A Week has Past…

It’s been a week since the Tea Party here in Carteret County.  I had a record 300 + hits to the Keo Blog last week.  Sometimes you don’t think you can’t make a difference when it comes to changing the direction of this country and/or the skewed (dangerous) policies created and supported by the power hungry politicians in Washington, BUT the alternative is for us to do nothing and just watching our great country slip closer and closer into the grips of Socialism.  It seems a good many people in this country are ok with letting the Government control and dictate every aspect of their lives, and that in itself is a reason to be worried, however it is also a reason to be diligent and fight harder for our individual liberties and freedom hard fought by our Armed Services since the Revolutionary War.

Life goes on…as much these issues stress me out I still make an effort to enjoy each and every day God gives me on this earth.  My daughter Andei is coming home next week and I’m looking forward to spending the summer teaching her more about photography and traveling through Ireland in May. I am going to keep myself abreast of further Tea Party activities and do what I can to support this cause because there is no doubt we are being over taxed and it sickens me that my children and grand children are going to have to pay for this pathetic, bloated, wasteful Government and the companies that they are bailing out.  I accuse both Republicans and especially Democrates for getting us in the mess we are in.  I look out at the political landscape and I see no real, passionate champions for true liberty and freedom.  The real heroes in this country right now are the everyday, ordinary people who have the guts to organize and attend these protests. We must keep the pressure on Washington and our political leaders to reduce spending and reject the path to Socialism.  We must continue to fight the good fight!

Check out the Video taken at the Morehead City Tea Party

Proud to be an AMERICAN!!!

I mailed my $2,500 to the state and federal government today. Believe me…I don’t mind paying my fair share, BUT the taxes in this country are getting completely out of control. I’m not alone in my feelings about this issue – it looks like thousands of other American’s feel the same way I do about the direction our country is heading.  I don’t normally use KeO Blog for political purposed because I am an artist, writer, photographer and teacher and my blog is normally about my creative endeavors, however I’m changing my  format for the next few days to celebrate, promote and further the cause of the Tea Party Tax Protest going on in this country.  I’ll let the photos I took at the rally in Carteret County today speak for themselves.  These were NOT radical “right wing” extremists by no means. These were REAL people – over 1000 of them! Normal working class people who are PISSED OFF and ANGRY at how our BLOATED federal government is spending our tax dollars on bail out after bail out and aggressively trying to convert our Democratic Republic into a Socialist country . They are putting our children and Grand children into serious debt before they are even born. Obama and his liberal radical accomplices are attempting to take over American corporations and businesses and socialize them.  Our Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves if they were to see what is going on in the USA in 2009.  I’ve been depressed the past few months over the direction this country is going in and up until today I didn’t think  my voice mattered or could make a difference.  Today’s rally in my little coastal town and in towns and cities across this great nation changed my heart and gave me renewed hope. I now have faith that we the PEOPLE of this great nation can make a difference. I am damn proud of this country, I’m proud to be an American and a veteran of the greatest armed forces this world has ever known.   Here are some photos I took this afternoon at the rally. God Bless America! God Bless the people who are rising up and making their voices heard above the din of political correctness and constant liberal propaganda spewed by the mainstream media who are basically nothing more than Obama’s lackey’s and cheerleaders.

Don’t be afraid! The American People still have a voice and can still make a difference.

I welcome your comments! Thanks God we still have FREE SPEECH in this country. Be careful though…it can be taken from us in a blink of an eye just like they want to take away our second amendment rights to bear arms and tax us into submission and subservience to the federal governement. Is this the CHANGE we were hoping for????

Click Here for the Morehead City Tea Blog

Latest Photographs and some Random Thoughts…

I’ve really enjoyed having a few days off from the college.  I still got some work done on my courses these past few days, but on  my time and I didn’t have to go up to the school.  I must admit I could retire tomorrow if I could and just pursue my creative endeavors like writing, painting, traveling and of course my photography.

In-between working on various projects I got out with the “Diana Camera” and shot another roll around the neighborhood.  There is no doubt film cameras (especially Holgas and Diana’s) force you to slow down when you are making pictures and that is what I like about them.  With digital photography I can blast through 80 exposures in a matter of 5 minutes and constantly be looking at the back of the camera to see if I like them or not – if not…I just click delete and go on to the next shot.  Film photography definitely has a more deliberate and thoughtful approach to it if you want to get decent photographs. Here are a few black & white photographs I scanned from the last roll I shot Sunday afternoon.  Shooting with these very basic “plastic” medium format cameras forces me to relinquish control of what I conceptualize the image to be in my minds eye.  Most of the time the camera translates your subject very differently than what you you would imagine.  I kind of like the suprises I get when I develop and evaluate the film.  There is a bit of a mystery to the entire process and it forces me to think more about the WHY behind the subject matter I choose to point the camera at. Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image.

