The new dreadlock generation are doing a little bit too much in the way of trying to dictate what our locs should look like and how we should care for them. They show blatant disregard for those who have come before them. Back in the day they referred to us as dirty and nasty and it turns out that they still do the same thing in the year 2010. They exhibit photos of rastas and place them under a category entitled "neglect," and they call it nasty because of the way it looks and many post comments, like, "nasty, lol, I'm glad that is not on my head," and they call it dirty because they don't like the way it looks. I know that this goes both ways because an older brotha just told me that he calls this new loc generation, "pasta rastas," because they are plastic, they lack culture, and because of their tiny uniformed spaghetti one size and all the same length hair." So, they are also being judged but as, a backlash because they are putting themselves up as judge and jury when it comes to this ancient powerful hair. Since this hair has been taken over by the masses, they have diluted some of the powerful energy that can be manifested through wearing locs. They are an antennae to the spirit world and there used to be a definite initiation period. As they grew with little interference other then, sun, water and love, it reached a stage when you knew it needed to simmer and you donned your crown that you learned to crochet, and then, like a caterpillar creating and entering its cocoon, you emerged a butterfly. That was the magic of growing locs. I no longer feel that magic with this new dreadlock generation, it is just a hairstyle and when they post blogs concerning their hair journeys, they get caught up in which products to use because, for many of the new locked masses, this was not considered a relevant style until they could take it into the shop and until that had products to plaster on them. It had to become profitable for the masses to jump on the bandwagon. So where is the magic, where has it gone?The mainstream masses have taken over this ancient powerful hair and that means that it has come down from the mountain tops and been dragged into the mainstream where it diluted and mixed with all manners of stuff and its meaning and magic has been wiped away for the masses but, there are still those on the mountain tops that are connecting to the cosmos through there powerful locked antennae!
These days, when I leave home, I always have my camera with me. Most of the time I have my little digital in my purse and my 35mm film camera around my neck. I have enjoyed taking photos since I was sixteen but lately if I leave my 35mm, I feel like an appendage is missing, it has become part of me, an extension of me, a third eye hanging from my body. This strong attachment has occurred over the last two years or, ever since I joined facebook. I wanted to show people who I am so I started taking my cameras everywhere to try and capture what I think is a magical life, on film and digital. In trying to capture my life, my flow, I have really grown to love this medium of expression. I am always looking for pictures that explain the magical world that I live in. Recently I spent time sitting on a beach that was composed of sea glass, and I wanted let people on my page see what I saw although nothing beats seeing it with your naked eye. In the beginning I used my camera and video to show the magical space I call home and then I moved out and about to show my bay area playground and how it is possible to have fun doing the simple things in life. I am really starting to fancy myself as a photographer and people have suggested that I take some classes, I thought about it and decided against it. I am not interested in being trained to see the world through some teacher's eyes. I want the compositions to be my own and not that of the teacher. People say that you should learn the rules and techniques and then you can stray from them and do your own thing but for me that doesn't make sense, I am having fun doing what I am doing and being graded or critiqued in a classroom will probably not bring me much joy. So, I will continue to try and capture my world and my joy on film on my own.
