35/365: In Tech We Trust, or "Keep Me Plugged in, Please"

This one comes from a day of interesting discussion and intriguing video on how technology is embedding itself into our daily lives. Hit the jump for more ranting and raving...

Earlier today I posted a question to my Facebook friends and Twitter folks:

"As the speed of tech advancement and information-dispersion increases exponentially, do you find that your learning also increases, or does the brain struggle to keep up?"

I asked this question because it had occurred to me, almost simultaneously, that I was learning more than ever before in my life, and I was more stressed than ever about all that there was to learn. And it's not just that the info is piling up in a cumulative way, but the information is actually changing, in the real sense that something I learned 2 years ago may not only be irrelevant, but totally wrong.

I know that information, like language and even what some call TRUTH is actually a shape-shifting beast, and as we learn more about ourselves and our universe, both grand and miniscule, new knowledge both adds to, and trumps the old. Think of how long we assumed the Earth was the center of the solar system, and how long it may have taken to change that general consensus. Today is no different, but the PACE  of the information is much, much faster.

Take cameras. How long could a 1975 photog get by with the top-of-the-line 35mm film SLR, bought in 1975? Well, if he kept it clean and invested in good lenses periodically, he could easily still be using it now, as his ONLY camera, were it not for the revolution in digital cameras. Not to say the film camera was better, it's just that the film itself was the hub of the technological improvements. But nowadays...Well, I've been shooting  video and photos professionally for about 10-11 years, and I've upgraded the digital SLR I shoot with 4 times now. And video cameras...well gollygee willikers. Cirque Productions has owned SEVEN separate models of video camera, each an improvement over the previous, and not just in terms of the price bracket, but the technology incorporated. We've gone from shooting tapes for nine years to shooting on cards, and now even my still camera, the one I take THESE photos with, can shoot full HD footage! Computer processors can barely keep up with the size of files...these images you see on this blog are 21 megapixels! Wasn't I just shooting at 8 megapixels? Don't get me on storage either. Suffice it to say, I'm about to add  another 4 terabytes to my overall capacity for the second time this year.

Shit. Is. Ridiculous.

But that's just part of the question. As our discussion progressed on FB, we focused on the near-fusion of our lives with digital technology, and how fast THAT shift has occurred. Our ability (real or falsely perceived) to multi-task, to learn from multiple sources at once, the sheer volume of information to digest, and our constant need to be plugged in to the source...well, I'm projecting I guess. Not everyone is as hooked to their computer as I am, and I'm not as hooked as some. But I notice, more and more of my day, and days, are spent in front of my computers. My work demands it. This blog adds to it. Social media is FUN. I'm proud that we don't own a TV...but I have Hulu, and Netflix, and a honkin' big HD monitor...But I grow tired. Though I'm hooked to all this, I feel a tug for another way, and its right out my window as I sit here. I think tomorrow's pic will be inspired by that side of life...

Did you come here for a rant and rave, or a flippin' picture? If any of this is intriguing to you, I'd take some time and watch this video. Very interesting stuff.

Back to the photo.

Wanted to go for believable light with this one, so I aped the iPod light with a tight gridded speedlight camera right, and another gridded speedlight behind my head and in the room corner, aimed at my wife, to mimic the computer screen light. Bounced another light into the ceiling to up the ambient light. The final was a gridded rim light, the only one that doesn't have a practical source to mimic. I ended up dragging the shutter to get some of the room lights and the screens to brighten, and moving my hand made the sweet streak totally by accident. Everything was gelled, but I dropped the saturation in PS and played with some dodging and burning to get a more surreal effect, to suit the subject matter.

 The setup shot was a little hard to see the details in, so I've outlined them for you.

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to make me feel better by commenting or hitting me up on the social links at the foot of the page. I'm gonna be hooked in for a while yet...

-LLG