Rule of Thirds

Lately I've been walking around in a haze. I'm not sure what's brought it on, but for the past week or so I've just been out of it and not in the best of moods - not cranky, just out of sorts.

In photography and video there are a number of things to consider when composing your shot - lighting and shadow, color, focus, the background, objects in the scene, etc. There is also the rule of thirds. Basically, you want to divide your view into thirds vertically and/or horizontally and place things like the horizon or other objects in your view into those segments to create a well balanced, visually appealing look.

I've been thinking about this some in relation to life. I get about 8 hours or so of sleep each night during the week and I work for around 8 hours per day which leaves roughly 8 hours of open time. Thirds. With work and sleep I'm taking up 2/3 of my week with important activities that are vital to keeping up with quality of life, having a roof over my head and food in my fridge, and so forth. However, there is still the matter of the other third. When taking a picture of a sunset over a lake or ocean, for example, the water or the sky could take up 2/3 and the other element (sky or water) taking up the other third without losing balance. But in life, there should be another element in there to balance the time for work and the time for rest, right?

I just need to fill that space with something other than my schedule of tv shows so I'm not sitting alone in my apartment night after night. Life can be made up of nothing but work and sleep - and the ocassional interactions outside of work - but in order to be balanced and healthy, there needs to be that extra something, something to bring fulfillment, something that gives meaning and purpose, something special...

On to a more exciting note... A couple of weeks ago I bought my ticket to spend a weekend in March in Austin, TX with my best friend from college. On the agenda will be watching movies, playing UNO, and just hanging out and making fun of each other. It's going to be great!

Also, of recent note, I just got my ticket for my Alaskan vacation at the end of May! I'm taking a week to drive around the Land of the Midnight Sun. I've got a decent itinerary set but if anyone out there has been there and have any suggestions let me know!

So, it's not all as depressing as I make it sound, but I still have that other third...