Sunday, October 02, 2005

Dared

All right, ladies and gentlemen. I have been officially "dared" to write a nice piece about everyone's favorite photographer: Meridita. Now, I don't really now how much writing in this space constitutes "two pages," but here goes.
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So the question on the table is why does Ms. Meridita truly "rock." Well, this does not have a simple answer. Let's begin at the beginning.
Meridita: The Photographer
As anyone who has seen her work (and if you haven't, dear reader, I highly recommend you go and check out her work) can tell that she has a knack for it. I believe it was Ansel Adams (though I have been known to be wrong) that said, "A great photographer sees the world not only with his camera, but also with his heart and his soul." I look at the pictures that Meridita takes, and I can see the person behind the camera. Look at her photos of Minneapolis as the sun is setting. You can see that world is a palette.
When she turns the camera onto human subjects, her eye still has a clarity. Look at her self portrait in the broken window. The fact that her head is hidden is not only to hide her identity to the viewer but also shows a keen insight into humanity. The fracturing of our minds into different idenities (with family, friends, etc.) is seen in that photo. Some of her other photos with people (such as her July 3rd party) show the photographer's (that would be her) insight into human emotion, be it love, happiness, or just drunken giddiness. I love photography, but it's clear to me that Meri has a deeper, spiritual connection with it. Almost as if the photographs allow her to understand the world. And that is the true mark of a creative genius.
Meridita: the Person
Meri is a very caring person. As I mentioned
before, I was recently struck (or hit) by a car. Now it was nothing serious (just some soreness), but Meri at least cared about what happened. She even gave me the "Sad Puppy Face." How nice is that? But beyond just me, dear reader, one can see that she generally cares about the world. You want proof? Look at the comments she leaves on people's blogs. Look at her own blog. While she may be jealous that her new roommate received roses, she has never really complained about her lovelife, the world around her, or anything like that. If you look at people like myself or Worm, we point out the world's foibles. She, however, only looks at the things that make the world great. A constant optimist (or so it seems) which makes reading her a positive experience (unlike me, as one student told me, because I'm so depressing). I would venture to guess that Meri would give a dollar to the guy on the street. I would also venture to guess that she's the kind of girl who would give a guy five cents if he was short for coffee. She's even kind to old people (something that so many people in this world aren't). She went out to the orchestra hall with a man much older than her. I'm told it wasn't a date, so she was being nice.
Ah, but beyond humans, Meri is quite affectionate with her pets. No doubt you've heard about the Doodle Poodle and the Kitty Companion? Meridita loves her pets, and she takes great care of them. Many people own pets, but they don't really get to know them (for lack of a better term). Meri knows her pets. She knows what they'll do and why. Do you know why your cat grabs on to you arm and licks? Is it love, or something else? She knows.
I am very glad that Ms. Meri reads my blog, because it means that I have had a person with keen insight viewing my opinions and thoughts and giving me her two-cents.
Then again what do I know? I'm just a guy who was dared to give his opinion. I could be wrong.
Oh, and in the future: Don't dare me to do anything.

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