Adams seems to me like a pretty confident guy but he was definitely not feeling that way as he walked the streets of New York to the gallery of Alfred Stieglitz. He was intimidated by the city - which must have seemed like everything that Yosemite was not. (Remember how the Futurists of the early 20th century - like Gino Severini - were creating art glorifying industrialization? I was thinking that a picture of New York City would be a futurists counterpart to Adams photos of Yosemite.)
He reached a turning point in his professional life when he decided not to go back to Steiglitz' office but his wife presuaded him to do it.
Can you list some of the turning points - moments that changed the course of Adams life - that we have read about so far?
The thing about turning points is that we are usually not aware that we have reached one at the moment we make the choice. Can you think of an example of something you did in your life that significantly changed your future - but you did not anticipate that at the time?
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Chapter 8 - anti-Yosemite
Posted by Mr. Z at 9:57 AM
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2 Comments:
I would definately say learning about homestar runner. Without it, I would not have done the following things:
...Created my characters and their email series.
...Thought of writing a book.
...Really gotten into flash.
...Learned to draw in powerpoint.
...Have such a big imagination.
And all this from a website that wasn't even suggested to me. Blarg.
Ben and I were discussing turning points in Adams life this morning. We talked about whether the earthquake could be considered a turning point because there was no alternative path.
The following are some turning points that we saw:
- Parents choosing to live by the ocean
- Earthquake
- Getting pulled from regular school by his father.
- World’s Fair
- Getting the measles
- Convincing his parents to vacation in Yosemite
- Getting his first camera
- Looking for a piano to practice on while in Yosemite
- Meeting Paul Strand because there was no room in the place he would normally have stayed at in New Mexico.
- Virginia convincing him to go back and see Stieglitz
How would his life had been different if any of these events had NOT occurred? Would things have turned out very different or would he have just experienced a detour that ended up in the same place. For example, had he not convinced his parents to take him to Yosemite, would this have delayed his interest in photography?
When you think about all of the twists and turns your life takes, you realized how small the probability is of getting where you are and the simple events that made it possible.
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