October Assignment: Elements of Passion
Inspiration
“And the priestess spoke again and said: Speak to us of Reason and Passion.
And he answered, saying:
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite.
Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.
But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?”
- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)
Do you love all your elements? Most of us don’t, yet we each have our favorites, those singular personality traits we embrace above all others and actively cultivate. Modern psychology explores this arena of personality through many means, but one of the most common is the Five Factor Model.
The five-factor model is comprised of five personality dimensions. Those five dimensions are represented with the acronym OCEAN: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The five dimensions are believed to be a complete description of personality.
Writers, however, subscribe to a different theory. They throw aside these generalized categories and go for the heart of the matter-the traits themselves. Are you ambitious? Loyal? Charismatic? Conceited? Impulsive?
No matter which theory you follow, the truth of it is that our personality traits, our passions and our appetites, paint a clearer picture of who we are than any self-portrait can ever achieve. Which leads us to this month’s photography assignment.
Elements of Passion
Choose your favorite personality trait, the one you love the most, and express it through a photograph. There is only one limitation to this assignment: you can not be in the final image. This isn’t about self-portraits through traditional means, but about identifying with and expressing ourselves through the world we exist in.
Not sure which trait to use? Try a visit to the Personal Factors lists over at Guru Software.
Previous Assignments
September Assignment: The Dream Deferred
What dream did you always imagine you would accomplish but you put it aside for other pursuits – for work and children and spouses and all of the other things of daily life that we *need* to do rather than want to do? Take a photo that represents your own dream deferred. It can be a photo of anything taken in any way you wish.
August Assignment: My Place In This World, due at the August 25th Meeting
The assignment: Taking a self portrait illustrating how you feel about yourself in the world around you. For most photographers, avoiding the other side of the lens seems to come naturally; that’s the exact reason why we’ll be doing it! Let’s conquer some fears, knock down some boundries and do it with art and a bit of humor.
You can print out your photo and mount it any size you prefer, though at least a 5×7 would be best for everyone to see it.