Photography with Joe

his post and watch the TEDTalk below. High heels are fashionable, but uncomfortable, and can even lead to chronic foot damage. It doesn't make sense to favor footwear which harm and hurt feet, plus render it difficult to run from ancient and modern predators. But if wearing high heels makes women more attractive, allowing them to be more choosy over a larger number of higher quality males competing for their attention, this could explain the evolutionary advantages of this fashion statement. What's chic, what's in and what's out, should be predicted by evolutionary theory. Otherwise it will be judged by history as just a passing phase. Eventually as outmoded as shoulder pads from the 1980s. Psychologists Paul Morris, Jenny White, Edward Morrison and Kayleigh Fisher from the University of Portsmouth, in the UK, have recently proposed a novel evolutionary theory about why women favor high heels. As women normally walk differently from men, high ...

  Noblesse Oblige in an Age of Intellectual Power Let’s get this straight: power—real power—isn’t measured by titles, votes, or bank balances. It’s measured by who you lift, who you teach, who you give the tools to survive and thrive when the game is stacked against them. Intellectual power, academic influence, creative authority—this is the leverage of our era. And if you have it, you owe it . Noblesse oblige is not optional; it’s combustible, it’s dangerous, it’s responsibility dressed as opportunity. I’m talking about wielding your knowledge like a torch, not a cudgel. Mentorship that breaks hierarchies. Ideas that destabilize comfort zones. Exposure that accelerates the overlooked. If your brain, your insight, your access can open doors, shut up about humility and start opening doors . Too many people hide behind “meritocracy” like it’s a shield. Newsflash: if you hoard your brilliance, your connections, your strategies—you’re complicit. Complicit in mediocrity. Complicit in...

Seeing Color: How Our Brain Tricks Us and Cameras Try to Keep Up TO RICHARD Before we can discuss the illusions created by Samsung cameras or any camera for that matter, it’s best to start at the beginning: our brain does not see exactly what our eyes see. Vision is sometimes reality, and sometimes a created image—our perception is always a mix of raw input and brain interpretation. Our perception of color is not a direct readout of the world—it’s a reconstruction built by the brain. Light reflects off objects with different wavelengths, but the exact mix of wavelengths hitting our eyes depends heavily on the lighting. A red apple under bright noon sunlight looks different than the same apple in the golden glow of sunset. Yet, remarkably, we still perceive it as red. This is because our brain constantly compensates for lighting conditions . It applies unconscious “corrections” so that familiar objects maintain a consistent color in our mind. In a sense, our brain is lying to us, making...

  Dr. Scholz — Kamishibai Photography is a global practice of documentary and narrative photography inspired by Japanese paper theater (Kamishibai) and shadow play . It explores human presence in public and semi-public spaces across Canada, the United States, Korea, Japan, and other urban environments. The work focuses on people, movement, and behaviour, while also highlighting the traces they leave behind : objects, pathways, gestures, and the subtle imprints of human activity. Subjects are engaged through playful interaction, sometimes directly responding to the camera, producing a “quantum effect” in which the observer subtly alters the environment. A defining feature of this style is temporal storytelling . Sequential images of the same subject, object, or environment, taken over months or years, create evolving narratives that capture change, continuity, and the passage of life. Each photograph acts as a frame in a larger story, echoing the episodic, sequential format of K...

  Changing of the Colours, Toronto — 2009 In 2009, I photographed the Changing of the Colours ceremony in Toronto, attended by then–Prince Charles. I had the privilege of being invited and positioned close to the future king, which gave me a perspective few people ever get during an event like this. My artwork from that day captures the discipline and precision of the soldiers lined up, their uniforms sharp, their movements synchronized, and the entire ceremony unfolding with a sense of tradition and dignity. What stood out to me was the way colour, light, and human presence worked together — the red and blue of the uniforms against the Toronto backdrop, the contrast between stillness and motion, and the quiet weight of the ritual. This piece became one of my first attempts to document not just what happened, but how it felt: honour, continuity, and a moment where Toronto intersected with a larger historical narrative. #by江戸門戸 Scholz©2009 #江戸門戸 #CitizenCanada

  🜂 THE DEVIL’S DICTIONARY OF CHINESE OPERATIONS (Extended Edition) UNITED FRONT WORK DEPARTMENT (UFWD) Founded: 1920s (formalized 1942), refurbished endlessly Geographic Focus: Everywhere Chinese communities exist, and everywhere they don’t but might someday Budget: $1–3 billion/year (speculated), or whatever it takes to buy friendship in bulk Status: Ongoing Definition: A benevolent institution devoted to uniting the world under the comforting belief that everyone secretly agrees with Beijing — they simply require persuasion, incentives, or a gentle reminder from someone who knows their parents. OPERATION FOX HUNT Founded: 2014 Geographic Focus: Nations with extradition treaties— and especially those without them Budget: $100–300 million/year (speculated), plus travel expenses for the politely terrifying emissaries Status: Ongoing Definition: A volunteer repatriation program in which “volunteering” is strongly encouraged. Demonstrates the touching persis...

