15th Year - Us

The final image in our series from (500) Days of Summer is probably the most iconic. When Tom and Summer are sitting overlooking the city in their "spot", they come to a lot of life realizations. Tom about his, Summer about hers and both of them about their life together. It becomes a place where they both go for answers, although they individually end up being surprised by what they find about themselves, each other and love.

Photoshop and internet issues prevented me from posting earlier, but I like how this eventually turned out as a really good interpretation of the original.

And from the film...

15th Year - Expectations vs. Reality

Love gets pretty idealized, possibly because that's the actual nature of the emotion itself. Everyone, single or in a relationship, is trying to marry the expectations of what they believe love to be with the reality of life. Tom has that vision in his head.  Those expectations that are preventing him from seeing the truth. Maybe the truth is just what we need.

Obviously we had a little fun with this reinterpretation of the scene from (500) Days of Summer.  Daily marital reality vs. romantic expectations isn't worse, necessarily.  Just different.

You can see this photo (and all shots) larger by going here and clicking on the photo directly.

And one of the scenes that inspired this shot:

15th Year - It's Love, It's Not Santa Claus

So there comes a whirlwind phase in relationships when it's perfect, right? The air is never dense, the sunshine is never too hot, the cold nights are only refreshing. You know that person is a whisper away. But then, in some relationships, as with Tom and Summer, you never see that pinnacle again. And there's where it tumbles down - you reach and you grab and push, trying to twist it into something it can't be and you're never quite sure it ever was.

So today's shot is that perfect moment. You're happy to be there, can't believe you ARE there, never want to be anywhere else again.

And the moment from the movie that is the inspiration for today's shot:

15th Year - I Will Draw Our Future

Second in the series of our reimagining of (500) Days of Summer.

In most relationships, you meet, you share the same old stories, you talk about family and friends and current events. The whole time you're wondering what the other person is really like. It's that razor's edge between frustration and excitement, when you want to know more, but the joy is in discovering, so you really don't want it to end.

I think that's the problem that Tom runs into in the movie. There's this moment where he shares himself with Summer - really shares himself - as he writes on her arm and his dreams are all over her.

This is a shot in front of our house in Atlanta. We've been through four homes now and each one is its own dream, of sorts.

And the original shot from the movie:

15th Year - The Story of Boy meets Girl

Summer gets in the way of things sometimes.  But in a celebration of Summer getting in the way, we will be paying homage to one of the best movies of all time, ALL WEEK this week, in order to catch up.

It is our version of 500 Days of Summer, my friends. Enjoy.

Day One: The Elevator.

A taste of what you're in for, if you haven't seen it yet (@10 seconds in is the inspiration for this shot). And for the record, I never loved the Smiths.

15th Year - Fairest of Them All

Not QUITE what I was hoping for, but we did it pretty fast in not great light against a blah background. Not to mention how silly one feels while kissing a mirror. WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME??! We promise to be better next time.

15th Year - Pinky Swear

Very close to the same place as the last shot. I was thinking more of sunlight through the weeds and maybe our hands IN the weeds, but sometimes it goes different than you plan. I really like the way this one turned out and I'm kind of addicted to this duo-tone black and white processing.

15th Year - In the Weeds

I've been wanting to shoot in these weeds near our house for a long time now. They've gone from green to, what, hay colored? But still cool. The shot ended up working out pretty close to what I had envisioned, although this is a combination of three shots to get everything right. At least the weeds won't be taunting me anymore with their seductive swaying, begging me to photograph them. Stupid sexy weeds.

15th Year - A Young Carl and Ellie

I had a little brainstorm while watching one of our favorite movies the other night. How about us as a young Carl and Ellie? Took me a while to play around with it, but I like the results, making it look like old found photos. This is TECHNICALLY last week's shot, which means I still aim to post a shot for this week later this weekend. Enjoy!

15th Year - Best of You

15th Year - Feet First

15th Year - Do Not Disturb

15th Year - I've Got Your Back

One of the best parts about being in a relationship is knowing that the other person is there for you. The original concept on this shot was different, but I liked the way it turned out in the end. I may come back to the original concept on a later shoot.

Fashionista

Taken behind the scenes at a recent fashion show shoot...

Ways in Which You Can Piss Me Off #73

Call ME on MY phone and, before saying anything else, ask "Hello, who is this?"

