The silhouetted face

Sometimes light, catches just the very edges of the subject, showing but the superficial outline of it. It leaves our brain to extrapolate what is hidden in the contrasted darkness of the areas obscured from view. Some people want to be seen as a silhouette and fear that if we see the darkened areas for what they really are the truth will not be to the viewers liking, but in the dark the viewer is left with only the basic anatomical sense of what lays there. Like the proverbial ostrich with its head stuck in the sand our fear drives us to believe what we or they cannot see will not hurt us. Looking in the mirror may be one of the truly difficult things to do, in the stark light we need to actually look and say “I see myself”.

The face of revolution

 

We used to able to pick out the face of revolution, from the 60’s activist to the “Che “ beret wearing guerrilla. But now it is much more difficult, the “occupy” or counter culture revolutionist looks like you or me; all ages, all genders, there is no uniform anymore and no working occupation associated with expressing ones anger or revolt ion, at events or situations that have been so intolerable even grandma’s are willing to risk arrest. You can do it part-time, on –call, so finally everyone can participate! Has it become so common that it is regarded as fashionable to have a cause? Have we become so desensitized to the coverage of another mob protesting against another institution, that the message is lost? Sometimes I fear, what could be next for groups to garner attention, to jump onto the front pages. I miss the romantic vision of the urban guerrilla, who is so easily identifiable and makes a great T-shirt logo.

 

The strangers face

The strangers face

 

How we quickly judge intent and danger in the face of strangers, but it’s not just the fact that the face is strange it also has to do with the setting we find ourselves in. To some extent I think media and mainstream movies have us formulating personality based on first glances, the cowboy dressed in black, the mug-shot disheveledness  of the perpetrator. So that’s our modern man made so called instinct. But if we change the way we see something , what we see changes, commercials do this all the time changing the music , setting, the whole feel of the encounter to disarm our natural feeling to mistrust, to judge. Allowing them to, interject a suggestion or action. So the question I pose is … if I change the music, setting and context in my mind will I be so quick to judge when the strangers present themselves to me?

 

The cute face

 

 

The cute face

For some reason we all have a strange need to make people laugh, so we crack a funny grin or make an odd face. It’s inherent in us and we don’t even know it, in our childlike ignorance our instinct tells us to test the other person to see if they are a threat. When we don’t receive the required smile or laugh all our shields go up… you know the line” I disarmed them with a smile”. The returned smile lets us know we are among allies, in some cultures the display of anger is so feared as to have the majority so worried it would rather cut the cancerous person away than to live with their unpredictable anger. So unless you want to be ostracised you need to laugh and smile in the most extreme moments , in our north American culture that would be perceived as extremely odd, therefore dangerous. So not all cute smiles are harmless and not all harmless smiles are cute…..

The stoic face

The stoic face

 

Some people have the uncanny ability to accept all that happens to them as if it was divine will or the natural course of things, while other leave no doubt as to the base feelings they are experiencing. Is the universe unfolding as it was meant too ? Or is it self control ! Are these people the seething  volcanoes waiting to erupt ? On closer observation I see a distancing in their eyes, an ability to go to a place in their mind where they have control of the situation like in a dream. I think it allows the mind to deal with crisis in a safe experimental state, evaluating all scenarios and exits and sometimes coming to the conclusion … that’s the way it is and it’s out of my control. Somehow it seems like I’m describing escapism , the neutral  stare and placid look of discouraging acceptance.

I think what we really see is courage…

The peaceful face

The peaceful face

 

There is something about looking into the face of a sleeping child that tells us all is right in the world no matter how cynical we are once we turn away. We see the most vulnerable  individual with the ability to sleep calmly in the hectic busy atmosphere we know too well can be cruel and dangerous. But this child has no knowledge or context to go by, truly ignorance must be bliss. So we gaze upon them and their bliss becomes our understanding, that no matter our own fear and cynicism we have the ability to feel bliss by turning the negativity of our surroundings “ off “ if just for a moment. I am not a meditator  but maybe I should learn , because maybe if I practice, that feeling will stay with me longer or when I need it most…. Perhaps that’s the gift and lesson our infants are giving us.

The proud face

This face shows glimpses of honour, self respect and dignity. It’s hard to fake this look and it comes from somewhere deep inside of us and it is connect to happiness; happiness in ourselves, pride in our accomplishments, not material accomplishments but personal and inner self respect. I have seen in children and in seniors, I’ve seen it appear and fade, the easy look in their eyes and the knowing smile on their lips let’s us know they have a secret that they don’t need to share. You don’t need to go far to see it, but the hardest place to see it is in the mirror.

The industrious face

The industrious face

in·dus·tri·ous    Spelled[in-duhs-tree-uhs]
adjective

Working energetically and devotedly; hard-working; diligent: an industrious person

Of all the faces out there I think I notice the industrious face the most, there is something about the intense look of concentration on a task that speaks to me. There is energy in work, a feeling of accomplishment or sometimes a feeling of total loss when things don’t go well. So the energy can be negative or positive and the outcome hangs so tenuously on a razors edge, but somehow it’s not always shown in the face. Right up until that last second before success or failure our brain power is engaged in the action, with fear and joy waiting for their queue to jump in and take over.

The new face

From this place we only start to age, many will try to regain these attributes; soft skin, large bright eyes and small nose. There is something refreshing with seeing the new face, it’s unique and fresh, no one has ever looked just like this. But mostly it’s the wide eyed fascination with the entire world, everything even the most simple things must seem like magic or fantasy. What does the new face see, how does it perceive things. In this new face there is almost a Mona Lisa type smile .. the only two emotional things we are born with laughing and crying, it takes time for the rest of the world to teach us fear, anger and all the other complicated emotions imposed on us. In this high key lighting the subject seems to emerge from pure light, born into this contrasting place of good and bad. Just looking at this image makes me feel different inside, it makes me more optimistic, more trusting and more relaxed. Maybe it’s the innocence, the friendliness or the clean slate we all start with. What do you see? what do you feel?

The first face

Faces in the crowd … most of us would rather melt into a crowd and not be noticed because we feel imperfect while others being bold and confident make sure they stand out for all to notice . Well this blog is intended to bring attention to those who would prefer to remain anonymous, but not to point them out but to recognize the beautiful differences surrounding us and them.

Only first names will be use if any at all, I want to read in the faces what is being captured, the context from which the photo was taken … there’s a word “captured” like some indigenous tribes believing we can capture their soul in a camera I think we capture something, but I am still trying to figure out what…so I hope people reading this blog can help me discover what it is we capture…

All this is inspired by http://www.99facesofoccupywallst.org/ by August Bradley

This is the first time I have ever physically (this blog) dealt with the things I have thought about. Either, the medium was not there nor did I have a safe non judgemental  place or person to share it with, It seems I am older, perhaps wiser ( not sure) but I do know I no longer want to be silent about them . Now I don’t want to scream them out either, my photos speak too me … speak about me  so it’s only fair that I start with a photo of me ! 

A dark, low key photo of me, trying to use shadow to merge with the background. Sharp strands of hair dirty glasses, un-trimmed beard and neutral look. What do others see? What shows?  what is hidden?

In the coming months I hope to share more faces and hope you share some too.

Sean