The Art of Seeing

Soon I'll be participating in another blog, a group effort showcasing my home town of Quincy.  My part of this enterprise will be called Seldom Seen Delights.  Yesterday, as I was waiting for an appointment with a colleague at the Mt. Hough Ranger Station, I decided to wander around with the camera for a few minutes.  At first glance, the area around the parking lot looks overly groomed, or one might say "tamed." Very little underbrush, lower branches trimmed - boring!  However, the job of a photographer/naturalist is to look beyond the obvious.  This practice is always rewarded.  When one chooses to place a rectangle (the frame of the viewfinder) around a portion of nature, many considerations come into play.  The most important consideration is light.  Am I trying to show the scene "as it is" or am I trying to use some poetic license to convey a message?  Am I highly conscious of what I'm leaving out? Examples: litter, vandalism, unpopular items.  I think a unifying theme in my photography and drawing is "seldom seen."  I think "discovery" is one of the greatest possible human experiences, so I try to share my discoveries.  These are rarely, if ever, things discovered for the first time, but my particular view is a discovery for me and usually for most people who accompany me.  Like Thoreau, I marvel at the wonders in my own back yard.  No need to travel to a rain forest or the Arctic to feel I'm seeing something exotic.  I'm glad I arrived a bit early and decided to wander around a bit.  Click on any photo for a closer view.