the challenge
Today, we are not following a Seed. Or you could say we are following a generic Seed — the one letting us find something interesting that catches our eyes with no limitation, constraint, or trigger.
It’s an invitation to observe the world with no specific intent except for being surprised or amazed by something and then reflect on what we find.
Ready to try it?
my insight
I was walking the street and from a distance I saw this rainbow flag playing with the wind. It’s a fairly common sight, but today I looked at it from a different perspective. I approached the building, stood exactly under the porch, and looked up.
What I saw and tried to capture in the Insight is the beautiful composition created accidently by the porch with the irregular shape, the torn parasol, and the flag.
It always amazes me how some things accidently (or naturally) forme a perfect composition. As a photographer, I am composition-aware. Many of us photographers are trying to create appealing compositions when we capture a photo. It’s not always trivial, especially when you photograph in the street and not in a studio. So, it always surprises me to find a ready-made perfect composition.
The angle of the porch, with the parasol behind it (above it in reality), and the flag pointing to the bottom of the frame, and even the damaged paint circle under the porch, playing with the bigger circle formed by the parasol — they all look as if some shapes played together to compose this frame.
reflection
Ok, I know this might sound like a quick lesson in composition. That’s not the point of course. The issue is that I love good compositions, and I wouldn’t have found this treasure (which might be meaningless for someone else) without actively observing and even taking a little detour to explore it.
I saw something usual and went to explore it further — from a different perspective. How often do we do that? I stood in place and looked up. How often do we do that? I stood there for two or three minutes observing the flag playing with the wind (or being played by it). Is that something we do on a daily basis?
This is not criticism. It’s a wake up call and it applies to me as well. With or without a concrete creative challenge, we should slow down, look around us, re-learn to appreciate these simple, amazing things.
They can enrich us. And they are free.
mental notes
- Slow down. Observe. Appreciate the simple, amazing things.
- Take a detour. Change your perspective.
now it is your turn… be creative!