DAVE BASS PHOTOGRAPHY
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PHILOSOPHY

THE MYSTERIES OF ATTRACTION
What is it about the symmetrical, arched petals of a rose that attracts us?
Clouds intersecting a sunset at dusk?
Why does the curve of a thigh or a cheekbone make our heart beat faster?

Shape, color, texture, tone...
we are engineered to be attracted to these things - a sort of 'geometry of attraction.'
We often take beauty for granted, but it is a deep, essential mystery of life.

Imagine for a moment a universe in which nothing was attractive -
where we felt no tug of the mind or heart or senses for anything we saw, heard, or felt...
The bottom line...?
We would not even be here.

The physical senses are what attract us to each other in the first place,
(ostensibly to discover more meaningful internal qualities that are not readily visible!)
Unfortunately, certain powers in society have elevated the physical senses above the internal / spiritual world,
(usually for the purpose of advertising - to sell us some useless crap we don't really need).
This has caused a tremendous distortion of values.

In other words, in Western society, it has increasingly become all about the look -
we are taught to judge one another based on our external presence, rather than seek for what is inside.
And that's a damn shame.

Nevertheless, beauty is a gift from God, to be enjoyed by all -
As the 'good book' says - 'He makes the sun to shine on good and bad men alike,' and,
'Solomon, in all his splendor, was never robed like one of these,' (referring to flowers).
In other words, the outside is just as much a creation of God as the inside.
We just have to find a balance.

My goal as a photographer is to capture beauty, as naturally as possible, and share it with others.
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Having a camera is like being a kid again -
being again keenly aware of light, color, form, texture.

Motion Picture film captures 30 images per second.
The human eye?
An unlimited number.
The mind?
A selective number we use for memory - a selective or heightened sense of reality.
A camera?
An even more selective sense of reality!
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Poets, artists, and mystics have been telling us the same thing for ages -
Be aware.
Be mindful.
Be awake.
Live an Open Life to the constant beauty and mystery around us.

Life is a gift and beauty is everywhere.
As Wayne Dyer quotes in the 'The Power of Intention';
'When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.'
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I got into photography because I felt something was missing in many of the photographs I saw - particularly portraits.
While many pictures may be technically correct,
I sometimes feel they leave out the essential spirit of their subjects!

Many professional portraits look 'dead' to me -
as if somehow the life energy of the subject is missing.
My own experience as a photographic subject were pretty bad -
Most of my photographers seemed so preoccupied with the technical aspects of shooting,
they never engaged me or even recognized me as a person!
I was forced into these stiff, lifeless poses where I felt my personality stifled.

I don't do this to my subjects.
I like to unveil the spirit in my models - what is behind the 'mask', as I like to call it - the face we put up for others.
I like my subjects to move naturally, and only stop them when I have to -
I want their life energy to come right through the photo, whatever mood they're in.
In this way, I see myself as more of a director than a photographer.

Anyway - enough philosophizing!
Enjoy the pics!
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