It only looks like a sheet

Looking at life in the margins
Toronto, ON
March 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: We've just wrapped up a long couple of days shooting videos in our Toronto office. We've completed two pilot episodes for a new - and really cool - series (more on that later), and I've learned a heck of a lot from my colleagues in the process. We're all feeling pretty good about what we've accomplished, and as I often do after an intense few days of effort, I try to slow the moment down.

I notice the covers on our production team's LED lights, and I zero in on the fabric diffuser/cover. The texture grabs my attention and refuses to let go. I'm weird in many ways, and this is one of them: I often stare at otherwise mundane objects and/or scenes for inordinate amounts of time, and I am patently unable to explain why.

On the train home, I review the pics on my phone and decide I like this one. I also decide I need to shoot more in-the-margins scenes. Because up until I shot this particular scene, I had been moving a mile a minute for days on end, and the moment you see here was the first time in an age that I had hit the brakes and allowed myself to breathe.

It's not an easy thing to prioritize, this stop-and-breathe thing. The planet seems to compel us to never stop moving. And even when we physically stop, our minds race, largely driven by the sub-life we now all live online. The digital/mobile/social era seems to leave no room for living in the margins.

Consider this photo my refusal to submit to that assumption, because always-on is hardly a recipe for a life well lived. And expect more pics like this in future. We'll hashtag 'em #lifeinthemargins. You're all free to use it. Who's with me?

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