Nirvana is a Scary Place

He was lying there unobserved. 

He was hoping someone would witness his accent into nirvana, but not a soul understood what was going on. 

His left arm twitched, a tick started at his wrist, hand lay limp, slowly traveled to his elbow, overextended as to give the imagery of Christ on a cross, his biceps bulged, not unlike an explanation in a dirty romance novel, his shoulders tensed as though intimate human touch were foreign to them. It was as though he was having a heart attack, but his ever growing smile gave out the impression of something confounding to those that surrounded him.

His body was of a mental break down, his mind of a cancerous liver, his soul as if body and mind never existed.

And though those around him were yearning for an escape, or a call for help, or of bath salts to calm the nerves, all they could do was observe. All they could do was lead their gaze from the wrist, ignoring the hand, up passed the elbow and biceps, never a glance at the shoulders, which were always inviting, always allowing for ones head to rest on, and rest upon his smile.

Nirvana is a scary place to those in observance.

Quick Prose Quote

"Accept me for who I am and I will accept you always."

"I am constantly swimming in a sea of alienation and adoration."

"Avoidance is an obstacle. Acceptance is a life lesson."

Broom

I was walking through the Sligo Creek getting random shots when I came across a broom. I pondered where the broom might have been, where it came from and let the rest come together as it did.

The song is called Mighty Fictions by Ugly Purple Sweater, a great band based in Washington D.C.

Broom from Brett Vaughn McCullough on Vimeo.

Iwo Jima Memorial

This next video was footage I shot while out doing neighborhood shoots for Coldwell Banker. I saw the soldiers coming around the corner and figured I would hang out and get a few extra shots.

Iwo Jima Memorial from Brett Vaughn McCullough on Vimeo.

This next video is the same footage with a slider showing the Coloring done in post.

Iwo Jima Apple Color Examples from Brett Vaughn McCullough on Vimeo.

Poems from Iran

Found on Huffington Post. A Iranian woman's poem after losing her sister in the riots:

Yesterday I wrote a note, with the subject line "tomorrow is a great day perhaps tomorrow I'll be killed." I'm here to let you know I'm alive but my sister was killed...

I'm here to tell you my sister died while in her father's hands
I'm here to tell you my sister had big dreams...
I'm here to tell you my sister who died was a decent person... and like me yearned for a day when her hair would be swept by the wind... and like me read "Forough" [Forough Farrokhzad]... and longed to live free and equal... and she longed to hold her head up and announce, "I'm Iranian"... and she longed to one day fall in love to a man with a shaggy hair... and she longed for a daughter to braid her hair and sing lullaby by her crib...

my sister died from not having life... my sister died as injustice has no end... my sister died since she loved life too much... and my sister died since she lovingly cared for people...

my loving sister, I wish you had closed your eyes when your time had come... the very end of your last glance burns my soul....

sister have a short sleep. your last dream be sweet.

Jelly Fish and Sea Anemone

Jellyfish and Anemone HPX170 from Brett Vaughn McCullough on Vimeo.

My newest video essay.

Fiction Vs. Non-fiction

I have a heartfelt belief that a person can learn far more about the human condition from fiction than non-fiction. Non-fiction is hindered by the strive to be as objective as possible (or politically/ideologically manipulative based on the writer), whereas by being subjective, one can get a deeper grasp on a subject that they feel close to.

Stories have been passed down generation to generation for thousands of years in order to teach others how to properly function in society, how to take care of oneself, how to cross the street properly, how to avoid mass genocide, how to look both ways before crossing the street, how to not repeat the same ideas just worded differently, and so on and so on.

Fiction is a means of making an impression on how a society reacts where non-fiction is mainly stating an account of how a society is reacting.