Alex Blackwelder

such a sad little hamster…

I usually avoid passerby pictures of disabled or disadvantaged people. It’s a pet peeve of mine, photographers showing pain in photos without getting to know the subjects or their stories. It’s an easy way to emotionally tug viewers. But I couldn’t avoid taking this photo. I was walking around near my dorm room just absorbing the sites, smells, and sounds when I began to hear a wonderful wood instrument in the distance. It continued as I wove in and out through different alleyways and streets for a good hour.

Finally I took a turn and there they were: a blind musician and his wife slightly tugging at his shirt leading him in the right direction. I listened to the instrument (the traditional Sheng) for a while, gave some change, and snapped a photo. I went on my way and continued to hear the music until sunset.

The image is not anything special, I just really like the story behind it.

Today was the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. I went to Martyr Park in downtown Changsha and enjoyed the festivities with a good friend.

I felt myself getting into a rut, so I gave myself a little mini personal assignment to get my creative juices flowing. Big city China is crazy busy/crowded so I wanted to explore a very simple theme without people that still had human elements to it. I told myself that I would publish five photos on my blog no matter what, so I had to insure they would be decent quality.

I had this excerpt from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass in mind when I went out for my two hour walk.

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars,
And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren,
And the tree-toad is a chef-d’oeuvre for the highest,
And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven,
And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery,
And the cow crunching with depress’d head surpasses any statue,
And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels,
And I could come every afternoon of my life to look at the farmer’s girl boiling her iron tea-kettle and baking shortcake.

It was an interesting experiment in self motivation and I might continue to give myself these sorts of things until I get a project going. What do ya think?