The dangers of aspiring to be a perfect person

AB WatsonPhilosophy, Thoughts

Be it a healthy person regarding fitness, eating habits. Being it a time-efficient hustler, and productive person. Or be it minimalist, aspiring to consume less and aspire to have only long-lasting high-quality items. To the spiritual or person of faith that preaches their belief without request. There is something about these people that isn’t quite right. Something about somebody that labels themselves as (insert aspiration here), that rubs me the wrong way and that is they are generally speaking assholes.

Romanticism

AB WatsonThoughts

I’m attracted to the romanticism of academia and minimalism from the 1960s-70s. I can’t help it, but be drawn to these aesthetics. Film photography, writing in journals with an ink pen, reading physical books, drinking tea or simple talking walks and talking about philosophy. So why is it that we struggle to let go of the past or hold onto the past as if it was better than where we are now? To put it simple why do we romanticise the past?

The best point-and-shoot camera I’ve owned

AB WatsonEducation, Thoughts

I’ve been around for a while; all 36 years, and during that time I’ve accumulated and used a number of point-and-shoot cameras, from the film days to the adoption of digital. And I can honestly say after using, Yashica, Ricoh, Leica, Fuji, Kodak, Olympic, Canon & Contex my favourite point-and-shoot camera can be summed up into these categories; ease of use, quality, features and size. It would have to be the…

What’s in my camera bag

AB WatsonInspiration, Thoughts

Like all of us, I carry around a few things every day in my bag. Be it going to work, for a walk or trip. I wanted to share what I can’t leave home without, why I choose these particular items, for everyday use and the essentials I need when leaving the house.

There is something about having a neckless or watch that you wear every day and that one day you forget it you feel naked. Like something is off; not quite right. And these few items I can’t leave without, I would rather be late leaving the front door than going outside without them. It’s not that I need them to live or for my job, but rather for comfort. Like a morning coffee or newspaper. Here they are in no particular order.

Let your subconscious take over your photographs

AB WatsonEducation, Thoughts

Once you subconsciously realise that when you are taking photos without a desire or theme; it’s then when we go through our edit and our archive that we start to see melodies throughout our work. Be a spectator to your instances, and let go of theory, rules and guidelines. That is when you start to notice your voice was there all along hidden in your spontaneous subconscious mind.

Photography is selling us a lie

AB WatsonPhilosophy, Thoughts

When it comes to what photography is predominantly used for in our society, documentation; or to put it simply to sell us a feeling or product. An extraordinary amount of advertisements focus on three emotional components to manipulate us. This idea is that whatever they are selling will bring us happiness, love, status or luxury. But advertisements wouldn’t work well if they focused on what we really need. Is advertisement or our focus photography selling us a lie?

A fresh start

AB WatsonThoughts

A new system and a fresh start. These past two years I had a News Years resolution to do less, and play more. What I didn’t realise was that what I stopped doing was what brought joy to my life. And playing games isolated me more and removed me from responsibilities. So like a good person in a capitalist society I purchased a new/old camera.

No one knows what they are doing

AB WatsonThoughts

When you realise no one knows what they are doing, and no one has it figured out. and the majority are just regurgitating what they have seen or been taught. Life is real but our reality is entirely fiction. Why is it that if you say something enough time for a substantial period of time you become an expert on the subject? Someone is an expert; know they just did one thing many times. They might not be the best or great but just the fact that they have done that one thing for an extended period of time makes them an expert.

Time anxiety

AB WatsonThoughts

Reflecting on New year’s resolutions in August I’ve been thinking about life, yearly goals and aspirations. The choose to focus on having fun over ambition and capitalism progress and guilt for not improving or self-improvement or having a side hustle. I ask you have you kept up your new year’s resolution?