Not Always Black or White

Rooftop Dragons
Hanshan Temple

All Smiles
Hanshan Temple

It was always been black or white for me in the world I grew up in.  For the most part, I was pretty rigid and intolerant of other people's belief's and ideas.  Yet inexplicably, I found quite a bit of tolerance amongst the infidels I was taught to shy away from.  True my values and my strict discipline kept me from the perils of alcohol and drug abuse and guided me to a higher education, but I lost touch with many friends with my isolation.

A door and a chapter closed abruptly in my life during my high school years.  A part of me died back then only to be awakened during this past year on my pilgrimage back home.  Life is not always black or white, perhaps it's the reason why I shoot mostly in vivid color.

Values are something that come from within you; beliefs typically are external to yourself and are taught.  If I had to choose, I would choose those values that come from within me rather than beliefs which I've been taught.  As a photographer, I know that even in a black and white world there are 256 shades of gray.

My world for nearly half a century has been pretty binary, I suppose.  It's ok for me to find the shades of gray and venture out into the world of color.  For the most part, I reckon, I don't have to be all black or white, and nothing says that I have to be all color.

It's better to choose depending on the context of the situation which you choose to be.