never in a million years would i have ever thought that i would view new york as “home”….and , even now, i see new york as a temporary stop along the way to wherever i decide to finally “settle down”…..but today, new york looks and feels and seems like “home”…..
i have been here less than an hour, and just like i thought, the mail is stacked up, bills, bills and more bills, 2 dead plants, and a long “to do list” that i am in no mood to deal with right now….i am only writing this little note to you in an effort to delay doing all the things i really should be doing after my 4 week european “tour”….and just now as i write, the phone rings and it is my mastercard bank telling me to please pay over the phone a late payment….ok done….i will check my bank balance tomorrow…
yes, yes i am way way behind on posts for this blog….but, that should be easy in the next couple of days…just the luxury of being back at my own desktop is enough to inspire a creative flow into harveyblog…”on the road” blogging is a bit of a nightmare…
my last four days in rainy, sunny, rainy, warm, cold, warm, cold london did not allow me to post …but , then again priorities my friends, priorities….as you may have noted in my previous post, i was in london for “personal reasons”…..gathering material for my next piece on “relationships” and how in the world photographers balance their personal lives with their work…
this has to be the most talked about subject of all….none of us can escape this discussion….in any gathering of photographers, the conversation eventually turns to this…i can “guide” on many things in our craft, our art, our profession, but not on this one….so, you tell me what you know or think or believe and what works and does not work…i await any sage advisements…..
all i know is this…..a ride on the “london eye” in the rain with your girlfriend…priceless….for everything else there is mastercard!!!
andrew…
i might take you up on that stamford ride…at least, stamford is at sea level!! that over 10,000 feet stuff kills me!!
lance…
that scene where sartore says goodbye to his crying wife and kids is poignant..i must say i never experienced a scene like that…i was fortunate in that the family came with me so many times on assignment, that the segue between my personal life and my professional life was one line rather than two…
David… all you are writing is true about making storys (btw Vietnam Inc is one of my favourites albums!).. i have really hard work to do :-)
-> one pictures from today http://tiny.pl/d6wl everytime I am looking at it I start to laugh :-) Mormon girls went to “second hand” to buy some shirts and long skirts (they came to Poland without light cloths, thought it’s cold in Poland most of the time)… missionary in dressing room (PRZYMIERZALNIA means dressing room).. today they had free day and act as normal girls about 20 years old :-) … as you see on the picture ;-)
Lance… so you have easy work to do – you just have to that Kelly is beautifull :-P … my boyfriend has more difficult – he has to talk that i am beutifull AND i have beautifull pictures ;-)
David: why do they come to Poland?
Aga: They can not choose a country where they want to go, when they decide to go to be a missionaty they accept every place which will be choosen for them. Brother of one of them (also missionary) is in Hong Kong and her boyfriend is in Peru :-)
D: why do they even leave their small territory in Utah at all?
A: They want to propagate their religion all over the world, for all of them is a big honor to be a missionary. It’s the Biggest adventure in their lifes.. the rest of their life they will probably spend in same small city
D: do they mix with the Poles in a significant way?
no… they doesnt have any friends in Poland, they spend 2 months in one city and after 2 months go to another
D:how do they live?
A:They have some savings from USA, they dont earn at all during mission.. they live in small apartments, and dont let anybody to go there (so i can not shoot there.. it’s not allowed
D: are they lonely?
A: They doesnt have time to think about loneless… they are all day busy, from early morning (6.30) until night (10.30 they go to sleep)..missionarys have only one day free (but it’s only day when they can send mails to home or to shooping, clean apartments ect.. so this day is also busy)
D: are they happy?
A: incredible happy all the time.. they belive they do the best thing on the world, and they show a path to God.. they are smiling all the time!
D: is their “mission accomplished”??
I am surpriced but i think they are really good in it… but sometimes they have language problems (they can not speak polish fluently)…
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS! :-) it helps me a lot! it’s good to realize some things.. if i know what i want to see i can see it :-)
My favourite journalist and writer – Ryszard Kapuscinski used to say that only when you can call a name what you want to see, you can see it.. when you know how weeping willow looks like, you will see weeping wilow.. when you can not name it, you can only see a tree (my translation is probably not correct but i hope you know what i mean)
Aga
Mormons is good subject for great story. It is possible to open wings, and fly far away.
I’m waiting for story like that.
I’m working on art festival in Wroclaw. They need documentary photography (shoot everyone, everywhere, everything!!!) . It is like big wedding (only less pay).
But I’m happy because I’m working.
My only problem is noise in my digital pictures when I taking pictures in dark. Disaster….
I don’t want use flash so I must use photoshop ha ha ha
All good photos I will make will be only for me, because they never use it.
But fun is great!
Martin
Martin… are you Polish?I think so.. but i will write english (we are so many polish people here that we only need David to learn our language ;-) .. Mormons can learn, so he can do it too ;-))
I think i will “cut” a litle bit this story about Mormon’s missionarys in Poland… i will do story only about Mormon’s female missionarys… I can be closer to the subject – i am only 2 years older than these girls :-)
Plus, it’s more interesting for me… they are like normal my age girls but has to do their “mission” here! Interesting thing for me! Their life in USA is so much diffrent than here :-) (there is their big familly and boyfriend, here thery are alone, there is big house, here is small flat in blok of flats, there is a farm and trucks, here is a city, bus and tramway :-).. i see many interesting things :-) .. i hope i can show it on pictures…
Thank you Martin for a nice comment… you motivate me to work harder :-)
I am sorry to write about it so much :-) but maybe we all will learn something during posting.. haha.. I feel like we all have “online worshops” :-)
Aga, I like bird pictures and those in student work are excellent. As for the Mormons, I am sure this will be an excellent story for you, and judging by your website my guess is you will cover it very well indeed, but I find that there is still something very peculiar about the thought of all those earnest American young people wandering the highways and byways of a profoundly Roman Catholic country trying to convert the populace. On the meter measuring cognitive dissonance the concept of Polish Mormons is not as strange as the concept of Polish Rastafarians (another story entirely), but it is certainly odd enough ;-)
aga…i know what you mean!!! ok, now you have done it…you have a whole bunch of us out here waiting for your Mormon pictures!! get to work!! david
Akaky and David…haha.. now i saw your posts… so i have big pressure to do this story ;-)