Survey Me.

We like to survey.

I like to look, and maybe creep, it lets me know that we're more similar than we may believe.

So I surveyed to prove some points of linkage between all of us.

My first set "Car Check" is a look into anonymous cars around Lawrence University. The owners or drivers had no idea there car was photographed, and none of the items that can be seen were staged in any way. These pictures were taken during weekdays, and during school hours. I can guess that these vehicles belong to students who move their cars every morning (or park illegally), faculty and administrators based upon where the cars are parked and their absence during nights and weekends.

When taking the photograph I wanted to include the inside of the car as well as the environment surrounding the car, as ones environment helps dictate ones actions and habits. I tried to include as many reflections as possible to allow the viewer multiple viewpoints. I also tried to stay out of the picture for the most part.

Why does this tie me together with other human being? I feel comfort at the fact that I'm not the only person who leaves random paper on the floor of their car, or buys shitty food to snack on while driving. I am not the only driver who may try to conceal certain things under the seats or leave trash at the helm. My windows may be dirty, and I will not clean them, and so does some stranger who parks in the lot next to the Lawrence University Chapel.

This is the same reason we watch TV shows like "MTV Cribs" or why this youtube.com video "Celebrity Cars" has 71,000 views. We like to see how others live to rationalize our own habits, we like to compare and contrast.

Does this make me any less of a creep? Maybe not. However, I didn't infringe on anyones personal space, I was free to walk around, and the windows weren't tinted, and I didn't have a goal in mind other than capturing images. In my mind that makes me less creepy than a traffic camera or hidden light cameras that have the aim at catching you in a bad decision.

My second attempt to continue to link the human race together, was to attempt to capture (on film) the human itself; Set: Practice Check. As a flutist at Lawrence, I spend many days and nights enclosed in a small, humid, windowless, blanched practice room. I tried to find a glorified photo on the Lawrence University website, but for some reason, they choose not to advertise them. After long hours spent inside these tiny rooms, us musicians can tend start doing odd things. It is frequent to see the hazy eyed musician wandering around the Conservatory basement, humming a repeated melody and moving their fingers rapidly at their sides. Here is the recent "Kaleidoscope" video from Lawrence University's youtube page.

This gives you an idea of life at the con: chaos+rehearsals.

So I decided to go a little further and capture life inside the practice room. Most of the practice rooms are this very small rooms, with a retro feel. The doors are heavy and wooden, with two tiny windows which allow those walking around to see in, but make it hard for the musician inside to see out. Many freshman, and some upperclassmen who dislike the lack of privacy tape pieces of paper over the windows to allow for a private session. However, most of us don't really care and would rather be caught in the act of smelling our armpits or picking our nose than dealing with a piece of paper. So, I decided to exploit that by taking pictures of people through the small windows in their practice rooms.

Yes, I felt like a creep. These are people I know, and people I play in ensembles with. Some of the images are blurred because I felt the urge to move quickly through the hallways, in order not to be seen (by both those practicing, and those walking around). Some noticed, some didn't notice, it didn't matter because I felt totally weird. It was easy to take a picture when there was sound coming out of their room, I felt like it hid me, just as it hid them. However. when I would stand there, and they would take a break from their playing, I felt like I was going to be caught. While most of the musicians probably wouldn't mind, I felt like I was violating something, I can't really explain it, but I was looking at something I wasn't supposed to.

So how does this link us? Well, a practice room is like, "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf. It is a space to create, like an artists studio, or a tablature for a writer. I am looking over their shoulder, seeing how they create, and comparing it to how I create. Humans create, and we have thrived because we have learned to create together.

My final set termed "Nature Watch" links humans in a different way then what I have been doing. Rather than spying on others and observing their habits, I decided to showcase our ability to watch, compare, analyze, contrast, and make informed decisions. As humans we all have this innate ability to change with our surroundings, an ability to adapt to survive. As the season is shifting and the environment is sporting the change of the changing weather I decided to photograph what we notice. Leaves change, trees change, the ground changes, the plants change, and this is how we know our environment is transitioning. While we can only use our eyes through these photographs to understand the change (rather than being able to smell, feel, hear and taste the difference in the air) this sense is powerful enough.

Please view the complete sets of these images on my flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/etracyowens/sets/