August — A Year in Photographs — Beautiful Garbage

A question philosophers and scientists have asked since the concepts existed, “what is consciousness?” For some, it is emergent like patterns in the sand on a beach or spiral of a snail shell. But some suggest that consciousness is fundamental like gravity or thermodynamics.

Pansychism is that scientific and philosophical marriage that everything in the universe has some sense of consciousness—from atom to human. While I’ll not write a dissertation here on the subject, it catches my curiosity and resonates with my view of the universe yet has a powerful consequential question: if everything is conscious in even the most simple form, how does that change our relationship when we see everything as somehow kindred and not foreign?

Not to suggest Chicago is full of trash and garbage, we are in fact a very clean and beautiful city, but there are those of us locals and visitors who leave much behind. While Beautiful Garbage was originally, years ago, a simple outset to find beauty in otherwise ugliness, #AYearinPhotographs set out to honor that which was left behind and ask for your imagination to come along with me:

What if everything we left behind remembers us?

July — A Year in Photographs — Double Exposure

It’s a Game — Day 182

Through the Looking glass inspired a month of double exposures. This #AYearinPhotographs I found myself wanted to experiment more—not just finding themes but finding that which I had little experience.

Digital photography has almost every advantage over film while double exposure requires one to be a bit more magical and put extra effort in. These were all made in Pixelmator Pro using a screen blend mode. While I dislike discussing the technical nature of photography when the photograph itself is what matters most, many asked, “how did you do it?”

To best simulate the film double exposure experience best, the photos were shot in sequence and minimal editing in post.

But let us not revel in technical jardon. Enjoy July’s theme of Double Exposure.

June — A Year in Photographs — Through the Looking Glass

Balloons — Day 158

Perhaps what makes something wonderful is the imperfections rather than the perfection.

A crack in a family heirloom. The decay of an artifact. The crooked nature of a bonsai. The Japanese call it ‘wabi sabi,’ the philosophy that embodies the appreciation of beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the natural cycle of growth and decay.

I took June to look at ordinary things through unordinary glass. Some reversal of images, blurring and distortion of edges, and the refraction of the image itself.

“Adrian’s Life Rule 25: Sometimes things that are technically wrong are creatively right.”

— Adrian’s Life Rule #25