Lost In a Sea of Metadata

Photo by Jim Alberty

Work with digital photography at any really great level and sooner rather than later you'll run into the concept of metadata.

Information about the pictures, carried by the picture. Things such as camera type, f-stop settings (aperture), date, time, geographic location - all of great use in knowing about the picture but not really part of the picture itself.

I tell my students - or clients - this knowledge is useful because it can lead you to operate your camera more effectively.

Metadata is also a useful tool in when applied personally. 

This blog, the music I write, my friends, loves and dislikes, all can tell me things about myself - they are part of me, perhaps not directly experienced, but they have a telling role in my life, whether I like it or not.

To paraphrase my latest crush, Montaigne, "The only thing I know for sure is that I know nothing - and sometimes I'm not even sure about that".

Such a statement tells so much about reality - or the lack or it - that my breath is stolen.

Photo by Annetta Weatherhead

Carl Jung promoted the concept of metanoia - "changing one's mind", to quote the Greek.

Emotional/psychological trauma can become so intense that the mind breaks down, melts into pieces, which then resolve themselves into new, effective structures that are capable of dealing with torment.

Rather the way I used to melt parts of crayons around a candle set in a bottle - what might have been a useless piece becomes fused and strengthened when melted in a wild bouquet of color.

I wish I had one of those candles now - not that I don't have candles but would like to see such colorful abandon and beauty again.

Driving a friend out to Brunswick to pick up a family dog.

Such a mundane way to spend an early evening, coupled with a pleasant dinner of pasta, al fresco. I arrived home tired - well fed, but tired.

Then, time to finish the logistic work for Summer Camp at the Orchard. The second day was today and everything went supremely well.

Photo by Annetta Weatherhead

This said I was too tired to go dance tonight. I might well have had another panic attack or just been my usual in-human self.  This is metadata about myself that I've just grown to accept.

So now I've taken some moments to sit and think, confirm the metadata that I've learned. There is much more heat, more thought, more metadata, that can be mined and processed into support for my soul - a good bargain.

Good night, sleep well.

Portland, Maine