East-end blog

Stop/Look/Listen

2010-05-12T07:16:00.001-07:00

In Washington , DC , at a Metro
Station, on a cold January morning in
2007, this man with a violin played six Bach
pieces for about 45 minutes. During that
time, approximately 2,000 people went through
the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man
noticed that there was a musician playing.
He slowed his pace and stopped for a few
seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his
schedule.

About
4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar. A
woman threw money in the hat and, without
stopping, continued to walk.

At
6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to
him, then looked at his watch and started to
walk again.

At
10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged
him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to
look at the violinist again, but the mother
pushed hard and the child continued to walk,
turning his head the whole time. This
action was repeated by several other children,
but every parent - without exception - forced
their children to move on quickly.

At
45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped
and listened for a short while. About 20
gave money but continued to walk at their normal
pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No
one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was
Joshua Bell,
one of the greatest musicians in the world.
He played one of the most intricate pieces
ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million
dollars. Two days before, Joshua
Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged
$200 each to sit and listen to him play the same
music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing
incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was
organized by the Washington
Post as part of a social experiment
about perception, taste and people's
priorities.

This experiment raised several
questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate
hour, do we perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

poppyseedliving.blogspot.com

2010-02-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

Fight Club

2010-02-01T11:01:00.001-08:00

Friday Nite, Roller Derby Madness!

2010-01-25T08:57:00.001-08:00

'Tis the Season

2009-12-07T07:37:00.001-08:00

Another from 'The Maries'

2009-10-14T06:50:00.001-07:00

Lennon Smiles

2009-10-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

From 'The Maries' series

2009-10-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Shake dog shake!

2009-09-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

What I did on my summer vacation

2009-09-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Cobourg BBQ festival

2009-08-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

Summertime, and the living is easy....

2009-08-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

Fun Stuff

2009-07-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

Some sites to make you smile....

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

and, of course.... for the 'foodies' out there...

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Unbelievers...

2009-07-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th!

2009-07-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

That's it.... Happy 4th to all!

Be well.

Taking pictures "just because"

2009-06-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

I came across this post on the ASMP blog (American Society of Media Photographers). It's a good explanation of what I hope this blog is to become....

"That’s how I started in photography. I think it’s how we all start. There’s no client, no place what we do has to fit in. If we have a project at all, it is vague, and if in the course of things a strong picture emerges that doesn’t seem to fit…we changed the project!

But when we develop as professionals we develop all kinds of parameters and strictures, some very insidious. Like, can I use a picture to get work? Does it look like what others are doing, like want clients want? How can I monetize it?

They are all fair questions. But there are no good answers to them. So I think that it is really important that from time to time we should set them aside and walk out the door with the intention to take pictures that specifically don’t fit..

We’ve all had that moment of working through a bunch of files and coming across a picture that just stops us cold. It looks as though someone else took it, and we are just struck into silence. In fact, that “someone else” is us, a version of us that is a better photographer than we are. And we really need to track that person down and get to know them. They are out on the front edge of our work, and they are what we can become."

Sounds so simple.... doesn't it?

Ode To Irving

2009-06-30T06:19:00.001-07:00

Sound Familiar?

2009-06-24T05:55:00.001-07:00

"Let them eat grilled cheese!"

2009-06-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Paris in Spring!

2009-06-18T06:09:00.001-07:00

How it is!

2009-06-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Kids

2009-06-16T10:47:00.000-07:00