Komorebi (The Sunlight)

When I did a shout-out for blog topics for tonight, I got quite an overwhelming response. Usually when I post such questions I get nothing barring the sound of a pin dropping or the sound of my own mind deflating like a released balloon.

But tonight, you all gave me such great ideas. Some in particular I'll take back to the drawing board and develop.

The one I chose tonight, is this one from Al Long:

I was at first tempted to treat the response of this question with humour, quoting a sizable dose of caffeine. But that's just one small part of it. Once the mind is activated, you must tame it in a certain direction.

My inspiration comes from everywhere. First and foremost, I love to read, I love to question and to probe and wonder. As human beings we are capable of more in life than just following, being told what to believe or how to behave. It is this freedom of mind, of will, of power to think for ourselves that we must latch onto and never let go; we are lost as a race if we just decide to give in and not try.

I grew up feeling pretty darn dumb, the people around me struggled to understand how I just couldn't... When I got into higher studies (for art, funnily enough) I began to find this whole collection of people that felt just like I did, and it grew from there. I promised myself that I'd carve out my own intelligence. Through this experience, these things that I thought and felt, there's so many out there like me. Sometimes I'm writing to my teenage self, reminding her that it was worth it.

The second and most obvious is the intensely dynamic world of Photography on the internet. Holy whoa it can be a bitchy place. Nobody is immune, but there are plenty of ideas and defensive egos out there. There is so many schools of thought, so many websites dedicated to technical, theoretical and fantastical. Beneath the veneer of the egocentric, it's actually very fascinating, never short of visual inspiration or hot topics to be debated through social media. There's always something going on, it's like peak hour, constantly.

Blogging on this topic is so simply achieved: Pick the hot topic, write out your opinion, form an argument based on your opinion (or not), choose your position and write. Post the links to social media then sit back and watch it unfold. Do have a thick skin though, those who do not know how to argue intelligently will go for the low blows.

Lastly, I owe heaps to the amazing photographers in the Australian community. There is so much talent, so many great minds to draw from, so many that have heaps to say, but express it through their images. For all those people that can't vent their frustrations; where possible I try to do it for them (whether they know it or not). For those not game to stand up to someone bigger than them (by reputation), for all the words that must be said that aren't.

Writing a blog is more than putting words into a sentence, events into a timeline.

It's how you feel, how you see the world and how you feel you interact with that. It's more than phrases that recount your day like listening to a five-year old. Pluck a phrase out of the sky and run with it. Think about it, write about it.

Long story short: I listen, I feel, I see, I react... I blog.