What Came First?

These days, I try to include at least one photo with every blog post.  For the most part, the blog content comes first, and the photo is chosen to enhance the content.  Every once in awhile, I see an image or photo and it inspires me to write a post around the photo.  The most recent example of that was on December 22^nd of last year:  We Still have Dreams.  It was inspired by a photo of John Travolta on the cover of Star magazine with the teaser, “Starting Over at 70: ‘I still have dreams.’”

This blog is inspired by a photo I recently took.

I have gotten into photography in the past decade.  When I take just a few photos, I use my phone like just about everyone else.  When I take lots of photos like dozens and even hundreds, I tend to use my Sony mirrorless camera.  Between shooting sessions, I take out the memory card, download the photos to my PC, erase the photos form the memory card, and take a random photo to ensure only the random photo is on the card and the camera is ready for the next shoot.  When I am at home, this is all done in my home office and the random photo is usually of something in the office e.g. a chair, a lamp, my keyboard, books, just about anything in that room.  Up until a few days ago that first random photo was always a trashed.  Not with the photo shown here.  This photo struck me in a most positive way.  I decided to keep it.  Beyond that, I liked it so much, I dedicated this bloggy bit on it. 

I used my big, all-purpose zoom lens, basically got a nice shot of pencil holder full of some of my favorite pens.  The foreground is crisp and clear.  The background is blurred.  The pencil holder is a gift from the Anhui University of Finance and Economics when I taught there in the Summer of 2016.  It is centered in the photo but askew like the famous leaning tower.  There is a corner of the banner of The Gavoor Coat of Arms created by the Washington, DC Gavoors.  There is glimpse of bracelet my granddaughter made me with the red, blue, and orange colors of the Armenian flag with the “DEDE”, what the grandkids call me, on it. 

As noted, the pencil holder is full of writing instruments:  13 pens and 1 pencil.  The pencil is a Sanford PhD mechanical pencil.  The Sanford Brand disappeared as it is fully integrated into Newell Brands.  It is now known as Paper Mate PhD.  There are two Caran D’Ache ballpoints, one an entry level and the other a fine writing ox blood lacquered beauty.  There are four Parkers, a chrome Jotter, a Duo-Fold ballpoint, a white and gold fountain pen, and black rollerball. There are two Cross ballpoints, one a chrome Classic Century with my Dad’s nickname on it and the other a lapiz lazuli Century II.  There is a black Mont Blanc roller ball, a Waterman Carene blue and gold fountain pen, and a black Rotring ballpoint.  The last two are standard refill (meaning Parker style refill) ball points.  One is chrome North Park logo pen and the other is souvenir from Washington DC with a bust of Thomas Jefferson on it.

 What came first, the content or the photo?  In this case the photo, most definitely.

The Thomas Jefferson