A few recent gradual revelations are telling me that perhaps part of me feels like I'm coming into my own in a lot of respects as far as photography is concerned. And I suppose it's really just a matter of perspective and paying attention rather than just letting life happen and allowing the monotony to take charge of the psyche. Day in and day out I'm editing photos robotically for a website, and many of the photos are photos I'd never think to take myself - small, close-up details, seemingly devoid of context.
I'm so constantly focused on the large wide sweeping shots, so much so that my camera almost always sleeps with my 11-16mm on it, that sometimes it's hard to remember that often times, it's in the details that the most awe-inspiring imagery can come from, and I think it's due to the clash of the two different styles that my life has been recently oscillating between that context to such contrasts can be extracted.
On the one hand, I spend so much of my own personal time in the outdoors, looking to try to capture those landscapes that make us remember and appreciate the beauty that life and the world holds -
BIG.
Then, on the other hand, for work, I find myself photographing and editing photos of homes and properties, in which so much more is being said by the details - the textures in the concrete surrounding a marble fountain, the way the shadows of a lattice fall upon a watering can sitting alongside a charming wooden bungalow, the contrast of a purple wildflower growing alongside a yellow window frame -
SMALL.
And it's these hidden gems of discovery that remind me that you can learn something from every job, from every situation, and take that, use it, and grow from it.
In this case, I've been learning to train myself to basically, yes, keep my eyes open for those cinematic sweeping scopes, but at the same time, not ignore what's directly in front of me…those small quaint and charming additions and details. After all, it's a culmination of all of those combined, piece by piece, that make up the whole.