Inspired to get out and Photograph!

One thing I love about attending Photograph conferences is how I  get inspired by seeing all the great portfolios and attending informative and inspiring presentations and workshops.  It’s funny how I’m  being drawn back to photographing with FILM after going digital around 8 years ago.  Recently my daughter Andei got me interested in shooting with film again because I was teaching her how to process and print “the old fashioned way” in the traditional wet darkroom.  There is something very special and pleasing to my creative sensibilities when making photographs with film.  It hit me this afternoon as I walked around my neighborhood with Diana “plastic” camera in hand in search of potential subjects for some black & white pictures.

I tend to slow down more when shooting with film and I don’t have the opportunity to preview every image I take on a screen on the back of my medium format plastic camera.  I tend to spend more time composing the image, thinking about WHY I am making the picture and just savoring the photographic experience.  I also love the magic of loading my film onto the metal reel and pouring the developer into it and waiting anxiously for it to get out of the fixer so I can look at my negatives.  Yes…its still exciting and fun for me after all these years.  I can’t wait to get back up the the darkroom tomorrow and scan and post some of my latest Diana camera images.

I’ve been making photographs since 1972 and I must admit I never get tired or bored taking pictures.  Sure…there’s a difference between taking “snap-shots” with a little point and shoot camera and going out to attempt to compose some unique and interesting images.  Here are a few I took the other day with my plastic medium format Holga camera.  The shutter is broken and these images are soft focus – I must admit I like the painterly “other worldly” effect.

Tree on Banks Street

SPE Conference Debrief

I’m still jazzed from attending the Society for Photo Education National Conference in Dallas last week.  Cathy and I have been sharing what we learned with our students in all our classes.  The following are some key bullet points I believe were some important things and issues that were addressed and highlighted at the conference.

Cathy Crowell Looking at Student Work at SPE Print Sharing

• We as educators MUST prepare our students for jobs that in many cases don’t even exist today, but will in 5 years. That is how fast technology is changing and evolving.

Photo Student Todd Rotkis holding up his Ambrotypes at Print Sharing

1. Keeping abreast of technology is crucial – no longer an option if you want to be successful and marketable.

2. Communications technologies are merging (melding together) and creating new media. Photographers must embrace (and become proficient in) video, blogging, still imaging, writing, graphic design and podcasting.

Photoshop Demo at Conference

3. Creative Problem Solving (Critical Thinking) skills are essential to survival and success in Global economy.

4. Our culture is becoming more and more visually literate so visual literacy skills are a must.
5. The bar is getting higher for many technical and photography jobs so in-depth computer / software skills are very important, in addition to having a strong grasp of  all the fundamentals.
6. A dynamic “user friendly” web presence (and digital resume) in many ways replaces the traditional paper resume – make sure it tells your story and communicates who you are and what you are about clearly and effectively.

7.  Must be very proactive in your education and career search.

8. Being a life long learner is a must in the digital era.

One thing that was reinforced over and over throughout the conference was just how dramatically the photographic industry and photo education has changed over the past 5 – 10 years. The industry is not what it was a decade ago due to the broad impact of digital technology and the internet.  This reality has both positive and negative repercussions for educator’, students and anyone working in any realm of the discipline.

Digital View Camera Demo - SPE Conference

Being aware of what is going on in the field is the first step to navigate and function successfully in it. Educator’s must develop new technological skill-sets (and methodologies) just like our students and working photographers. No one is getting a bye in this highly complex digital / global environment.

College graduates are stepping into a highly competetive marketplace and their success will be determined by how creative they are and how well they understand the digital dynamics of the “wired world” we now live in.

Every facet of our society is experiencing dramatic change and in many cases upheaval. Knowledge is going to be more  important than ever before.  It’s going to be a different kind of knowledge though. I believe it will be an intuitive ability to access, integrate and comprehend new information and then apply it to solving specific problems both within and outside our career disciplines.

Business and industries in this country and around the world are changing at a very rapid rate and its our job as educator’s (especially at the Community College Level) to keep abreast of these changes, mostly due to the evolution of technology at all levels of society. Attending professional conferences like these are one way for us as teachers and administrator’s to keep informed of the latest innovations in the fields we teach. The issues raised at this conference not only related to the Photographic industry – they related to any business, industry and educational institution impacted by digital technology.