Its Minnesota. Its winter. Its -2 degrees outside.
I've gotta shoot something. Okay so not what you think.
I'm not about to go kill Bambi. I love to photograph people, places and things.
And right now I'm feeling my creative juices drying up. Between work, colds and the holidays the extent of my photographing anything was family opening presents and some pictures of my brother's cats. UGH.
Its not as if I wouldn't go shoot some beautiful winter scenery. I've done that before. But I go to work at 730 am and leave work at 430pm. Which gives me about 10 minutes of quickly fading daylight by that time. I bought a membership to flickr and so far haven't done much but upload some renfest pictures and my Vegas trip. BTW, if you're interested in my attempts at photography see it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellelayne/
Although sometime in January I'm shooting some outdoor senior pictures for
a couple of guys. So that should give me something to look forward to.
I guess its something!
Happy shooting everyone!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Reborns, the disturbing fake baby fad
If you’ve ever watched the movie Cherry 2000 (starring a young Melanie Griffith) you’ll know the moral of the story is that robots do not take the place of a good ol’ human. Not even androids, sorry Data. And I haven’t seen it yet but Lars and the Real Girl is a movie about a man in love with a life sized doll. Helloooo Dolly! ((weird!)) Even the 80s romantic comedy Mannequin (yes, a romantic comedy, though the title sounds like a horror movie…. Its alive!) gave off a slightly weird vibe. Even though the mannequin (an equally young Kim Cattral) was a real woman, just a woman cursed a few centuries ago to be a modern day mannequin. Yes like I said, weird.
Let me start by saying, I collect items from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Mostly the dolls and waterglobes. Though I’ll happily pick up the jump ropes, lip glosses and posters at the dollar store too. But I don’t take them out of the package and play with them. (Part of me thinks of Toy Story 2 and the sadness of the never played with dolls….) So when I write about this fad of “Reborns” I am fully aware that as I point out their weirdness three fingers are pointing back at me.
‘Reborns’ are incredibly life like babies. Their skin, their eyes, hair, weight, every little wrinkle on their hands is so real looking. They cost $500-$4,000 a piece because of the time and effort put into each of them. They’re not made from one single artist or manufacturer but several different artists across the country. Mostly found on ebay you won’t see any in Target on the shelves next to Barbie.
They are certainly incredible in their lifelikeness. And because so much time and artistic effort is put into them I am willing to call them art. However not everyone collects them like other dolls. It seems there is a percentage of Reborn owners that care for them like real babies. To certain degrees of course. Some hold them just as a comfort. Still others change them and take them out into public. They take them out shopping, walking them in strollers at parks and show them off to people.
One article I read said they can be a comfort to women after a baby of their own has passed or as newly empty nesters feel the pain of loneliness. (Some even order them to look like their child with photographs.) The article went on to say they act the same as a baby blanket does to a child. It’s supposedly a transitional device. Reading another article I read that some offer extras. Not only do each of the reborns have a lifelike heft to them of a real baby but you can also purchase things like a heartbeat and a magnetic mouth so it can hold a pacifier. Creepy. To me dolls don’t need heartbeats.
I have a definite problem with this. When Phillip left me I didn’t go buy a mannequin to comfort my loss. I saw that I had problems and went to a therapist for help. And I talked out my problems and grieved for the loss of our relationship in a healthy way. I didn’t run into the arms of another man nor did I buy a lifesize doll to comfort me.
One woman stated that she plays with her reborn the way some men play with trains and cars. My dad collects hot wheels. I’ve never ever seen him play with them. Its something nice to look at and collect. Although I can understand where she is coming from. All girls and women have something in them that likes to dream and fantasize. But what if a 37 year old woman took out her Barbie dream house and started pretending and playing with Barbie and Ken? How would people see that? Like I said before I can’t point fingers because I am one of the biggest kids in the world. But I know there is a line between real and fake. Real babies cry, real babies grow. Reborns do neither.
Read the msn article here. Also contained in the link at the bottom is another article from a psychologist about loss and the use of reborns.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26970782/
Let me start by saying, I collect items from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Mostly the dolls and waterglobes. Though I’ll happily pick up the jump ropes, lip glosses and posters at the dollar store too. But I don’t take them out of the package and play with them. (Part of me thinks of Toy Story 2 and the sadness of the never played with dolls….) So when I write about this fad of “Reborns” I am fully aware that as I point out their weirdness three fingers are pointing back at me.
