Musings on Motives

My day job takes me around the world. Depending on the work load I might be travelling for up to 250 days in a year - unfortunately, usually without a camera. I am a consultant engineer; the job is intensive and leaves little time for photography. Like many people I need time to be creative, I don't like to take pictures in a hurry.

Time is not the only issue, photographers are simply not welcome in some locations. For example, while working in the desert in Southern Iraq I was told photos are not allowed at road check points or of official buildings. Why? Security forces worry it might be part of a terrorist plot. Photos were also prohibited inside the camp (where I spent most of my time) in case they found their way onto the internet, thereby (at least in theory) allowing terrorists to use them to create a map of the layout. As for the desert, well there you can take pictures... BUT, after years of conflict including the two Gulf wars, the region is so heavily mined you do NOT want to wander beyond designated areas.

So why do I take (make!) photos? I guess it's a kind of antidote to my lifestyle, a way of slowing down. As a species, humans have apparently always had a need to express themselves through their art, whether it be the proverbial caveman with his bison painting, or a 1960's hipster with a flair for marketing a tin of Campbell's soup. Everyone, it seems, needs an outlet to express their emotions. Why should I be any different?

Tango et al.

When not taking photos (or doing the day job that funds the gear), I dance Argentine Tango. If you have never tried it I guarantee it's like nothing else you will experience. Forget the show stuff you might see on television/internet, etc., tango is not about acrobatics or slick, sensual moves and cool-looking poses. Well, maybe a bit 😉

Every step is - or should be - totally improvised. This means the follower (usually, though not necessarily, a lady) has no idea what comes next. She has to learn to switch off, to wait for and then to react to the signal, a small impulse that originates in a region around the leader's pelvis and is expressed via his chest. Energy is transferred: when the follower starts to move the roles are effectively reversed - the leader becomes the follower - until the step is completed.

At it's best, tango is an act of communication, a physical dialogue between two people moving and blending together as one in a harmony inspired by the music. Similar to photography, tango is all about the moment:

"The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence. This is essential to learn in tango dance, the real dance, that of the silence, of following the melody." - Carlos Gavito

Musicians have expressed similar thoughts, of looking for - and sometimes finding - this silence:

"Great music as much about the space in between the notes as it is about the notes themselves" - Sting

It is this silence that I seek; it is the source of my inspiration.

...As for my other passion, I guess the snapshot of me sitting on my "Bonnie" says it best 😊