From Music and Words into Movement – The Fun of Art

Here’s an excerpt of a deftly written story by Mike Sager from the May 2012Esquire. I wasn’t that interested at first, but after giving it a chance while streaming some music, I was knocked over by one of those transcendent moments that come about through experiencing real art. Or something like that.

“Ugly” by Mike Sager. This paragraph with the right music playing at the time was like watching a live-action portrayal of The Grapes of Wrath. So I noted the image with the Labelbox app for future use in this post. Click for full article at Esquire.com.

The above paragraph is best experienced with music: Orsten – Adagio Sostenuto

I hear the broken piano and shuffling yet determined electric beat, and reading the story of this vagabond, seeking out other vagabonds, having the scene painted along the lines of something modern-day that would make sense to Tom Joad, it hits me at once.

And that’s why I read. That’s why I love music. That’s why I’ve made myself adept with an iPhone enough to capture the moment,then blog about it (typed most of this post in a note with my thumbs).

There’s beauty in being moved, expanding on the thought and then channeling that into something new altogether, even if it is just a pastiche of other art. Those pieces become the colors of a new palette. What’s important is that the idea gets sketched, moving from the brain into the living world, to be seen. It’s a very satisfying feeling.

Next time you have the thought when something moves you, “I could do something with that!” — make it happen. Make it real.

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Sandpaper Kisses with a Sunbaked Flower

Martina Topley-Bird‘s “Sandpaper Kisses” is the background track for this movie I assembled using the Splice app on my iPhone. I noticed this dried flower on my porch, and discovered this spacey track a few days before. I shot these images and some video elements with a Photojojo macro lens, some with the Hipstamaticapp. I’m still blown away by how easily and effectively Splice lets you tap your way to a video/photo montage.

What do you think? Do you do any video edits on your smartphone? Have you ever set photos to music? What’s your impression of the process? Let us hear from you in the comments!

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Cheers With A Sleeve Tattoo – Single Image Sundays

It just so happened that my phone was ready for a quick snapshot when I got up to the bar last night. This bartender’s ace-up-the-sleeve tattoo, literally up a sleeve (though not the typical sleeve tattoo), makes an appropriate background for a highball glass alight with a candle. Shot with an iPhone4, processed usingNoir and Dynamic Light. Check out my iPhoneography board for more like this. Cheers.

What do you think? Ever seen a cool tattoo at an appropriate moment for a photo opportunity? Do you take photos more often with your phone or with a camera? Let us hear from you in the comments!

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Words Matter. Apple Knows.

Connotation, phrasing, inference… these are all subtle colors of writing that affect interpretation. I don’t think enough businesses consider this, but it’s something Apple Inc. demonstrated keen awareness of recently in noting how its computers are no longer the iron fortresses against virus infections they were once portrayed to be.

Words Matter. Apple Knows. Shot via Hipstamatic, edited in PhotoForge2.

Just like the occasional operating system or software update, Apple’s wording regarding just how safe its computers inherently are got an update recently. As reported in The Atlantic…

Apple is downgrading its antiviral swagger. On the company’s site, its former, blunt message — “it doesn’t get PC viruses” — has been replaced by a more generic boast:“It’s built to be safe.”

And the slogan of the past — “Safeguard your data. By doing nothing.” — has been replaced by the much gentler“Safety. Built in.”

–Megan Garber (& in PC World by Hamish Barwick).

More Accurate? Or CYA?

I find it very interesting how such a subtle change in phrasing notes a major shift in thinking. And perhaps Apple’s thought is that this subtle tweak will be enough to still accurately convey some benefit – although it kinda feels like a CYA to me.

Still, I find it encouraging that understanding shades of meaning and texture of words matters enough to be put into practice by one of the world’s leading companies. Words matter. Writing matters.

What do you think? Is this an obvious CYA on Apple’s part, or a legitimately more accurate way of describing its product? What is another example you can think of? Let us hear from you in the comments!

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Social Media Selectiveness

Where are your contacts landing?
Photo by Håkan Dahlström / Edit by rsmithing.
Click for original.

Are social networks a gamble? Do you spin-off your contacts from one to the next?

With each new social network I actively participate in, beyond simply creating an account for, I become more selective with the people I follow. This started with MySpace. Initially, I followed bands and other folks whose profiles seemed vaguely interesting. I made some real friends (still in touch to this day), and as my offline friends got into social networking, I racked up contacts at a steady clip. This was fun until MySpace started to go downhill with spammers and overly customized profiles. But that was fine, because Facebook was ready with open arms as a fresh start.

Facebook Got This Right

Once on Facebook (just after they opened up beyond universities in 2006), I made it a point only to add familiar folks and people I knew in “real life.” What a difference this made! Pretty soon, I was reading status updates on MySpace about how folks were abandoning their profiles there and going to the cleaner, faster, more relevant Facebook. It’s my theory that this “fresh start” element was part of Facebook’s early mass appeal. That they got other things right also helped — photo sharing is what really sold me on embracing Facebook.

The one exception is Twitter, where following can become a free for all. Being selective there is somewhat counter to the experience, because content there moves so fast. I personally tell folks new to Twitter that until they follow about 200 active users, the experience just won’t be that interesting. I also use lists to sort those I’m interested in, some of whom I may or may not follow.

That said, I’ve been selective about my Instagram, LinkedIn, and nowPinterest accounts. As I’ve become familiar with Pinterest, I’ve found the experience at the site more rewarding now that I have a stream of cool and inspiring images coming in– rather than lame pictures from folks I don’t even know (or may actually know, but whose tastes don’t match mine).

So did LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another example of the fresh start approach, at least in my experience. The longer I’m there, the more steadily my colleagues trickle in. And I can truly say I’ve worked with, done business with, or somehow professionally interacted with each contact there. For me, LinkedIn represents quality over quantity rather than a numbers game.

Who’s Next?

My theory is that Pinterest will experience similar adoption, but these are still early days, and the site is more about visual content than social interaction. Only recently have I gotten serious about the site, and it takes some work to findboards to follow that really catch my eye. I think that’s a good thing for now, since it keeps the content I see relevant – not unlike when I signed up for Facebook after ditching MySpace a few social networks ago.

Did you welcome Facebook as a fresh start from MySpace? Do you welcome Pinterest as a fresh start from Instagram, now that Facebook owns Instagram? Do you follow people on different social networks all the same way, or does your criteria change from one to the other? Let us hear from you in the comments!

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