‘Reborns’ are incredibly life like babies. Their skin, their eyes, hair, weight, every little wrinkle on their hands is so real looking. They cost $500-$4,000 a piece because of the time and effort put into each of them. They’re not made from one single artist or manufacturer but several different artists across the country. Mostly found on ebay you won’t see any in Target on the shelves next to Barbie.
They are certainly incredible in their lifelikeness. And because so much time and artistic effort is put into them I am willing to call them art. However not everyone collects them like other dolls. It seems there is a percentage of Reborn owners that care for them like real babies. To certain degrees of course. Some hold them just as a comfort. Still others change them and take them out into public. They take them out shopping, walking them in strollers at parks and show them off to people.
One article I read said they can be a comfort to women after a baby of their own has passed or as newly empty nesters feel the pain of loneliness. (Some even order them to look like their child with photographs.) The article went on to say they act the same as a baby blanket does to a child. It’s supposedly a transitional device. Reading another article I read that some offer extras. Not only do each of the reborns have a lifelike heft to them of a real baby but you can also purchase things like a heartbeat and a magnetic mouth so it can hold a pacifier. Creepy. To me dolls don’t need heartbeats.
I have a definite problem with this. When Phillip left me I didn’t go buy a mannequin to comfort my loss. I saw that I had problems and went to a therapist for help. And I talked out my problems and grieved for the loss of our relationship in a healthy way. I didn’t run into the arms of another man nor did I buy a lifesize doll to comfort me.
One woman stated that she plays with her reborn the way some men play with trains and cars. My dad collects hot wheels. I’ve never ever seen him play with them. Its something nice to look at and collect. Although I can understand where she is coming from. All girls and women have something in them that likes to dream and fantasize. But what if a 37 year old woman took out her Barbie dream house and started pretending and playing with Barbie and Ken? How would people see that? Like I said before I can’t point fingers because I am one of the biggest kids in the world. But I know there is a line between real and fake. Real babies cry, real babies grow. Reborns do neither.
Read the msn article here. Also contained in the link at the bottom is another article from a psychologist about loss and the use of reborns.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26970782/
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Ghost Hunters, real or not?
I love to watch Ghosthunters. Its one of my favorite shows. It’s more ‘real’ than any other ghost show I’ve seen. Other shows try to ramp up the suspense and supposed scariness of what they’re doing. The people on screen throw every little thing out of proportion. I saw one show (can’t remember the name) that reminded me more of a “Supernatural” episode rather than something real. They tried to go in and get rid of a ghost haunting a child whom they deemed as ‘psychic like the main researcher’.
In Ghosthunters they try to debunk things first rather than finding ghosts with every scurrying bug in the house. Many times it’s the easiest of answers. Headlights flashing through a window onto a mirror or the wall. Doors and windows banging from the wind. Or electrical wiring that when left unprotected causes people to feel paranoid or uneasy.
In fact one time I saw that the owner of a bar and restaurant set it up so that the place would seem haunted with speakers and elaborate devices to make fixtures shake. I could tell the team was angry about that!
Speaking of the team it’s the people that make the show. I like how by watching we find out that these are real people. Jay is claustrophobic and has a bad habit of saying “Me and Grant” everytime instead of the proper “Grant and I”. They’ve had problems with a couple of their members especially the unreliable Brian whom they kick to the curb every season or so but they keep bringing him back. And Steve who’s been there since the beginning is afraid of everything BUT ghosts. Planes, spiders, small spaces, etc. And there are strong women on the show too like Donna who has converted over to Ghost Hunters International, their spin off show hunting in Europe (so far).
They have indeed found some ghosts and supernatural oddities on their hunts. The one that sticks out at me the most is one of the lighthouse episodes. They recorded something just a few flights up from them. You can see whatever it is move and look down from the top. Another more recent example is the Halloween show. Twice Grant’s collar was tugged down stopping him from walking away, all caught on tape.
However I have to admit that it is frustrating at times. Last nite I was watching an episode at an old fort used during the revolutionary and civil wars. Grant was sitting under ground in a dug out prison cell. The camera was on him when he was startled because he saw a face in the window to the next room. Another time Jay and Grant were at a Wild West saloon and hall when they saw a figure dash from the room down some stairs. The camera man was behind both walking up the stairs. Those times makes me wonder why they don’t carry hand held cameras or camcorders with them all the time? After a while of seeing things but not having recorded proof it gets a bit fishy. Then I start to doubt the validity of the show.
Is it all just an elaborate scheme? I mean it IS aired on the SCIFI channel. Science FICTION channel, that is. It’s the what if that makes it interesting. What if it is real? I guess that’s what keeps me watching.
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