It’s been a confrontational day. Dumb stuff, like getting in to it with an old boomer at the grocery story who was throwing me quite a bit of shade over a question regarding the availability of one of my favorite sodas, to a more serious altercation in the park. I’ll get to all of that in a bit. For the time being, I have to start this post off by saying that despite these things, I did manage to have a productive day. I was able to send the @eos.detroit Proxy Prospectus files out the door just before I went to sleep last night. English, Chinese and Korean translations. I did make time to edit tonight as well.
Usually I do a post that centered around the shoot and photos I’m sharing. Lately, my days have been scattered in several directions, so they’re becoming more of a day to day freewrite/journal. That’s okay with me, actually. My time on Hive and the years of blogging I’ve done are meant more to chronicle my life and experiences on a blockchain. I want to reread these one day when I have the time, and remember it all as it happened. This photo isn’t part of a set, but one I was able to finish tonight. Heidi Heart. A beautiful Kiwi living in Australia. We shot this at the water’s edge in Melbourne. There is a whole set with Heidi coming, but for now, this is a preview.
Gardening is going well. We finally got the rain that was promised for the entire Memorial Day weekend. I want to soil to mix and hydrate so I can finally plant our vegetables that’ve been growing patiently under a full spectrum bulb since April. So much money and so much work. Four new raised beds were $500, and I’m in for another $650 with 30 bags of soil and compost. New wheelbarrow and fencing coming this week. My brother, @customnature said, “You know how many vegetables you could have bought with that much money?”, but of course, that’s not the point.
The drone situation and the aforementioned altercation. So, yeah. Another cop has murdered an unarmed, handcuffed black man in Minneapolis. I love my city but it’s shameful history and culture of police brutality is shameful and disgusting. My friend @boxcar and I met up in the park. He’s going through some stress of the state of the world, and as an ally to communities of color, like myself, this news was weighing heavy on both of us. I asked him if he wanted to fly the drone and he seemed genuinely excited. Right after this photo was shot, things got tense.
A homeless black man approached us, screaming that he was going to fuck us up and “…shoot that fucking thing out of the sky.”. Over the last 20 years, I’ve been a death match wrestler and worked 7 years in a psychiatric hospital outside of Philadelphia, so I’m pretty hardened when it comes to face to face ordeals. He called me a cop, maybe because I wear pins on my jacket. Not sure if he was dealing with some mental health issues, but that racial tension and stress of civil unrest was on full display. Really, my only thought was that if this turned in to a brawl and the cops were called, it’d turn in to a much more dangerous situation for him, given our cities track record. Fortunately, he walked back and we left.
This drone opens so many new possibilities for me as a photography. I’ve mentioned it here on Hive as a creative renaissance for me, but, at a price. As capable as it is as a tool, it is a magnet for confrontation. Today, it was a big angry dude in a park, and over the weekend, a pissed off Karen on a nature trail. I’m confident I’m not doing anything illegal, and I have to remind myself of that from time to time, but it’s a reality that I’ll have to accept if I’m flying/shooting anywhere near another human being. Those are my thoughts for the day. Thanks for reading.
Really sad situation in America. I mean, in my society, the police are blood thirsty monsters that kill unarmed black people all the time but because it is black on black crime, it doesn't make the news but still, it is sad that shit like this still happens anywhere in the world.
Police officers need mental evaluation: these guys deal with criminals most of their lives,it is only natural that they'll have ptsd and some form of agression towards people. They need to be shrinker regularly and helped to cope with the mental stress that comes from their job, and invariably reduce the chances of things like these happening.
PS: Heidi is beautiful. Can we get her on Hive?
That sucks, @belemo. I try to absorb news from a lot of sources beyond the mainstream Western news and I've seen and heard some heartbreaking stories from Nigeria. It's hard to believe that body cams are a relatively new addition to most police forces and ours in Minneapolis were only mandated to start wearing them after Philando Castile was murdered just a couple miles from my house.
