Friday, March 12, 2010

Week 1: Arrival/Departure


Arrival (left: Mary)

As I sit here on the 11th floor of my hostel and peer out at the city lights, reflecting on arrivals fits perfectly. In addition to having just arrived in Singapore, I have also arrived at the end of an accomplishment.

My time in Korea taught me that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to and work hard for. Through moments of inspiration, desperation, wonder, craze, and awe, I found a new part of myself. I am looking forward to five months from now when I will have arrived at the end of another accomplishment and perhaps found a little bit more.

So, here's to arriving and singing your heart out when you do.

Departure (right: Sarah)

On any other week (and at many points in my life) I have been able to look at departures in a positive and even exciting light - a new adventure, something out of character, or a break from the norm. But today, just a few days after my brother and best friend left Korea, I can't help but view departure as a void, a place where something or someone used to be, an empty vessel, an empty space...

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to photograph a long deserted film set... as I looked back through the pictures I felt a spark of emotion with this one - a sense of loneliness, or of something left behind.

So instead of a literal photograph, I'm going on feeling this week.



What do you think about when you hear the words arrival and departure? What do they mean to you? Please share your thoughts in our comments. We would love to hear what you all have to say.

11 comments:

benldt March 12, 2010 at 5:14 PM  

I've always thought about departure and arrival as describing the same events.

Each departure of one kind is an arrival of another.

Great Pics!

Blaze March 12, 2010 at 7:28 PM  

Beginnings. Endings. And how they are always connected.

Love the photos and the idea. xxx

Dogman March 12, 2010 at 7:58 PM  

What benldt said, LOL!
Mary, your picture is a perfect illustration of Ben's view of arrivals/departures. I like the shallow DOF which forces the eye straight to that joyous little face in the FG.
Sarah, your photo is indeed evocative and moody. I let my eyes linger in the scene and a story suggests itself; and yes, there is loneliness and loss in there. I like your use of DOF too, which subtley softens the FG (vase) and draws the eye into the picture.
Very nicely done, Ladies!

xo
xo

Anvilcloud March 13, 2010 at 3:36 AM  

Ah, you're open to comments now. Great idea for a blog.

Cuppa March 13, 2010 at 5:50 AM  

OK, that's better. Look forward to following along with your discoveries and thoughts.

Meaggie Mae March 13, 2010 at 9:34 AM  

And once again you two women have left me speechless. You are too remarkable for words and I envy the creativity, drive, and inspiration you both have and provide.

When I here the words arrival and departure I think of the airport immediately. And the airport to me signifies adventure, challenge, new chapters and phases in life, and grabbing life by the balls.

Great idea ladies...I'd still like to get the other project underway if you're still into it ;)

love you both
Mary, I miss you soo soo soo muchy

Mary March 13, 2010 at 3:46 PM  

You like 'Grabbing life by the balls' eh Meag? hehehe.

lamartin March 14, 2010 at 10:46 AM  

What welcome news that you both have created another window for me to follow your trails on your amazing life journeys...thank you both for giving of your time to the spectators.

For me, at this time in my life, arrivals and departures seem a little more finite. Arrivals = the joyous arrival of a new being...a birth. Departures at the other end of the spectrum as people who I thought would always be permanent fixtures remind me that life on earth does end in the bitter and sometimes shadowed by sweetness time of death. How short the journey really is.

Always best energy to both of you...Lori and her boys :)

turtlestack March 14, 2010 at 5:22 PM  

Arrivals
Look at the children. One is looking ahead, singing away. Another is looking behind. And the third is gazing off into space, neither here nor there. Do we ever arrive? I think life is a constant mix of all of the above. You just have to find the music in the ride.

Departure
I don't try to fill empty spaces any more. They have their own unique magic, like seeing colour in air and laughter in silence or like the photo shows, beauty in brokenness. .

Anonymous March 14, 2010 at 6:14 PM  

Great first post! Looking forward to the next(s).

Despite being as negative as I am, I see departures as positive a thing as arrivals. When you arrive somewhere, it means you've departed from somewhere else, and if that somewhere else is destructive (like a life of smoking, or... well you get the idea), then as the eponymous Arnie used to almost say, 'let's get outta there'.

Mary, you're gonna be seeing a lot of arrivals and departures in your travels. Hope they're all positive.

Charlene March 14, 2010 at 7:46 PM  

Mary/Sarah: what a great idea I look forward to checking in & viewing your creative genius.

Departure: Leaving behind a person or place you loved.
Arrival: looking forward to a visit of a treasured friend.

Love the contrasting art....happiness vs sorrow lite vs darkness

About the Project

As a way to stay connected through our travels and beyond, A Perspective Project was initiated by the desire to master our cameras, and to be creative and more observant of the world around us.


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