“We were born and raised in Black & White some learned to pray and some learned to fight”
But more often than not, most of us live our lives in 16.8 M shades of grey. This is where visions are born, stories are told and art is created.
Many years ago when I first graduated from college; I went to work for a large telecom company. It was there that I met the man who was to become my life long friend and mentor. He was a crusty old Line Foreman who everyone love to hate and admire at the same time. His management style was somewhat unorthodox to say the least.
Lessons from a Mentor: Navigating the Grey Areas of Life
One day he offered to“show me the ropes” but first he had to go over his current project with his crew. “ You’ll learn a lot from that” he said, “if you’re smart enough to listen” He went over every aspect of the job in detail stressing that while quality and productivity were important, safety must always come first. “ If you get hurt and I have to fill out all that G.D. paper work; I’m gonna kill ya!’
When we got to the end of the project, he took a case of beer out of his truck and put it at the base of the last pole and said,“when we get here boys, we can go home”.
Then he turned to me to explained why the project I was designing would be better if we did it his way. I agreed that the end result was the same but his way involved bending if not breaking a few rules. He looked right through me with his steel grey eyes and said, “black is black, white is white and grey belongs to me!”
The Power of Grey in Photography
Years later when I was studying digital photography, I learned the it was all about light. At one end of the spectrum it black – a total absence of light. No detail can be recovered and no image is possible. At the other end of the spectrum is white – an over abundance of light. No detail can be recovered and no image is possible. In between are 16.8 M shades of grey. This is where visions are born, stories are told and art is created!