   📍  Where Baltimore Orioles Live (By Season) Breeding / Summer Range In summer, Baltimore Orioles spread out across much of eastern and central North America. Think of it like a giant seasonal road trip north. Specifically: from southern Canada—southern Ontario, Quebec, and even parts of southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and creeping into eastern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia—down through the U.S. East and central states. They’re in the Midwest, Great Plains (Nebraska, Kansas), the Northeast, the Southeast—basically, anywhere with the right mix of trees and insects. They’re picky about habitat, though. Open deciduous woodlands, forest edges, riverbanks, orchards, city parks, and leafy suburban neighborhoods are prime. But deep, dense forest? Not their thing. They like some breathing room and a good view. Migration Spring is their cue: April–May, flocks start heading north, back to their breeding grounds. Late summer and early fall (July–August onw...

CITIZEN CANADA PRESENTS 🔴 “BUY, BELIEVE, OBEY: THE ACID-AGE CHILDHOOD EDITION” America once feared the future. Not with nuance. Not with science. But with filmstrips. And so, in classrooms across the 1960s and 70s, the lights dimmed, projectors hummed, and government filmmakers rolled out their latest cinematic crusade: Technicolor terror designed to stop kids from even looking at a sugar cube. The message? Drugs were everywhere. Your friends were probably on them. And if you even thought about LSD, your brain would become a lava lamp with legs. Not education. Not health literacy. But spectacle. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 🧧 “Reefer Madness Reloaded (Kids Edition)” The government’s greatest cinematic hits: orange-tinted hallucination montages, fast cuts, sweaty close-ups, and the eternal warning: “This is your brain… on vibes.” These films didn’t teach danger — they taught aesthetics. 🪙 “When Bureaucrats Discovered Psychedelia” Behind the scenes: grey-suited civil servants ...

  Jeff Wall is a highly influential figure in conceptual and staged photography , often considered one of the most important photographers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Here’s a structured explanation: 1. Background Born: September 29, 1946, in Vancouver, Canada. Studied art history and painting at the University of British Columbia. Influenced by painting, cinema, and documentary photography. 2. Style and Approach Staged Photography: Unlike traditional documentary photographers, Wall often constructs scenes carefully , sometimes over weeks, blending fiction and reality. Tableau Form: His photographs are often large-scale, backlit transparencies presented like cinematic stills, resembling paintings in composition and scale. Conceptual Focus: Every image is designed to explore ideas —social, political, historical, or everyday life—rather than just capture moments. Mix of Documentary and Fiction: Even when referencing real events or social...

 Cleo Writes What the image is doing, aesthetically This portrait isn’t meant to read as a literal face—it's an impression , a constructed memory. The extreme softening, mosaic-like blur, and halftone texture give it the feel of a magazine recovered from a past decade, scanned, reprinted, and carried through time. The darkness encroaching on the edges creates a theatrical chiaroscuro, almost like the subject is emerging from a projection rather than a room. The colour choices—amber skin tones fading into violet text—evoke retro print culture: late-90s fashion editorials, early-2000s digital art experiments, and even older Japanese pop-magazine aesthetics. That ties directly to your ongoing intertextual practice of blending Western portraiture with East Asian typographic signatures. About the figure She’s rendered too abstractly to identify, which works in your favour: anonymity keeps the energy symbolic rather than biographical. She becomes an archetype, a character of mood rathe...

Web Page updates How This Photo Connects to Edmundo’s Overall Style 1. The “Human Moment in a Non-Heroic Space” Edmundo frequently photographs expressive, costumed, or visually striking subjects against ordinary, unglamorous backdrops such as brick walls, hallways, or blank convention spaces. This image fits that pattern perfectly: A fantastical, whimsical persona Set against a plain, utilitarian wall That contrast— magical self-expression placed within a mundane physical setting —is a recurring hallmark of his visual language. 2. Focus on Character Over Costume Even when individuals appear in elaborate outfits or cosplay, Edmundo’s portraits emphasize: Expression Gesture Emotional authenticity The personality beneath the costume In this photograph, the peace sign, relaxed posture, and genuine smile reflect the same approach: the focus is not on the outfit itself but on the distinct human moment occurring within it. 3. Signature Use of Black & Whit...

☕ Two Cups at 1:01 PM: A Study of Ten Photographic Worlds and the Maximum Risk for Humanity By Edmundo There are moments that appear insignificant until you look at them long enough. Take two Starbucks cups — one marked Edmundo , one Maria — sitting in soft afternoon light. A cappuccino and a caramel macchiato as the last remaining evidence that two people existed in the same place at the same time. Most people would scroll past it. But photographers — the good ones — would stop. And what they see in that single frame depends entirely on the world they believe in. This is a journey through ten photographers , ten ways of seeing, and one simple question: What does a tiny moment like this say about the maximum risk for humanity? 1. Saul Leiter — The Poetry of the Unnoticed Leiter would say the beauty lies in the soft blur, the quiet window light, the gentle way the world washes into abstraction. Edmundo Scholz’s photo fits his gospel: The small things matter because they...