Monday
Mar222010
Composition
March 22, 2010 
I am neither a writer nor a photographer. I do write and I have been known to take more than my fair share of photographs but I am reluctant to stick a label on myself. Writing does not come easily to me and I admit to shooting on auto more often than not. I am all about composition and I suppose that composing is tantamount to either pastime.
Often a photograph will speak to me, like this photo of a doorknob. I look at it and my thoughts move. An unopened door can represent the past, closed behind that door. Often people lament and regret the past but they fail to realize that the importance of the past is merely that it is the price we pay for today. No matter what has brought you here, whether great tragedy or great joy, or, more likely, a mix of both, here you are.
Then this photo speaks to me again. Is it the door I am about to open? Yesterday may have been, but right now is only here once, a moment in time that is right now. You can choose to spend every single "right now" making your life what you want, or you can choose to spend it regretting things you can never ever change. Everything that has happened has carried you forward to this moment with a door that can be opened by only you.
I have been inspired to look at the doorknob as a means of accessing my future and as a means of closure.
However there are other times when I will write simply because my thoughts and ideas present themselves on my fingertips. They move out of my brain and kindly allow me to write them down and it is then that I will stage a photo. The composition must match my composition!! It may be a photo sitting on my hard drive waiting for its debut or I may have to haul out the camera and creatively put together props to achieve that compatible composition.
Thus, I am neither a writer nor a photographer. I search for both the inspiration and the knowledge to create in my own way and until I am sure that I have found that vision I am not comfortable with any label. I hope one day I will happily slap a sticky note on my forehead claiming my ability.
Reader Comments (16)
You have reminded me of something I read the other day, Margie, about knowing thyself. As so often is the case, sometimes others know us much better than we know ourselves, and perhaps now is one of those times...because you ARE a writer and you ARE a photographer. In Dutch I might add "punt uit!" (period!). I especially like "The composition must match my composition!!" Your play on words is delightful. And I so agree with what is in front of us NOW at any given point in time is all that we have. I am testament to the fact that we CAN choose the life we see. We CAN open the door in front of us. And when we do, we'll have everything we need to walk through it and get to the end of the tunnel where there is Light. Thanks for the wonderful reminder.
“The composition must match my composition!!” Could have been my words :-) What you write today is exactly what I feel about my photos and certainly about my words! Strangely enough I'm more comfortable writing in English than in Swedish on the internet. I have tried to start a Swedish blog but I have closed it before anyone have found it.....
Thank you Margie for your words today and for the beautiful image.
As for photographer and writer...I label you both:)
I try to live in the NOW all the time. Have you read this: http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269340422&sr=1-1 ? I like your composition of vision and verb and hey, who needs a label?!
I love your play on words..your almost double entendre (sp?). Labels are just labels and names. It's how we think of ourselves and compose our moments that make us who we are. Wonderful words to start the day...and I love the metaphor and image of the single door and its antique knob!!!
the sticky note says "Sister" when I read it, because that's who you are to me. Artistically I think you are photographer, writer, creator and more. And now you are a runner too. Mother daughter aunt partner, woman. Maybe it's not a noun you need on your sticky note, maybe it's an adjective: Wonderful.
Girl you are everything!
great post margela
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxo
I just read what Kath wrote in her comments and she made me get all teary!! The love of a sister must be a wonderful thing. I love your metaphor of the opening/closing door and every time I see an image of a doorknob, it's what I think about. I, too, see you as both a writer and a photographer - you do both quite well, but I understand how you feel about applying those labels to yourself. Excellent post, Margie. ♥♥
Margie! Great post! I know you didn't write it to get people to confirm that you are one thing or another or both..but what we ALL are is.. creative. (Please read the previous word in curly swirls and magnificent colors)
Writing, picture taking, poems, blogging, website owners etc.. we all express our feeling through these channels and thus we are all things at times and when not having a good day, nothing. I like your image of a closed door..kinda like a glass half-empty or full, because we look and ask: Does the door lead to the Past or our Future? Excellent Post.
Please click my link to see my past image of a doorknob. :)
what a striking photo -- grabbed my attention immediately. If only we could still buy those beautifully crafted glass doorknobs like this. Lovely processing that suits this image too!
such a lovely, lovely photo and post...i myself am just a work in progress and hope to become better at my art...labels be damned! LOL!
This was wonderful...although I must say that you are both writer and photographer...yet I understand what you mean about labels. And looking forward. I just had this conversation with my mother... she is always researching her family tree and she can't understand why I am not very into it...I told her it is because I prefer to look forward. I prefer to try and live in the moment, this moment, right now.
If you are writing, you are a writer, if you are taking photos you are a photographer, if you are painting pictures you are an artist. Maybe not a famous-the-world-will-remember-you-forever kind, but an artist just the same. Or in the words of Patti Digh, whose blog I love:"if you're alive, you're creative."
This post really speaks to me, Margie. Whether or not you are a writer, you have written something wonderful that has made me think. And your photo has illustrated it beautifully. Maybe the sticky note is sitting right there beside you, and you just have to decide when you are ready to wear it!
composition is my muse . thank you for putting words around it ...I feel lifted up reading this today
Margie you are a perceptive observer and explorer of the world around you. Engaging with others and living generously is in your DNA. You have always been a good storyteller. Blogging has given you an opportunity to refine your creative vision and find your voice. It is clear that the images and feelings that you share as you chronicle the magic and mystery, and the joys and the sadness of everyday life resonnate strongly with others. Art is about asking questions and searching for answers. Its about expression, inspiration, communication, feelings and emotions, honesty and truth. Have no doubt, you are growing as an artist; both the craft and the vision (the perspiration and the inspiration) And you are finding your own way.
And labels; labels are for soup cans.
xo
A.
A. made me cry
xoxo
hi margie, i would say you are undoubtedly both :) i think we all struggle with those moments of inspiration, they don't hit as often as we'd like. i know that when i'm inspired by something, it pours out. and then when i'm not...nada, zip, nothing. i have learned to just stop in those moments, and not even try to write or take my camera out of the bag. no point getting frustrated... i've started keeping a dictaphone with me all the time, a small voice-recorder in my bag. as i'm often driving a lot i find that suddenly things come to me and so i talk about them, play them back later. seems to be working for now :)