There are more of Heidi coming very soon. She's been very patient and I owe her a big set. I'll try to get her on a Hive, lol. She would be a great addition to our community.
Most of those stories are astonishingly true and I've had close shave once over some trivial issue. In a different circumstance, I'd have been murdered by the police. I talked about it in this post
Glad you’re overall okay. When I saw the news about the protest march & associated skirmishes, I wondered if you were there.
Thanks for the concern, @bryan-imhoff. We're okay. When Philando Castile was murdered by the MPD, those riots and protests were right outside my house on 94W. So far, everything that is happening it closer to uptown and South Minneapolis. I don't want people getting hurt, but I also don't want to see more of our POC citizens being murdered. The people need to fight the power when this kind of abuse is habitual.
So terrible that nothing change. All the best to you guys and your city.
I think it added to your mental strenght to be able to work 7 years in that hospital and be fine and sane after it. People and drones... I think that it is a part of the job, here in Romania it is required to have a permit for flying a drone over somebody's property. The eyes from the sky rub people in the wrong way and sets them loose on paranoia land. From a creative point of view, a drone opens an entire universe of opportunities and I look forward seing more.
Oh, it definitely did, @creativemary. The death match wrestling, too. I did that for four years and I'm well aware of how much pain and how much of a beating I can withstand. That kind of knowledge helps in situations like this.
There are drone restrictions, of course, but they're way more relaxed that I would have imagined. You can't fly over crowds of people, or fly over 400 feet high. You have to be registered with the FFA, and have your personal information and registration number on the drone. It also has to be line of sight, but other than, you're pretty free to do what you want. Every time it leaves the ground, I always think I'm doing something illegal, lol. Thanks for the comment.
It is good to know your pain level. And your limits. Usually at the point when you feel you can't hold it any longer, it is the point of the birth of a new established limit.
You actually look hardcore and it's always a dicey situation shooting with the drone maybe, but well I'm glad the man didn't go about with his threats, because then it will have to turn into a violent situation. Sometimes people can be stressful.
Your drone shots have been beautiful do far, are there any restrictions on flying it?
Yeah. I was just telling @vermillionfox that maybe I should go back to my old denim vest. Maybe the all black and pins makes me look like a cop or skinhead or something. Thanks, @josediccus. The drone photos have been so much fun. It's opened a while new world of photography for me.
Hahaha well that would definitely give you a different look than the hardcore.
Well yeah you're right the drone shot can be exciting, it lets you explore really well and do new things and also experiment a lot, hope to see more of it.
Nice drone shot!
Thanks, @fort.
lol that's a funny one
I almost think the same way as I don't have that much time or patience for growing things. Hope your project turns out good... gonna be big consider how much soil you got :D
Homegrown, homemade and many other things processed at home are always best. We have a few basil and tomato plants here at a hostel I'm staying at during quarantine, it just feels good to be able to go out and pick some when I'm cooking
Yeah, @waybeyongpadthai. That was a real experience for me last year. I've been vegan for almost a year now and my taste buds have changed. I used to hate vegetables, but as they've adapted, I love them now. I think I'll appreciate the garden so much more. It's been a lot of money, though. I can't wait to start making Hive posts during harvest time.
Would love to see how it turns out! :D Enjoy the vegan life! I could never be one even though I love veggies ;3
Wait, $650 actually I could pay 4 months rent here in Chile with that amount - just wow haha
Things are so crazy lately. You would think that people would open their eyes and snap out of it, but we just keep repeating the same behaviors and mistakes that we did in the past. There has to be a turning point. I hope it happens soon. Nice shots and yeah, people can definitely be a little paranoid about drones. He definitely sounds like he was having some mental issues.
I have reviewed your profile. You are an extraordinarily gifted photographer. congratulations. it is a pleasure to follow you..
I have reviewed your profile. You are an extraordinarily gifted photographer. congratulations. it is a pleasure to follow you..