The Curious George Questionnaire: #18
Try these eyes on for size. Welcome photographers Diana Pappas and Tom Bland of Writing with Light!
She: If there is an art to capturing the “extra” in the (extra)ordinary, then photographers Diana Pappas and Tom Bland are masters of this craft. Their luminous images of everyday matter like fuzzy-headed dandelions, shadows that yawn across a wall, or the dazzling fireworks set off by a lone maple on the side of the road feel like secular prayers for the devotion of attention. Diana and Tom share their creative, personal, and professional story through their Substack Writing with Light, and the world is richer for their contributions.
MM: “Let’s add amazement,” says photographer Diana Pappas. Her partner in images and life, Tom Bland, throws in the fact that “new ways are emerging, and some of those new ways incorporate some old ways, while some old ways will just no longer be relevant.” Together these two created Writing with Light, a Substack devoted to “people who value our work and are interested in the artistic process behind our photography as well as the inspiration that drives our creative eye.” And it turns out inspiration is literally everywhere for these co-creators. George is grateful for them spending time answering the questionnaire!
Diana Pappas and Tom Bland Answer the Curious George Questionnaire!
To me, curiosity is
Diana: An invitation to learn; to get to know people deeply… to acquire new skills, to dive deeply into new interests, to figure out how things work, to be able to identify wild edible plants or the most beautiful birdsong. There is so much I want to know, which is a slight problem because I want to learn about so many things, too many things, and the time I have to dive into things is fractured and insufficient.
Tom: Something that can change with the wind, but right now it is in trying to understand and predict how the rapid changes that are underfoot might impact me and my family in the years to come. There’s so much going on right now in all facets of our lives and I feel this combination of curiosity, wonder, and extreme pressure to essentially figure out what we need to do as a family to thrive (or survive?) in a period of extreme change.
Describe a road not taken. Any regrets?
Diana: Straight out of school I worked in the film industry in New York City. I remember waiting for an elevator and when it opened Keanu Reeves walked out. Meryl Streep once held a door open for me, Mark Ruffalo said hi to me, Nicole Kidman and I talked about cereal at the craft services table and Catherine Zeta-Jones touched my elbow at a wrap party. I mean, it was exciting stuff! I couldn’t believe how hard we worked, even on movies that didn’t turn out to be very good. In some ways I loved it but in other ways it was unsustainable for me. I could have continued—I had thought directing might be for me, but looking back on it now, I have good memories and no regrets, and lots of respect for every single name in the credits.
Tom: I honestly can’t think of a scenario where I chose one thing over another and now wish I’d done the other thing. There are some life choices I made, and with the benefit of hindsight I might feel more secure right now if I’d chosen differently—but it’s not like they were fork-in-the-road moments. And given how the world has changed in our lifetimes, hindsight should just be disregarded. How could we possibly have known in the ’80s or ’90s that AI would be on our doorstep in the 2020s and have the potential to impact so much. I grew up in an artistic family and always saw creating in some way as being part of my future. But should I have trained as an electrician instead? Maybe!
Tell us how you fill your curiosity well…
Diana: I am a big proponent of the library as a window to anything I want to learn more about and explore. So, a library card helps, and through it I can access films, museum passes, cookbooks, novels, coffee table art books, fossil field guides, etc.! My library even gives out free Covid tests and photocopies of the NY Times Sunday Crossword. Also the more I use the library, the less I resent paying property taxes.
Tom: I suppose it’s listening to voices that I trust or have respect for—whether they are on YouTube, or X, or just a friend—and thinking about how to apply their perspective or what they are advocating to my own life. This really goes back to my first answer above, and the idea that there are old ways of doing things, but new ways are emerging, and some of those new ways incorporate some old ways, while some old ways will just no longer be relevant. I absolutely loved this 30 min talk by Yancey Strickler about “why this isn’t the end, this is the beginning.” I just watched it yesterday and found it to be very inspiring.
Wonder or Awe? Why?
Diana: Every time we give our kid a choice between two things she chooses both of those things. And a third thing on top of that. So let’s add amazement. We were in the path of totality for last year’s solar eclipse and wonder, awe, and amazement were equally in play for me.
Tom: Probably awe. My mind goes to the power of nature and the environment, and awe captures that more than wonder, for me.
How would you spend your last day on earth?
Diana: I get so emotional when I say goodbye so I’d probably be crying the whole day but let’s assume I didn’t know it was the end. I think I’d be content eating some spanakopita with the people I love and soaking up my precious remaining time with them.
Tom: I am going to leave family out of this and pretend I am like a Replicant in this scenario, with a known expiration date. I would probably go to a favorite place in nature and just be. Lie in the grass, watch the birds and clouds, think about the planet and appreciate how my place on it at this particular moment in time is equally insignificant and amazing.
“My life philosophy is________.”
Diana: Not something I've ever thought about or been asked to define. Maybe it's as simple as people > stuff.
“My life philosophy is_______.”
Tom: Wing it. Figuring it out as I go. Pivot when necessary.
Who’s the CGQ Crew?
About She: Sheila Moeschen is a humorist, writer, photographer, and salty New Englander. You can find her on Substack at Humor Saves!
About MM: Michael Maupin helms the StoryShed Substack (among other things) and is a recovering screenwriter, book and magazine editor, and lifelong diarist.
About George: George is a man of letters, leisure, and all things interesting. Named after the fabled monkey—eccentric or genius parentage, who knows?—he’s made it his mission to discover the most fascinating, unique, and curious people like YOU. Good work if you can get it. When it comes to a camera, George never met a lens he didn’t like or want to share—some monarchs can be so touchy!