The passage of the temple
New Journal Entry 1 – Entering into the unknown
What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
As the sand of time has slithered its way through to the bottom of the hour glass, it is time for Rachel and I to once again leave the shores of home and venture into lands unknown to us. We have no idea what we’re searching for other than the beauty that I wish to capture through my lens and the adventures that await us around every bend.
Do we do it for adventure’s sake? The answer alludes me.
Is it to develop our careers? We have no idea what careers we are destined for, if they even exist yet, that is.
We move from city to city, mountain to mountain, temple to church in awe of the vast beauty that surrounds us. Yet we do so in an entirely direction-less way. Of course we have a basic travel itinerary, but beyond the next 3 months the slate is clean – our future is unknown. There is a certain amount of pleasure to be had from such liberty and also an equal amount of worry.
I’ve never believed in the ‘shoulds’ that so many people, including well-meaning loved ones, try to impose on our lives. We should get a mortgage, we should have a career, we should have children, we should have a pension – so many rules that are simply made up, yet which so many take as gospel. No one has lived tomorrow. We are all experiencing it for the first time so why should we be so limiting in the potential that tomorrow brings?
Neither my bones nor my soul is ready to give up whatever it is we’re looking for. And while we’re enjoying the journey the desire to keep moving only grows.
If, however, there comes a day when we feel that a settled life can offer us the inspiration and adventure we need, then we may hang up our backpacks to some degree. Until then, the dusty trail and all that it brings is our home.
The Cool Bits – Technical Info
Processing Time: 1 hour
Processing method: Photoshop with Luminance Masks
No. of Exposures: 3
EV Range: -2 0 +2
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 10mm
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm
Camera: Canon 500d
Plugins: Nik Color Efex for Contrast adjustments, detail enhancement and shift in lighting.
Luminance Masks: Used in exposure blending and contrast adjustments
Photomatix settings: N/A
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Today’s Photo – Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta
In terms of finding inspiration, very few places have moved me as much as the incredible ancient Hindu complex of Prambanan in Yogyakarta.
Reminder – Download Luminance Mask Actions
You can download my 18 point luminance mask actions for Photoshop completely free – [wpdm_file id=1]
Available Tutorials:
Before the Joys of Post-Processing
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 at 3:07 pm
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Love your shots and writing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and skills.