New frontiers

Valya -  010611

Do you remember that precise moment in your life when you realized, acknowledged and knew, "I am in love."?  What about the first time you flew to another country and got off the airplane... and all the signs were different? 

I remember the moment when my dog, Paloma, took her last breath and died.  At that moment of transition I felt so suddenly alone, sad, and raw.  My favorite place in Montana is driving east along Highway 200 between Missoula and Great Falls and getting to that magic moment where the Rocky Mountains suddenly end and the Great Plains hits you with its great expanse.

Rocky Mountain Front/Great Plains outside of Browning, MT - 010611

I am fleshing out an idea for a photo series.  It is still very abstract and nebulous to me.  The theme is "Borders, Boundaries, and Tipping Points".    As a psychology and education graduate, I've always been both perplexed and fascinated by that moment, location, feeling, event, etc., that signals the change or demarcation of what was and what is and will be.  We can see what came before and maybe even predict what comes after it, but what is special about that place, time, and experience that turns us around, points us in a into new direction, puts us in another country, or makes us realize we are in love or the love is gone.

Valya - 010611

Courtney - 010611

Even though these areas have always subconsciously interested me all my life, I never thought to formally explore them.  I stumbled upon this idea of trying to capture it after showing an artist/photographer friend these photos of Valya and Courtney.  He said, "Karl - these two photos are important.  They are threshold moments.  What is about to happen right now in each changes everything."


Where is that line in SF between the high-end Union Square area and its rough and dirty neighbor, the Tenderloin?  What is going through the mind of the beautiful woman at the moment where "yes" becomes the answer?  When is the point in time where an era ends and another one replaces it?  Where is that point when one more RPM destroys the engine?  At what point does that person in from of you become "one of us" or "one of them"? 

 Right now I am exploring the meaning for words like decision, boundary, border, etc., to find that gossamer of a moment where we pivot, retreat, or march ahead and all changes.  I need to figure out where these locations are in the world and in our minds.  The challenge will then be to figure out how to capture that moment. 

I encourage everyone to share moments of when everything changed, what made that instant powerful, and what did that exact moment mean to you.  You can share them in the comments section or send me an email at sidebphotography@gmail.com.