狂躁 (Mania)

Let’s be honest: photography is a quite cerebral activity. Sure, we all “follow our intuition”… still. Let’s just say it’s probably really hard to go crazy when you have probably several thousand euros/dollars of equipment in your hand. (Also: Odds are others are paying you to stay professional!) And then there is the whole part of sitting at your desk, scrolling through hundreds of images, playing around with exposure and light, messing with weird social media networks. I’m not even sure drugs can bring you to a place where that resembles anything like “enthusiasm” or even “mania.”

Which leaves the other side of the lens for these kinds of psychological states. Yet here too there is something about losing control that makes it slightly less likely for cameras to be around.

Anyway. I feel too cerebral and boxed in right now and want to really lean into juicy vibes, so the next days will be dedicated to joy, excitement, joie de vivre, Lebensfreude, mania, contentment, …all the interesting and often good stuff!

(I featured the “haunted elephant” some days ago, it was a public art piece in Taipei’s Xinyi district. I’m not sure whether he’s (she’s?) really enjoying himself, but isn’t this what mania is about? Surfing the waves and crashing onto the shore? Cinematic editing.)