Anticipation is Mounting

First off, let me apologize for the previous post - among many things it was incredibly cryptic, and especially to those who know me, when cryptic ramblings escape from mind to text it's typically a sign that I am at an emotional low. And certainly I was, but have managed to crawl my way out of the pitfall of my own making. The cause has been brought up on this blog before, I believe - I am perpetually terrified that I have lost all capability to generate momentum anything like that which I carried prior to my accident. Some... okay, let me try that again... ALL of that paranoia has to deal with the dramatic change in my relationship with certain ethanol-infused liquids of which I had the habit of partaking in frequently. For my health and for a much broader, overall well being, I have sworn off various gentlemanly named bottles, a move that has undoubtedly resulted in an overall happier mood and ability to deal with important issues, but only at the sacrifice of a great amount of my creative drive. An odd thing, though functionally stunted by the manner in which I consumed alcohol, creatively I don't think I will ever feel that inspired and driven ever again. For the greater good, however, that is something I will learn to live with, and even if I can't attain that high of creative flow, I have to believe I can work my way close to it. One more issue with the lack of booze in my veins these days is horrible lethargy. Again, something I will learn to deal with, possibly with the aid of several boots to the ass.

That depressing topic aside, I am excited! The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens is finally starting to ship in small quantities, and finally, after paying a large bulk of bills that have plagued my account for the past 4 months, I am in a position to treat myself to the shiny new piece of glass! I've been looking forward to getting my hands on it ever since 43Rumors leaked it on the Olympus lens roadmap. A medium telephoto prime may very well be the only kind of prime lens I haven't tooled with at all, yet, and judging from the work I've seen done with fast primes in the 75-85mm range I'm certain it won't be disappointing. It would tie in very well with the work I've been doing lately (photographing people), and I sure am tired of shooting people with the wide 14mm f/2.5 I've been using almost exclusively for the last month (sure, I could just pop on a zoom, but eww, zooms). Although the 14mm has been serving me well for portraits lately, it's kind of uncomfortable for people when I get inches from their face to frame the image correctly. Luckily my "models" have all been people I know and with whom personal space is a non-issue.

More importantly, a strong portrait lens (and there should be no question that a 90mm equivalent f/1.8 lens is anything but) will be required for my planned venture into a more professional kind of portraiture. Case in point, a good friend from high school and keeper of the blog Decade Displacement and I are planning to meet up sometime soon, not just to catch up on our lives post-high school but also to brainstorm a collaborative effort in which I could photograph the material for her blog. For those who read this far without clicking the link, she's a fan of vintage style of clothing and often purchases patterns and sews her own iconic 60's fashion or sifts through antique stores, Goodwill and EBay to find shoes and other fashion accessories of the era. The opportunity for some fun creative collaboration is impossibly obvious and far too rich to ignore. Assuming we pair up in the manner I have in mind, the 45mm f/1.8 is only one step - next up I would likely be aiming to purchase a softbox for her smaller items and then the classic background and diffuser screens for clean WYSIWYG lighting. More than anything else, I'm crazy excited about working with someone else in this manner. I did it in 2008 when doing shoddy docu-drama with another good friend covering the Baltimore areas street racing underground, and that still stands as one of my most creative periods. This has the potential to shape up in exactly the same way.

Hopefully we meet up soon and material from our melded minds comes to light quickly. This weekend proves to be busy, but I'm sure we'll find some time to sit down together for a mind blowing creative discussion.