From the Desk of Thomas Ott

Some people are hoping that this year ends quickly and they look forward to a shiny new one, with no mistakes in it.  Me? I made plenty of mistakes this year and I know that I learned from them. It's true, 2010 has no mistakes in it and we can all start anew but the same holds true for each day that we are alive in this world. Why wait for a brand new year? If you made a mistake or caused harm, own up to it, make amends, learn from it, and move on the very next day.  Life is what you make it, so why spend time being miserable and wishing, "If only I..."

Loading mentions Retweet

Almost every person I know wants to win the lottery and get rich.  Hell, everyone wants to just get rich!  Ever wonder why?  You can't take money with you when you die, so why spend all this craziness trying to accumulate it?  There are a million reasons that you can give me to argue your point but the subconscious desire to get rich is not the money itself, but supposedly the time you reclaim because of it.

Loading mentions Retweet

In the words of Sheryl Crow, everyday is a winding road indeed!  In that song she proposes that life is a winding road and that she's getting closer to feeling fine all the time.  That song left me thinking that we all have to travel down this road of life, but so many of us tend to be asleep at the wheel!  Life is a funny teacher, we all rush around to do our tasks to get to the end of whatever we are doing!  The end of this winding road of life is the dirt nap!  That's why the saying, "its the journey, not the destination that matters" is so profound and wise!

Loading mentions Retweet

I’ve always been a curious sort of fellow.  Perhaps that’s why the idea of traveling around for months at a time, exploring new cultures and meeting new people, just plain excites me.  Who wouldn’t want to take 3 months off and roam the Italian back country or hike around the rim of Australia? 

This is why I’m such a fan of Rolf Pott’s Vagablogging blog.  Rolf’s blog is inspirational to me because he’s actually living his dream of a Vagabonding life.  He routinely shares tips and travel tricks for Vagabonding your way to happiness.  Most of the stories posted are from contributing travelers who were curious and decided to go somewhere new.  They chose break out of their shells and it drove them to visit a new country and take a road less traveled.  In my opinion, this attitude eventually drives us to happiness and contentment

I fully believe that happiness is made up of at least a generous helping of curiosity.  It’s is like that special gift you unwrap on Christmas morning with ferocity!  What’s in the box?  What special meaning does it hold? Only you can find out! 

That’s why I say, stay curious my friends!

Loading mentions Retweet

I've been waking up to a strange feeling over the past few months.  I wake up and realize that my life is accelerating toward light speed and there's nothing I can do about it.  Life is getting so busy with a lot of seemingly "important at the time" things that compete for my dwindling time.  I also realize that I have to make it a daily goal to spend as much time as I can on the truly important things around me.  Whether its throwing a ball around with my son or daughter or sharing a pot of tea with my wife, all those things are time well spent for me.

Loading mentions Retweet

I often ponder on what it means to be a husband, father, and a man in our society. These important roles help define the world we live in, what kind of relationships we cultivate with our loved ones, and what kind of world we leave behind for our children. Filling just one of those roles to the best of our ability is a tall order for any man, imagine doing all three? I know that I'm not alone when I say that men feel unclear on how to fill those roles today.

Society is perhaps the biggest driver of changes to our cultural values and roles, and men have a tendency not to adapt as quickly.  Therefore some men, not all though, have a tendency to shirk their roles. What does being a husband, father, and man in society mean to you and how do you fill those roles?

Loading mentions Retweet

Today was a long and tough day but I'm happy I didn't participate in the dirt nap.  Looking forward to fighting the good fight again tomorrow in Philadelphia! 

Loading mentions Retweet

Its often said that the camera doesn't matter in making a great photograph, rather its the composition and your eye that creates the memorable image.  To that end, many people argue that no one asked Picasso what kind of brush he used to make his paintings.  While on the surface this argument sounds compelling, it isn't entirely correct.  Materials and tools do matter very much in the creation of your ultimate image.

As someone who shoots film, the type of film and lens I use do affect the quality of my image.  I wouldn't use E100VS film and a 500mm lens if I was shooting people portraits, much like a wood carver wouldn't use a machete to carve a small figurine.  Further, if I developed my own B&W film, the type of developer I use would also affect my ultimate image.

Granted, someone can use E100VS film and a 500mm lens to shoot people portraits but it would be for the creation of his/her specific artistic vision, in which the tools and materials really do matter to create the images.  What truly matters, in my opinion, is the creative process.  What media you work in, how you manipulate the image, what type of film used, etc all matter in the creation of that one special image.  This process requires the artist to contemplate what type of materials to input, the tools use to mold the image, and all the relevant pieces to build that final image.

Philosophically, the abstract concept that a little box has the ability to capture light really doesn't matter in itself, it could be a manual SLR, DSLR, medium format, etc but rather its your eye, composition, tools and materials you use that do matter greatly to your ultimate image.

Loading mentions Retweet

"What is important is to keep our mind high in the world of true understanding, and returning to the world of our daily experience to seek therein the truth of beauty. No matter what we may be doing at a given moment, we must not forget that it has a bearing upon our everlasting self which is poetry" - Basho

How true is this?  Every action we do can become a thing of beauty if we let it be so. Make your life an act of beauty and poetry.

Loading mentions Retweet