• quotes,  shadows

    What I look for…

    “What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. … In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.”

    John Lubbock

    A few years ago I worked for a landscaper. One morning as we pulled up to this home we were going to work on, Ed was immediately able to point out to me where they were going to have drainage problems when it rained. Wow! We saw with such different eyes. As a photographer I’ve learned that when I move my tripod and camera 20 feet in any direction my photographer’s eye will see that scene differently.

    And, what I understand as reality is not as it appears to someone else. Probably my greatest growth has been to try and see as others do, accepting that they have a different reality and not try to change how they see. So maybe I need to be more open to what I look for. Maybe I’ll see a snow covered yellow fire hydrant. Hope you had a wonderful Saturday!

  • gratitude,  leaves,  Plants

    Grateful for the Lessons

    The Details
    The Details

    My grandson and his mother lived with me up until he was about two. I would take him to the playground at the nearby school to play on the swing. He was just beginning to walk so it was a good time to practice that skill. Not sure he saw it as practice but more of a way to discover the world.  We constantly stopped. He would squat to check out things many of us never see: the ants streaming across the sidewalk, a dandelion, a caterpillar. I had to get down on my knees to see what I was missing. I loved this place he was in:  the wonder, awe, watching, observing. Without realizing it he was teaching me to look, observe and experience the moment. Grateful for the lessons from my grandson.

  • Documentary/Street,  Food,  lifestyles,  Photography

    An Apple

    The Apple
    The Apple

    “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange

    As Eric and walked through the Behavioral Science Building on our way for coffee I noticed this apple sitting on the desk of a couple young girls. I found it intriguing so I asked if I could take a photo and was given permission. I took only one as I was in a hurry and didn’t want to disturb the two girls, after all finals are next week. I was even more intrigued by the image once I loaded it on my computer. Those are are not teeth marks but she seems to have used some tool like a scoop. Eric, as are many who do not have a camera hanging around their neck, commented how he would not have noticed the apple. 

  • quotes

    New Eyes

    Seeing with new eyes
    Seeing with new eyes

    “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but having new eyes.” Marcel Proust