Sitting alongside my dad I asked him a question that’s faced humanity for all of existence: What is the meaning of life? Being the inquisitive person he is, he jumped right into questions. “What are the most important things,why are we here?” I explained to him that there are infinite perspectives that one can take when attempting to answer the question and that whatever route one chooses to follow will shed light on what is most important to them. I wanted to reassure him that it was a very deep and personal question with no right or wrong answer.
My dad is a fifty three year old Chicagoan, entrepreneur, and family man. Born in 1963 in Chicago, my dad was the youngest of three. He grew up in Winnetka and Evanston and attended Miami Of Ohio for college. He worked at the CBOE a short while before starting his own company called Thinkorswim. He worked very hard for over ten years, sold his company, and then took a few year break from work. During this time we bonded a lot and traveled to some wonderful locations. My dad is one of my favorite people in the world and someone I’ve looked up to forever. When thinking of the meaning of life myself, I felt obligated to ask my dad and hear what he had to say.
“We are all here for a reason. I think we all have turns at being here and once our turn is over we are leaving it to the next group of people. I think the meaning of life is making the most of the time you have here on earth because it is finite and at the same time I think we have a responsibility to leave future generations in a better place than where we started.” His response provided me with insight into his risk taking and open mindedness. His understanding that we are here for a period of time and then gone forever fuels his desire to not let opportunities pass by. The idea of having a reason and a finite time to fulfill it is something he has embraced. I thought it was interesting how he believes we have a duty to leave earth in a better place then where we started because he is someone who is always conscientious of his actions and their aftermath.
I proceeded to asking him if the meaning of life has always remained the same for him or if it’s ever changed. “My meaning in life became greatly different after becoming a parent in the sense that my main concern became my three children. My meaning for my existence changed dramatically once I married mom and significantly more so once we had children.” My dad is the most selfless person I know and hearing this from him just confirmed that he consciously strives to always be there for us. He puts us before himself because his heart is filled with awareness and kindness.
I was curious about the major changes that had occurred in his life, and when I asked if there were other points where his meaning had changed, he said “My meaning of life hasn’t changed but my appreciation for life changed dramatically two and a half years ago when I got pneumonia not once, not twice, but three times. As far as I know it was the closest I’d ever come to death and it was scary but I really appreciate all the support that I had from the family.” Seeing my dad so sick produced tremendous anxiety for me and caused a variety of issues in the family dynamic. I remember thinking to myself for a few brief and dark moments that he might not make it. I wanted to know if his illness raised awareness to the fact that his time is finite. “It made me look at my life and the family differently. I was 50 years old and it made me start to look at time differently.”
Time is an important theme for my father. He believes we are all here for a certain reason and a short time. He thinks it's your duty to be the best you during your time here. He has always done the best and regardless of that he still suffered from a terrible illness. It was the unfortunate reality of his illness that woke up him and made him fully realize his time is here and now and once it’s gone it's gone forever. His wisdom has enlightened me and helped me to become aware of the now and my duty to be me.
The portrait I photographed is a close up of my dad. I shot the portrait outdoors using a Nikon D90 and 60mm lens. The photo had no planning or coordinating. I allowed my subject to act freely and I shot away. I ended up spending a few minutes with my dad just casually chatting and shooting. The cropping of his head and hand are intentional artistic decisions. I was using a lens that had no zoom so I stood very close to his face in order to capture the portrait. The closeness of the photo is symbolic of the closeness of his answer and story. He was getting close to the core his internal world and I wanted to mimic that by getting up close to his thinking face. The aperture I shot the picture in is 5.6 with a shutter of 1/250 second and a 450 ISO. With a few minor Lightroom adjustments, I altered the brightness and contrast in order to produce a slight blue hue. I think the blue along with his mysterious look tells a very deep and meaningful story. Objectively, I think the image is powerful due to it breaking the rule of thirds and utilizing interesting lighting and shadows. Subjectively, I love it because of the subject. My dad is a fun person to photograph and this is one of my all time favorite shots of him. Overall I am very happy with the image's ability to capture the subject and their story.
My dad is a fifty three year old Chicagoan, entrepreneur, and family man. Born in 1963 in Chicago, my dad was the youngest of three. He grew up in Winnetka and Evanston and attended Miami Of Ohio for college. He worked at the CBOE a short while before starting his own company called Thinkorswim. He worked very hard for over ten years, sold his company, and then took a few year break from work. During this time we bonded a lot and traveled to some wonderful locations. My dad is one of my favorite people in the world and someone I’ve looked up to forever. When thinking of the meaning of life myself, I felt obligated to ask my dad and hear what he had to say.
“We are all here for a reason. I think we all have turns at being here and once our turn is over we are leaving it to the next group of people. I think the meaning of life is making the most of the time you have here on earth because it is finite and at the same time I think we have a responsibility to leave future generations in a better place than where we started.” His response provided me with insight into his risk taking and open mindedness. His understanding that we are here for a period of time and then gone forever fuels his desire to not let opportunities pass by. The idea of having a reason and a finite time to fulfill it is something he has embraced. I thought it was interesting how he believes we have a duty to leave earth in a better place then where we started because he is someone who is always conscientious of his actions and their aftermath.
I proceeded to asking him if the meaning of life has always remained the same for him or if it’s ever changed. “My meaning in life became greatly different after becoming a parent in the sense that my main concern became my three children. My meaning for my existence changed dramatically once I married mom and significantly more so once we had children.” My dad is the most selfless person I know and hearing this from him just confirmed that he consciously strives to always be there for us. He puts us before himself because his heart is filled with awareness and kindness.
I was curious about the major changes that had occurred in his life, and when I asked if there were other points where his meaning had changed, he said “My meaning of life hasn’t changed but my appreciation for life changed dramatically two and a half years ago when I got pneumonia not once, not twice, but three times. As far as I know it was the closest I’d ever come to death and it was scary but I really appreciate all the support that I had from the family.” Seeing my dad so sick produced tremendous anxiety for me and caused a variety of issues in the family dynamic. I remember thinking to myself for a few brief and dark moments that he might not make it. I wanted to know if his illness raised awareness to the fact that his time is finite. “It made me look at my life and the family differently. I was 50 years old and it made me start to look at time differently.”
Time is an important theme for my father. He believes we are all here for a certain reason and a short time. He thinks it's your duty to be the best you during your time here. He has always done the best and regardless of that he still suffered from a terrible illness. It was the unfortunate reality of his illness that woke up him and made him fully realize his time is here and now and once it’s gone it's gone forever. His wisdom has enlightened me and helped me to become aware of the now and my duty to be me.
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| MS, Scott Portrait, 2016 |
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