Past its prime

I read this quotation today.

“Photography, if practiced with high seriousness, is a contest between a photographer and the presumptions of approximate and habitual seeing. The contest can be held anywhere. “
John Szarkowski

I had a contest with myself to see what all I can see when looking at ordinary things such as flowers. Not necessarily the named things like petals, stamens and stems but the shapes, textures, color and designs. The things that make something what it is. Trying to take a photo that represents this instead of a photo of a gerbera.

I saw pink, curls, spikes, velvet, lines, connections, structure and construction.

This same contest can be done with anything from a rusty or paint peeling thing to the dirt on the ground. Use ICM to blur or don’t focus properly. See what else there is.

After two months of seeing just what is around my house and yard (except for a few trips out and about) I was really needing this reminder. If we get in a photo rut have a contest with ourselves to break the habit of how we see and take photos. Learn to see your approximate world in a new way.


This morning I stood up to take a shower instead of sitting down for a bath! Leaning against the wall for support and light pressure on the healing foot. There is just something about warm water raining down on a body that is bliss!