Whoops!
I have a thing for glitches. I love finding them. Not because it makes me feel superior, but because, somehow, it makes a thing or an experience seem more real.
The word "authentic" is being thrown around a lot these days when talking about communication. And its true I think that we need more authentic communication for the same reason I like to find little glitches. We all want to have an honest dialogue. The second I feel something is scripted as a manipulation I try and tune it out. The car salesman's mouth is moving but all I hear is the adult voice from "Peanuts".
Now here's the rub. There are times when we love to be mislead or manipulated. Namely things we refer to as entertainment- from novels to movies—we'll happily sit for hours and soak it all in. It's an escape. So where do we find that magical, paper-thin membrane separating fact and fiction; authenticity and entertainment?
This is why I try...the best I can...to never pose my 2 boys or direct them in any way when I take stills or shoot video of them. I just shoot. Capture the moment.
Most of the time I don't even look through the viewfinder. I just literally "shoot from the hip" in the most unobtrusive way possible. The results are surprisingly candid and not without those "glitches."
When I look back at the best of these moments, forever? preserved on dvd, strewn about the walls and furniture of our home, I find myself both entertained and surprised by the feelings they evoke, and the reactions of others.
My mother-in-law recently commented about some photos I took, "...this one's out of focus...there's water on the lens...and half of his face is out-of-frame. If I took these I'd throw them out. But I love them. Will you make me some prints?" (I explained to her that it helps to have a kick ass camera and know how to use photoshop..) She asked "How did you make them look like you meant to do this?" I'm like..."I didn't. I didn't do anything except shoot. I didn't know what I'd get. But it's usually something unexpected."
Or as you might say-authentic. As for finding that "magic" I'll admit...it is elusive.
Especially in our business where art and commerce collide.
In some respects, your 2 posts go hand-in-hand. Maybe "authentic" is lost the more we think about it? Trying to achieve "authenticity" can be a good thing. But if we try to hard to achieve it, then are we not manipulating "its" authenticity? Brian Johnson
wabi sabi
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