are eloquent!