When flying off into combat in the cold, dark universe of New Eden, never - EVER - leave station without exotic dancers in your cargo hold.
Archive Page 4
GPS
14Sep08Look up. No, not where you are. Where I am. Right here, on this blog. That’s it, to the top. See it? Ah, yes, there we go.
G P S
Somewhere between the shower and my daily check-these-sites-before-I-can-accomplish-didley-squat routine, it dawned on me that I don’t actually write much about music here at my home on the Internet. I also decided that michaelbshane.com is most definitely a cranny (as opposed to a nook) in terms of its disposition here in this series of tubes. But, I digress…
My point is that I have changed the tagline of the blog (I just heard all three of my readers gasp) to more accurately reflect what I do here. When I first started this thing, I thought I’d write about music and my life in it, at least a little bit. But, I’ve realized that at 23 I’m not ready to share the details of music-making as it happens in my life for two reasons. First: it’s an intensely private thing for me, plain and simple. Second: I would not presume for a second that my thoughts on clarinet playing, Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, or Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time are worthy of public presentation (yes I know this blog is obscure and reader-less nonetheless, thank you.). I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of great stuff with music. Some people might even say that at 23 I’m successful (so far). But, I do not think that my life as a clarinetist is the best vehicle to communicate with you. And that’s what I’m really after. I’m an indigenous person of the Internet, and I’m just here to stake my humble claim.
My point is that I’m a child of the Nintendo Generation, and a dude of the Web 2.0 era (I do abide, in case you were wondering). I feel much more qualified to write sweet (and sour) nothings about geeky stuff than I do about music, which is a little ironic. So here’s us, on the raggedy edge. Now, can we move forward?
No Way Out
13Sep08Another image from my visit to the Mauthausen concentration camp, outside of Linz, Austria.
Hello, My Name is Michael
12Sep08Hello, my name is Michael. I play the clarinet. I make photographs. I am not trying to create some kind of oeuvre that will change your life, or build a magical consensus on our humble planet (this Pale Blue Dot). I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
I don’t have a style or a modus operandi. This is just how I see the world. I see the world through my lens. I see the world through Beethoven and Schubert. And then I click the shutter, or play the phrase, and share it with you, my way.
How do you see the world?
September 11, 2001
11Sep08I’m afraid I don’t have a better photo to commemorate 9/11. That’s because, firstly, I am not a great photographer, and secondly, because I have not sought to take that photo (yet). In fact, if you’re reading this at all it means I somehow managed to upload this photo before emotions and the resulting (desperate) lunge for Art and Truth subsided.
The best I could come up with for tonight is this photo I took from my brother’s roof on the Lower East Side a few months ago; the sun sets on a City of Heroes, the greatest city in the Universe - New York City.
Don’t ever forget, people.
I now Tweet
09Sep08That’s right, ladies and gents, I’ve joined Twitter. You can follow me at twitter.com/michaelbshane. I also added a Twitter widget to the sidebar (that way –>), the reliability of which has yet to be determined. So, if you follow me here, follow me there!
The Tracks at Mauthausen
06Sep08These train tracks, which now service commuters, are about 5 kilometers from the site of the Mauthausen concentration camp, outside of Linz, Austria.
They served a much more nefarious purpose 55 years ago. I recommend heading over to Flickr to view a larger version of this shot. More shots from my visit to the camp are on the way….
Woman on Bench in Lucerne
05Sep08I spent some time one morning shooting in the middle of a bustling street market that only stays open until about noon or so. Amidst the commotion of buyers and sellers doing their thing, I noticed this solitary woman sitting on a bench in front of a church on the landing slightly above me and across the market. I quickly framed the shot and snapped off few exposures. Here’s one I found interesting.
I can see in the Dark
04Sep08This photograph was taken deep underground inside of the Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden, a salt mine in Berchtesgaden, Germany (Bavaria), not far from Salzburg, Austria.
This is obviously my first post in awhile! I’m happy to finally have a chance to start going through my backlog of photos, which dates all the way back to this picture, taken in July (Oy!). Anyway, I hope to maintain a steady trickle of output in the coming weeks. Keep a lookout for photos from Colorado, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In case anyone wonders, this is a 5 exposure HDR. Out of an entire week visiting my parents in Colorado, I had only one day with the right light for this shot. Back in July, there were major forest fires burning in California, and I think they contributed to a week of hazy skies.
