Friday, February 25, 2011

FREE YOUR MIND AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW and OSCAR MEYER'S WEINER.. THE WEEKEND MUST BE HERE!!



I'm not sure why but I have had song lyrics racing though my mind this whole week. It might have something to do with Idol auditions.  (By the way love, the guy with tourets) But I digress. From the moment I wake up till the time I try and sleep, songs are seeping in. Some are my favorites like Sinatra, Sammy and Dean. Others are songs I have not heard for years. You ever have that happen? You're trying to go to sleep and a song from the Dixie Cups or Sid Vicious just pops in there. (I made up the Sid part. I would not know a Sid song if my life depended on it). It's even worse when it's some commercial you heard earlier that day. It is just disturbing to be in bed with your wife and have the lyrics, "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener,  everyone would be in love with me" running through your head. Have you noticed that as bad as it is to have it in your head, sometimes you can't stop yourself from singing out loud?? You do not even realize it and you hear it and you think, "Hey, that sounds like me, it is me. Hey, I don't sound too bad." Then you see the person next to you suddenly giving you more space,


Ok, enough song lyrics. (I am now going to have that damn song in my head all day).
Well, then I went to Disney and started shooting (that photographer talk for taking photographs). Go ahead use it today. Watch how people will assume you're a photographer. Of course, you run the risk they may call the police instead. The words,  "Yup, I just shot that dude" tends to catch people's attention. 


But, I digress once again. As I was walking through Disney's Wild Kingdom shooting,  the En Vogue song, Free your Mind and The Rest Will Follow', popped into my head.

FREE YOUR MIND AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW
BE COLOR BLIND, DON'T BE SO SHALLOW…

FREE YOUR MIND AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW
BE COLOR BLIND DON'T BE SO SHALLOW....FREE YOUR MIND!




Actually, it's one of the all time great choruses. I'm not trying to trivialize the lyrics here. On the contrary, they were/are some of my favorites and made an impression on me when I heard them. Wouldn't it be great if we all followed their preaching? If we realized how shallow it is to look at color and make a determination? If someone told you they spent hundreds of thousands of dollar on a new house and you asked why they bought that house and they answered it was because of the color, what would you think of them??? Pretty shallow person? But some people make those type judgements on people based on the same criteria. But yet once more, I digress. Off the soapbox and back to the photography.

So it gave me an idea, I knew that I was in a zoo so why not challenge myself to take some images that would not involve animals: to see if I could capture (more photographer talk) some images that were interesting.

So that is what these images are: my attempt at challenging myself. Did I accomplish what I was trying? I think so. What do you think? Oh and have a great weekend!!


Bamboo trees are all over the grounds in The Wild Kingdom!






The top of a building somewhere in Disney's Wild Kingdom. I was waiting for my family; Phyllis, Paul and Greg  to come out of the restrooms, so I know it was near a restroom. Which one? I do not know, they didn't miss many of them!!


I saw these scarves hanging on a tree limb and I liked the colors and play of the shadows. Why were they there? Hey, it's Disney. A 6 ft mouse just walked by and the scarf didn't seem so out of place.


More bamboo: the lines and color caught my attention. All images were shot with my Nikon 70-200 VR lens. You should have seen people stop and look at the trees, trying to see what I was shooting. See, photography is fun!!



18 comments:

sulekkha said...

We all should try challenging ourselves and test our limits, great post, Jim. The pictures are wonderful.

JIM said...

as always thank you..

Kriti said...

wow - how did this happen - more surprised with our minds than this awesome post. Its funny! You rock as always...

JIM said...

Thank you Kriti
Must be that great minds think alike , thing lol

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Absolutely love the scarves!! The colors and play of light and shadow are beautiful. I'm going to challenge myself with my photography - thanks for the post! Oh, yeah - hate it when a song gets stuck in my brain for days. Why is it never Eric Clapton's lyrics???

JIM said...

Thank You Mari, I agree but now cocaine is going to be playing all day up there.. damn :)

Sherry said...

I loved the bamboo and scarves! The scarves were great! I hate it when I bust out in song spontaneously in public. Embarrassing. I did it the other day as the sheriff of my small town and I happened to meet at the door to the post office and I belted out his name in song. Embarrassing.

JIM said...

Sherry I laughed all I could see was you singing " I shot the Sheriff" lol
Roy I started watching realized what it was and shut it off. Till Tomorrow morning it is 9:50PM here. I need sleep tonight. lol
Jim

chejom2010 said...

I should do the same ..free my mind and everything will follow..great post and photographs..lile it much..

Rimly said...

I love your photography Jim. We have so much bamboo where I come from. We relish our bamboo shoots in everything! As for a song getting stuck in your head I can totally relate to it. Loved it.

Angel Eyes said...

Welcome to Florida! I love the pics I added your link : ) Thanks for the follow! Look forward to more great shots!

JIM said...

Natalie Ford
Jim the photos are gorgeous im still so jealous of the sunshine u get!!!
Never thought about those lyrics but they are so true!!!!
now i have it in my head cheeeeerrrrsss Jim :) haha xxx

Unknown said...

Jim, Disney has bamboo? I guess I always so excited about the 6 ft mouse I never noticed the beauty of everything else. Thanks for Sharing oOoH and music, I love music and yes, once the lyrics are stuck it's nearly impossible to get them outta my head... I could get you stuck on " the song that never ends " from Lamb Chops, Shari Lewis.

Unknown said...

I don't know what was more beautiful ... the words which struck true or those amazing pictures. The bamboo is just so simple but so stunning and the scarves I don't even have words for. Would love to use that picture.

I'm forever in work with a weird song in my head - often quite an annoying one!

JIM said...

I know what you mean it is never a great song but some horrible commercial that wont get out of your head.
THANK YOU Angel Debz and Debbie I appreciated hearing your words and I agree the scarves are my favorite.. I think I might print it has a fine art piece

Healing Morning said...

Jim, I always love your sense of whimsy, both in your written words and your photography! I laughed out loud (seriously, which is why I didn't abbreviate w/ LOL) several times while reading this one.

I used to work with this brilliant scientist who had a habit of humming quietly when he was concentrating. One day I paid attention to the melody and then literally fell out laughing, as the tune was from the Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow's ditty of "If I only had a brain". The sheer humor of a man w/ a terrifyingly genius IQ humming that one just tickled my funny bone endlessly.

I can't get through the day without music of some kind, so there's always some random tune in the forefront of my mind. The commercial tunes do attack me occasionally, I admit. I roll with it, as much as possible.

Great post, great photos and wonderfully entertaining, as always! :)

~ Dawn

JIM said...

Dawn: What a nice comment or comments to wake up to. I really appreciate your very kind words. We who are into the different arts do it for many reasons. I believe one reason is that we want to share or give the beauty that we see, hear or taste with others. THe other reason is communication. We want to / need to communicate and we do that through whatever medium works best for us. For me it is photography if the words work then thats extra no charge lol. Again thank you

Anonymous said...

Free your minddddd! Still love that song lol. And I LOVE Disney. . .your post was the perfect combination of song, words, and photos :-)