Bitch, you called ME.

Those assholes at Apple better be working on a way for me to choke someone through a phone or WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY!?!?

15th Year - Sunday Mornings in Bed

Patience, Thin

I've mentioned several times that I have patience for very few things. Mostly it stems from my own general ineptitude spilling over into anger at others, but often it comes from the very real phenomenon of inanimate objects actively conspiring to give me a stroke.

Today it was my computer mouse.  It sits under my hand, even now, taunting. If it only knew how close it came to death today.

I was simply trying to move a tab to a different location in my browser. Innocent act. Good people, decent people, do the same thing every day.

I clicked and dragged to move it and the tab got, and I don't want to get too technical here, but the tab got stuck to the arrow thingie. And, you know, like an idiot, I kind of shook it a little to set it free? Because the computer knows what I mean when I do that.

The f*ck it does.

At a certain point as I continued to shake it more violently to set it free, it seemed to kind of grab on tighter, if that makes sense. I mean, that's reasonable, right? That's how computers work. Mostly megabits and spite.

Being pretty savvy with computers, I knew that the next step to troubleshooting this issue was to slam that motherf*cking mouse on my desk until it learned its lesson.

Which it did not.

Really high pain threshold on this Logitech.

So then this is the thought I had, telepathically speaking to the mouse: "I swear to motherf*cking god, if you don't release that tab, I will stand up right now and throw you against the motherf*cking wall and laugh as you shatter into a billion goddamn pieces".

And I visualized it happening, I really did. I mean, a Grinch smile crawled across my face. I began to fantasize about a computer mouse killing SPREE. Just criss-cross the COUNTRY, on a rampage. Nobody would know.

But here is where we find out that once again, I'm growing.

I didn't throw that mouse against the wall. I just walked away.

Because of the patience.

But I hold a grudge. And I don't make the same mistake twice.

Reach

One of my favorites from the March 30 Atlanta Photographer's Guild meeting.

Things You Are Not, for 1000

It's difficult enough to get through your day to day (especially with that ridiculous haircut) without the constant added pressure of having to be heroic.

I write this because of the obsession we have, as erect (ha!) homo (HA!) sapiens (ha?), to define people into categories that are logically unattainable. Specifically, I'm angry-ed up by the omnipresent term "Hero".

In my exhaustive research for this post (somethingsomethingipedia), I read that following the traditional Greek definition of hero, a more general (literary) definition arose to encompass those who, "in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence."

I think that generally fits with what most of us think - a hero is someone who displays courage and self-sacrifice for some greater good. And the idea of hero representing martial courage (say, that of a soldier fighting for his country), is spot on. But even in that scenario, it really depends on your perspective, right? My guy is the hero, but the guy on the other side is a terrorist. Not getting political here, I'm just saying, even villains are heroes to someone. Which is why Heath Ledger got that last Oscar. Boom. Lawyered.

MY POINT IS, as if I ever have one, that not only the word but the concept of hero is just nonsense in all practical ways. People can be courageous or outstanding or extraordinary, but heroic is a step too far. Because to me, courageous or outstanding or extraordinary are temporary. A moment in time. But hero is a label that's meant to define a person. Forever.

To define that person and then later used to tear him down. 

This happens because of that last tricky bit in the quote above, where the definition was "extended to more general moral excellence." I'm here to tell you, there's nobody left anywhere that has maintained a general moral excellence throughout his or her lifetime. Everyone disappoints. And we looooooove that about our fellow human beings. Oh my god, we roll in that like it's mud on our disgusting porcine bodies.

Because when others fail, it's vindication of our own pathetic lives. We might enjoy labeling someone a hero, but we crave watching the hero fall from grace.

I'm not breaking ground on the observations here, I know. But in an effort to be a better person yourself - more courageous or outstanding or extraordinary - maybe try a little harder not to get wrapped up in the fall of everyone else.

That means when Tiger Woods scatters, smothers and covers a Waffle House waitress, it's not the fall of a hero, it's just another person being human in a manner not condoned by everyone. And it's none of your business. It really, really isn't.

15th Year - The Last Two People on Earth

Looking at areas and ideas, Natalie came up with this location and we played around there for a while, trying to get the right shot. I like how it turned out, even though we were a little rushed. Hope you enjoy.

The Last Two People On Earth