the challenge
We are starting December with the Blind Spot Seed. It’s the kind of title that you can get stuck thinking about. So, let’s try to avoid that and just open our eyes and mind — look around us mindfully until something comes up.
Ready?
my insight
I love this Insight if I may say so because it is so trivial and so unexpected at the same time. Can you guess what it is? I’ll tell you in a second. But first, let’s think about what we see.
The most obvious thing in this Insight is the two circles blocking the view of the street. They were not added digitally — they are really there, creating a real blind spot. Literally.
What’s amazing about this, is the fact that I see this frame on a daily basis, but up until now I haven’t thought of it as a blind spot. To be honest, I haven’t thought of it at all. It was the Seed that brought this common thing into my attention.
If you wonder what it is you are looking at, it is a red and white sticker on a semi-transparent wall of a bus station. It is used to alert people that there is a Plexiglass wall in front of them so they won’t run into it. But today, of course, it became a blind spot blocking the view so violently.
In some sense, the second Insight I captured is the complete opposite. This mirror at the exit of a garage is used to extend the field of view and allow drivers to see things they can’t otherwise.
So, why is this a blind spot? First, because it hides part of the wall behind it. Second, because it is used to overcome a natural blind spot caused by the limited field of view of the drivers. But on top of these immediate explanations, take a look at the center of the reflected view. The entrance to the garage is completely dark. This is the real blind spot in this photo — at least as I see it. You can never guess what is going to emerge from this darkness.
reflection
Today, I would like to reflect on the post-processing choice I made with these two Insights. I turned them into black-and-white photos. It was the Seed that pushed me to make this decision.
I wanted to enhance the feeling of a blind spot. A blind spot should be dark. It should hide the view and not place anything more interesting in front of it. The blind spot on the bus station, for example, was originally red. It still blocked the view, but instead of drawing attention to what is missing from the view, I was drawn to the red spot itself. After turning the photo into a black-and-white photo, this red spot suddenly seemed like something that was cut out of the view. And that’s exactly the feeling I wanted to capture.
mental notes
- Capturing an Insight does not stop with finding it. Play with what you find, change it, and emphasize the things that caught your attention. This will help you use it later when you revisit your Insights.
now it is your turn… be creative!