Week 41: Shhhhh!!!!!!!!

So this week's picture took on quite a meaning of it's own, several in fact in the course of this week.  I took it on Monday when Ginger was at Zumba.  For me, it was a complicated shot because I had a flash behind me (for back lighting), a flash shooting in front of me, low, and up, and a reflector propped up between front flash and camera to get rid of eye shadows.  I wanted the harsh lighting of the front flash because I wanted sharp shadows.  After shooting several shots this is the shot I chose:

Shhhhhhh

I entitled it Shhhhh.  Originally, it was to be part of a composite picture with words across the picture.  Positive words, words that described me in a good way and about photography.  Here is that composite:

Shhhhhh Composite

The cool thing about this picture is, when it is blown up on my monitor you see the words pretty clearly.  The more you step away, the more the portrait comes into focus.  I played with this for quite a while this afternoon with Ginger gone to exercise and visiting a friend.  Then I decided to take the original picture and make it black and white through Silver Efex:

Black and White

Of course then, and some of you knew this was coming, decided to play around with the Dragan Effect again:

Dragan Effect

This time, though, I have been wanting to play with my eyes a little bit, make them glow a bit, so with some playing around I came up with:

Glowing Eyes

The meaning of the photo?  It has morphed.  It could say a lot of things, but I have settled on the fact that sometimes it is better to stay silent if you can't say anything positive.   From gossip, slander, deceit, and propoganda, sometimes not saying anything is the best solution.  The tongue is an unruly member, the Bible says.  Such a small member that can spark a forest fire.  You do not have to be a Christian, or even follow God, to know how quickly the tongue can spark a fire. 

Another meaning?  Sometimes those of us who suffer from mental illness or have loved one's who suffer are silent about our suffering.  Different reasons.  Sometimes you do not know who to trust.  Sometimes you have had bad experiences with talking about it, told you didn't have enough faith or had it used against you.  Sometimes your ashamed because you have an illness.  Sometimes you don't want to bother anyone.  Can I say that mental illness is not something we need to be silent about.  We need to have open discussions, like the Peace of Mind Conference we just had.  We need the Out of the Darkness walk on October 22nd.  We need groups (which our church has) for those that have mental illness and loved ones.  We need better treatment options.  And those of us who have been through the fire, who have survived and continue to survive with our illness or loved one's illness, we need to have a voice and not stay silent. 

Baa