You, me, a GoPro and disappointment

Just before leaving for Maui, I bought a GoPro. It’s waterproof and its promise of professional delivery appealed to me.

I’m a pro-videographer, and this little thing is lacking a lot of pro qualities.

I’m going to sell the over-priced, piece of crap as soon as possible. But I wanted to post a video I threw together just before I left. I’m not standing behind the video as pro. It’s stock music and crappy editing. But I thought you might get a kick out of it.

More video to come from Maui as soon as I can get it edited.

Mental deception: male or female?

While I was in Maui, I shot this photo (below). In the distance, I could see there was a person. I thought it was a woman. The lens wasn’t long enough to see the person very well.

Here’s the wide shot:

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Smack in the middle there’s a fleshy colored object. That’s a person.

After getting home and zooming in, that person wasn’t a woman. Here’s a zoomed crop.

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When I shoot photography and review the shots later, I try to imagine myself on the other end of the shot looking back. When people are barely visible, I wonder about their lives, their immediate perspective, and that they probably don’t give two shits about me standing so far away from them.

Viewing the world in this way is an exercise in grasping reality. It’s an attempt to realize that the world isn’t just what’s right in front of you.

People, if they choose to think this way, realize that their immediate view isn’t the entire space of perspective. It opens the eyes to the idea that there are people out there watching you, and there maybe others watching them.

We are not alone. We are surrounded by perspectives and ideas. And when we limit the perspective to only a small radius of distance from your center, you show just how egocentric and silly you are.

Open yourself to what’s beyond the immediate view.

I’m bringing snorkel back

My back is peeling like a snake shedding its skin. It itches like crazy. It’s virtually all I have left of my Hawaiian experience. That and the coffee cup that I bought at Super K while in Maui.

Apparently the locals call getting burned while snorkeling “snorkel back.” Sounds appropriate right?

I’ve been thinking back on our trip, and we’re both trying to grip what memories we can and keep them in our brains. We packed our days with a lot of sightseeing. Our host Kim and her three kids were great sports and incredible hosts for accommodating two tourists on their island.

While they are there, Kim rented a beat-up Toyota 1992 Previa, an old van with lots of sex appeal. Kim doesn’t have to worry about getting it dirty or sandy from all their beach visits. The Previa doesn’t sport air conditioning, so we would jump in and everyone would say, “Turn on the air conditioning!” Which meant, roll down the front windows. The back of the van only had those windows that open sideways about an inch. They’re worthless.

Below is what I’m going to use as a journal for our time there. Read if you wish. It’s more for me, than you. But you are welcome to enter …

Hawaii is mine!

And you thought your summer solstice was a long day. Your day may have been the longest one of the year. But ours beats yours by a few hundred miles.

We woke up this morning at 4:15 and left the house at 4:50. We arrived in Maui at around 1:30 local or 5:30 Chicago time.

Our hosts met us at the airport, and we drove about 30 minutes to their neighborhood. We grabbed a bite to eat, and we suited up and hit the beach.

In case I haven’t said it yet, we’re staying with Tina’s friend Kim and her three kids. I’ve shot this family a couple times, and they are all beautiful people.

Tina and I are a little loopy, and we’re finally settling down to grab some sleep. We tried to keep ourselves up to make our jetlag a little more bearable.

It’s been a great day, and I’m almost kicking myself for not planning on staying for about three months. Hawaii might be the paradise. It quite possibly could be the place that believers modeled their stories of heaven after.

The above photo is Kim’s oldest silhouetted against a Maui backdrop.

Below are the other two kids having a blast in their element.

I hope that this post isn’t too incoherent. I’ve been known to blog when I’m way too tired to do so, and it’s not pretty.