Monday, July 28, 2008

Eclectic 2.0

Inspiration is a funny thing, it knows no boundaries.

It's been a weird year. Plenty of ups and downs just like any other, and truthfully, you can't really fight that, but all the same, it's been a strange one.

A friend of mine called me up the other day because he needed a favor. His dad had rented a large cement truck for the week, but suddenly had to leave town. The truck was due back at the rental agency the night before, but unfortunately they had arrived far too late; the agency was now closed. With his dad now out of town, the only way he'd be able to return the truck and get back home would be if someone would follow and give him a ride. I agreed.

Tired, groggy, half awake -- we trucked down the freeway, through traffic and all before finally arriving at our destination. He stepped into the small office, returned the keys, incurred the penalties of being a day late and with that being that, we made our way home. It was nearly noon by now and we were both suffering from tired eyes and alert minds. My friend wanted a new haircut. Without any real plans for the next few hours that prevented me from accompanying him, we decided just to stop into the nearest Great Clips on the way. We walked in. He moseyed over to the barber chair and I made a step toward the magazine rack.

I sat down and began to flip through an old issue of Popular Mechanics. It was filled with articles written about everything from home security to new light bulbs. To be quite honest, it was largely intolerable; boring to say the least. It was merely a distraction though and through it all I continued to flip through the pages. I sat there contemplating whether over the course of the last months I had lost myself while trying to find myself, or the other way around... and that's when I stumbled upon it.

There was an article about three burgeoning adults. Each had turned their passion for their hobbies into works that had more clout than I imagine they ever could have thought they would accomplish. One, a self-taught product photographer, the other a makeshift audio engineer. They were interesting stories to say the least, but it was when I came across the third subject that I was hooked.

Ross Ching was a young man nearly the same age as me. He had maintained an interest in the arts over the years and more recently had begun to gain acclaim for a video he had made. The video was essentially a series of sequenced photographs he had taken using a makeshift time lapse camera he had developed. The video was gaining fame as it had a sort of simple beauty to it. When asked why he chose to use a individual photographs as opposed to simple video, he responded articulately.

He had chosen to use photographs as the camera possessed the ability to gain the depth of field that he had envisioned and the crispness that is often lost in your typical home video camera. The move was a success. Using the camera he was able to more carefully craft the images he sought. The result was resoundingly positive. When asked what he planned to do next he began to speak of creating a sequel to the short. He had gained knowledge from his first experimentation and was now ready to move forward to something bigger and better. I was hooked.

My friend had finished with his haircut and went to pay the bill. We walked out. He, with a clean head and me with a quiet sense of intrigue; for the rest of the ride, we both sat in a near silence, broken only by the assorted oldies that played over the radio. We arrived at his home and parted ways. He went inside and I pulled away and drove toward my home.

I had felt a bit blue by now and made my way to the computer as soon as I got through the door. Google: Ross Ching, Eclectic 2.0. The video popped up and I reached for the play button. Instantly, I felt better.

It's funny, inspiration knows no boundaries. You can pour through books and you can find it through a friend, but often times, it'll just find you when you're not looking. Inspiration is a funny thing.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, I will have to stop by my Great Clips and see if I have lightning strike, too.

July 28, 2008 at 7:52 AM

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