“Makin’ your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got…”
Cheers (Theme song)
Messages coming from others—
You could… Distraction
You need to… Distraction
You’re so good at… Distraction
Why don’t you… Distraction
Let’s go to… Distraction
Save! Buy now… Distraction
If only you would… Distraction
If you want to make me happy… Distraction
You’d be better off… Distraction
You should go to… Distraction
More people would notice you if… Distraction
You never… Distraction
You don’t have what it takes. Distraction
Messages coming from within—
I could… (do anything) Distraction
If only… Distraction
I need to… Distraction
If I work harder… Distraction
How can I get him or her to…? Distraction
The easy way would be to… Distraction
He or she does or does not like me. Distraction
If I had… Distraction
I should go to… Distraction
I can get it done… Distraction
I can’t… Distraction
More. Better. Faster. Distraction
I could be cool. Distraction
What will they think? Distraction
Distraction from what? Purpose
Not knowing it, I am adrift.
Knowing it, I have both an engine and a rudder.
Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.
Dolly Parton
About This Image
Times Square
Theme: Purpose
File: DF 4099
I had a meeting in Manhattan and decided to stay an extra day to photograph. I walked around with a camera and happened to be in Times Square around four-thirty in the evening. Walking in from a side street, the sea of people, the traffic and the colorful building-sized signs made me laugh out loud. To get out of the way, I squeezed between a pole and a waste can and made several shots. Leaving, I stopped at a light and this is what I saw.
I selected this image because it diverges significantly from my usual preference, which is simplicity. In a section of my Visual Communication classes, I spoke about the strategies of “Image Simplicity vs. Image Complexity,” the former best applied when the objective is to express a feeling or convey a sensibility, the latter serving the purpose of conveying information. Take any image and count the visual elements. The fewer the elements, the simpler the image and the greater the emotional impact. The greater the number of elements within an image, the more information that can be derived from it. Sometimes, an image comes along that accomplishes both.