energy independance colonial style

[mysteryscribe]

 

[Alex_B]

I actually would like to go back to such a lifestyle from time to time ...

 

[mysteryscribe]

not me I was out there for about two hours and trust me it was cold. I can not imagine how anyone could keep warm in a drafty cabin heated only by a fireplace. I expect you really had to LIKE the person you shared it with.

 

[Alex_B]

i know how the cold feels ... some chopped wood might help.. the chopping keeps you warmer that taking photos! and then, later , it burns and gives you warmth

 

[mysteryscribe]

yes and I would hardly feel the cold over the pain from the huge gash in my leg. I imagine hell is warm this time of year.

 

[hawkeye]

Living that type of life would be so rewarding. People just cant possibly fathom the inner peace one gets from living off the land.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Here are two of the many things I have learned over my 62 years.

1. My dad said this to my brother, who was a big shot executive, after my brother commented on how good it felt to help build a house with my dad. He said, "Son. a man is never happier than when he works with his hands."

2. The second is from my years as a struggling photographer.. It is more fun to look back on the years when I struggled than the years when I had all I wanted. (I can remember being so poor that the hippie girl friend and I ate tossed salad from a cooking pot because we couldn't afford bowls. That memory always made me smile no matter what my position in life was at the time.

And advice I would give those who seek the modern equivalent of living off the land in an urban enviornment. Never but anything that wont fit in your car, unless it cost less than ten dollars. Because people don't own things: things own people.

and of course if you are poor it is good to remember this piece of advice my father gave me when I left home.... "Never kiss a girl with a fever."

 

[rob91]

That pic is very funny to me, and it's not just the title. Partly the grain of the shot, partly the awkward pose of the guy, and part the piece of wood flying up.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Not much of a woodsman who doesn't have a chopping block that is the worst of it.

 

[Patrice]

A very nice photograph, as always from Mysterysribe.

I grew up like that, uninsulated house, a bit far from town, no indoor plumbing, wood heat, coal oil lanterns, ... etc. Must be old age creeping in here, but I really enjoy central heating, dimmer switches and a flushing toilet in a heated bathroom. I'm getting soft.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Aren't we all getting soft. Grew up like that too and I loved struggling when I was young but now I think I like my comfort but then I'm far to old to be free.

I love the freedom of my chains now.

 

[mysteryscribe]

At the risk of being accused of pomposity, let me say this. This is when forums and photography are at their best for me. Creating feelings not just images.

 

[Patrice]

I agree with you Mysteryscribe. Photography is about evoking feelings through images.

 

[mysteryscribe]

To that end my son in law and i have a big disagreement going on now. He is convinced that great photography is about how you use light. I on the other hand think great photography is about how you see the world around you.

Technique is just to help you show what you see in the best light consistently. If you don't have the vision then all the technique in the world will just give you better snapshots. Technique is best for professional photographers to consistently produce acceptable pictures. Pictures of events that are boring beyond belief on the whole.

The inspired novice can make a very memorable shot with a heck of a lot technically wrong with it. I was very fortunate to have been trained by a painter who knew photography.

Many people buy a camera and learn technique as they go along. Fstops and shutter speeds ect, but they never get the philosophy of creation. Never even know there is a different way to see things.

Dear god I can't believe how pompous that sounds. Now you see why I don't come around often too full of myself.