Shlee Vincent

Which doesn’t have a title yet. And it is indeed unfinished. However, I promised a glimpse, and here it is!

“Tessa, Are you all right?”

She latched onto her friend and pointed toward the corner of the classroom that she assumed that the ghost had run.

“Honestly,” she started. “I don’t believe in ghosts. But this one was right there!!”

She picked up her camera and showed him the photograph – perfectly framed and eye contact. His eyes were pleading, their blue color almost shining in his obvious paleness.

“Badass,” he whispered.

“Can we go?” she asked.

He frowned at her. “We could, but why would we want to?” He started walking around.

“Shit,” she muttered and clung to his left arm aiming the bright blue key chain flashlight. Beyond the classroom, there was a kitchen and two smaller rooms. They peered into each room and perused the damage. The photographers instinct took over and despite the possible danger, Tessa crept into the dusty kitchen and snapped a few shots. Her right sleeve was getting crusty with the blood from her intrusion cut and it was getting tough to move her arm.

“So what do you think that was?” Lucas asked. “Think it was a ghost?”

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So, I’ve been working on a story that involves a myth I’ve heard about photography and souls.

The myth states that a photograph takes a part of a person’s soul.

I’ve always found this idea a little intriguing. Today, I was doing a little research on the myth to find out about its origins, and apparently it comes from many cultures (Aboriginal, Mayan and Native American to name a few) and its root is in mirrors.

In these cultures mirrors were thought to reflect the soul – for Mayans, mirrors were seen as a portal between this world and the next. Cameras got involved because of the mirrors used inside of them. Once a photograph was taken, it held a part of the soul that could never be returned. Any carelessness to the photo would be viewed as damaging to that part of the person’s soul.

This is the reason why some Native Americans refuse to have their picture taken and why in some churches photography is banned.

James W. Bailey, an artist with Native American roots, understands this belief. He created an exhibit called Stealing Dead Souls and questions the idea’s impact on non-living and inanimate objects, as well as commenting on the “death” of film. His now-defunct blog of the same name shows images, describes methods and begs questions which the project is trying to answer. He asks:

If taking a photograph of the living can steal souls, what happens if you photograph something dead or inanimate? Do the dead or non-living have souls? If so, can the souls of the dead be stolen by photographing them?

I’m feeling a little more enlightened and certainly more prepared to go forward with my story.

to die by the hands of Elkton. Kerri and I went on a photo adventure a few days ago, sneaking around a few houses that stand out on the back roads of Elkton.

Of course, when we got home, we were covered in ticks. Lymes Disease is not my idea of a good time.

At least the Polaroids came out decent.

They’re nice. But not sure I’m willing to become diseased. I’ll be steering clear from that area for a while!

In January 2008, as I was driving down to Towson, I came across this place at the side of the road, so I decided to take pictures of it.

This is the Beehive.

I returned last week with Kerri and this time, photographed the area using Diana F+. Considering I only liked one from the first photoshoot, it’s pretty clear that this one went much better.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Upon hearing that Happy Harry’s was having a $.09 print sale, I decided to experiment with Diana’s new 35mm back and some consumer-grade Kodak film.

After 3.5 rolls (one had been previously exposed, aha), I learned my lesson with all the grainy prints I received. The price for professional-grade is definitely worth it.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza (Wilmington)

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