Bounderies of Shadow


Bounderies of Shadow
Originally uploaded by Darkstream.
I shouldn't being seeing this. I shouldn't be shambling about the nocturnal landscape. There needs to be something wrong with standing on a main street and taking photographs without worry of being hit.

Yet there I am.

Years ago I would waste the wee hours of the morning away playing import Japanese video games. "Hey," I reasoned. "I'm already up!" I would explore those virtual worlds all night and into the morning. But honestly, there was so much more I could have been doing—so many more creative things that could be brought to life with my time.

Then again, sometimes I'm just restless.

If I'm awake and wandering the streets, I like to think about stories I'm writing or wrestle with inner demons. I'll even talk out loud to myself. No one will hear me and I work out my problems best that way. I can thank ADHD for that. In the future I may walk around in shabby clothes in full daylight while working out my latest plot twists—pushing a shopping cart for full effect. No one will be the wiser.



Evening Bloom
Originally uploaded by Darkstream.
Lately, I've been trying to use my camera to create interest in the world around me. The photo above is not just a picture of a shed. It's a collection of light and shadow. It truly piqued my interest as I walked by. This photo is not just plastic flowers, but an exploration of color and space.

You can see my progress within the past year here ( Somnambulism) by contrasting the new photographs with the earlier nocturnal ones. Life with an internet enabled camera has brought me from simple lifestreaming to the more interesting photographs I take today. I'm very pleased with my progress even if it does come at the expense of sleep.

Comments

Unknown said…
Hey Douglas:

I very much enjoyed the contrast between your bright photograph of the flowers with all their colors to the darker contrast of the shed in the late hours of the night! I am rather new to reading your postings but I thought, since you are quite articulate, that I might ask your take on something? It’s a bit off-subject, but I thought perhaps it might interest you enough to get a good conversation going. There is a reason for the post and why I am contacting you specifically, haha there is a method to my off-topicness I promise!

I was wondering what your opinion on the new recovery movement hitting the mental healthcare field has been? Have you encountered a recovery-based treatment vs. a non-recovery-based treatment plan? I would very much like to hear what you feel the difference is, or if you haven’t had the chance to compare, perhaps just a comment as to what you feel about the movement in general. The reason I ask is your creative outlet seems to be similar to some of the recovery-based treatment methods out there, especially writing when combined with artwork, so it sparked my interest.

If you are not overly familiar with the movement, there are a few pretty informative articles about it at:
1)http://www.squidoo.com/whatismentalhealthrecovery
2)http://www.squidoo.com/measuringrecovery

If you wouldn’t mind, if you have the time to respond I would very much love to quote you in my blog about the recovery movement (http://mental-health-recovery.blogspot.com/). I will of course reference back to you in the posting but if you are not comfortable with being quoted then I’d love to just hear your take here! I would very much value your opinion considering I am trying to get inputs from all sides of the mental healthcare field (practitioners, consumers, advocates, family members, etc.).

I look forward to talking with you more in the future if this sparks your interest! Keep up the poetic posts, they are great to read!

All the best,
Lex Douvasa
http://www.outcomesmhcd.com
July 23, 2009 9:06 AM
Unknown said…
What wonderful photos! Well worth the odd excursions, I'd say.
August 24, 2009 2:44 AM
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