On Photography and Understanding - Colin Pantell (Fri 20 Nov 2015)

An Angel's Wing over my Right Shoulder - South Cronulla (Mon 02 Nov 2015)

Colin Pantell on Photography and Understanding:

the act of photography [can be a] form of personal understanding of [our] own past

via Dear Japanese: A genuine struggle with the past by Colin Pantell.

I have felt a presence greater than myself, over my right ahoulder, twice in my life. Both times were since Jenny's passing. Will write about it and another moment one day. Have tried not to understand it beyond acknowledging that there is soemthing beyond me that I will probably never quite comprehend or understand. Just happy that I had someone looking over my shoulder when It counted. As the song goes Riding on the Wings of an Angel. Nice photo Rachel.

Self Portrait - South Cronulla (Mon 02 Nov 2015)

On Empathy - Seth Godin (Wed 12 Aug 2015)

Music - Circular Quay (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

Seth Godin on Empathy:

Empathy doesn't involve feeling sorry for someone. It is our honest answer to the question, "why did they do what they did?" [..]

Dismissing actions we don't admire merely because we don't care enough to have empathy is rarely going to help us make the change we seek. It doesn't help us understand, and it creates a gulf that drives us apart.

via Empathy by Seth Godin.

On Reflection - Saul Leiter (Wed 19 Aug 2009) / Adam Harrison Levy (Wed 27 Nov 2013)

Reflection - Uluru (*) / Central Australia (Fri 04 May 2001)
Saul Leiter (*) tries to Reflects (*) on a Life (*) well Lived (*):

I don’t understand how I did what I did.

via Saul Leiter: Remembered (*) by Adam Harrison Levy (*).

On Perceptions (7 years on) - Drew Ginn (Thu 03 Apr 2014)

Untitled - Amsterdam (Tue 20 Aug 2014)
Drew Ginn (*) writes On Perceptions (*):

Simply results (*) and perceptions (*) of performances (*) stick.. Good or bad ones last and seem to require more contrasting ones to change.

via twitter (*) by Drew Ginn (*).

I know exactly about this - one perceived bad performance (*), without understanding (*) the why (*), will never be recovered from. The good ones are never noticed (*) or acknowledged (*) or are dismissed as luck (*) or a fluke (*).

Just some of my experiences over the years. But, that is what makes it character building and one the reasons I keep doing what I do. Failure (*) drives success (*), if you are tenacious (*) and can forgive (*). The journey continues no matter what ...

On Understanding Photography - Anders Birger / disphotic (Mon 16 Feb 2014)

Untitled - Madrid (Sat 10 Aug 2013)
Anders Birger (*) writes photography (*):

If we want to change (*) something we need to understand (*) it better, and we don’t understand things better by looking at the same photographs again and again.

I find people who work with photography as a way to explore (*) something for themselves really interesting, it’s like if I can understand something I can make other people understand it and that seems much more important.

via Interview: Anders Birger (*) by disphotic (*).

Why Why? - Chantel Tattoli

Untilted - Barcelona / Spain (Tue 06 Aug 2013)
Expanding on an earlier post (*), Chantel Tattoli (*) writes on the importantance of understanding (*) Why:

Why? Why would someone do that?

Why is the slippery question cultural anthropologists are always trying to get at.

As a rule of thumb, if we do not get why, we probably don’t understand (*) the perspective (*).

The thing to do is try to see yourself in the other peoples’ shoes, because from the perspective of the Other’s shoes, their behavior should make more sense.

This is the golden rule. Even when it’s hard.

I paraphrase the late anthropologist Clifford Geertz To understand, isn’t to forgive (*).

via The Anthropology of the Little Mermaid (*) by Chantel Tattoli (*).

Thanks Chantel, some great thoughts in your words.

If you look, really look, you will always find something you weren't expecting. Even if you can't figure why, you might just be a bit more understanding.
Untilted (Detail) - Barcelona / Spain (Tue 06 Aug 2013)

On Anthropology, Understanding and Forgiveness Clifford Geertz - Chantel Tattoli / intellectum

Chantel - Osterport Railway Station / Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)
Clifford Geertz (*) writes On Anthropology (*), Forgiveness (*) and Understanding (*):

To understand (*), isn’t to forgive (*).

via The Anthropology of the Little Mermaid (*) by Chantel Tattoli (*).

On Understanding Understanding - Streetshooter (Wed 4 Sep 2013)

An Understanding. Maybe? - Oxford St / Paddington (Sat 17 Aug 2013)
Streetshooter (*) writes On Understanding (*):

He had a look in his face that read as .. he understood what he didn’t understand.

via September 4th, 2013 (*) by Streetshooter (*).

On Experiences, Understanding and Behaviour (Marshalle McLuhan)

Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behavior.

Marshalle McLuhan (from Proverbs of St. McLuhan by The Technium)