Patti McQuillen
February 2014
A plain country road isn't much to capture your attention. Yet, these do. Even if it's for a few seconds, these simple paths create a spark. We ponder the footsteps of those who walked them before us. We hold the memory of each one and wonder where they lead.
In the snapshot to the left, all you see is a road. Maybe you can see the grass or fields on each side. Tracks line the path. It appears to be a black and white shot. We have no easy way of knowing if it was originally a color shot.
There is nothing more to it. Yet, it caught your eye. There is something magical in the simple scene. No heavy arrangements to weigh down the view. No overbearing colors or complicated subjects that require serious concentration. The only thing to distract is more than likely our own thoughts. Perhaps we drove along such a road as a child and it brings back memories. Some may have walked along one to a local school.
Whatever this scene does for us, we can say that it's simple. That's the main focus of the late Thomas Merton. He learned to find the simple and appreciate it. Life is more about looking for many of us, not seeing. He knew the difference between these perspectives as well. In a recent copy of the Bellarmine Magazine, a writer presented what Merton belived about looking and seeing. In short, looking gives you a preselected view and seeing allows your mind to be open.
In digital photography, seeing is what leads us to the shots that captivate our curiosity and attention. When we find a spot, and hunt for the exact place to aim our camera, we can miss beauty around us. We may not hear a bird calling from a nearby tree; we may not catch a comical expresison on a child's face. Seeing opens us to all that is nearby. Our senses come alive and we take in much more than the direction we aim. We see and hear as much as we feel and experience. Scents tickle us and spark our drive for appeciating all that we connect with, all that we are.
Simple doesn't have to be boring. It can be a step along the way or a main focus. Looking is what we do through a coin operated telescope, and that's what we get when we shoot that way. Seeing is freedom to capture. What a glorious way to live in this crazy world of ours.
Try these ideas for finding the simple:
1. Stop looking
2. If you stumble across something, take in the part that excites you.
3. Close your eyes and inhale. Exhale and capture what is directly in front of you.
February 2014
A plain country road isn't much to capture your attention. Yet, these do. Even if it's for a few seconds, these simple paths create a spark. We ponder the footsteps of those who walked them before us. We hold the memory of each one and wonder where they lead.
In the snapshot to the left, all you see is a road. Maybe you can see the grass or fields on each side. Tracks line the path. It appears to be a black and white shot. We have no easy way of knowing if it was originally a color shot.
There is nothing more to it. Yet, it caught your eye. There is something magical in the simple scene. No heavy arrangements to weigh down the view. No overbearing colors or complicated subjects that require serious concentration. The only thing to distract is more than likely our own thoughts. Perhaps we drove along such a road as a child and it brings back memories. Some may have walked along one to a local school.
Whatever this scene does for us, we can say that it's simple. That's the main focus of the late Thomas Merton. He learned to find the simple and appreciate it. Life is more about looking for many of us, not seeing. He knew the difference between these perspectives as well. In a recent copy of the Bellarmine Magazine, a writer presented what Merton belived about looking and seeing. In short, looking gives you a preselected view and seeing allows your mind to be open.
In digital photography, seeing is what leads us to the shots that captivate our curiosity and attention. When we find a spot, and hunt for the exact place to aim our camera, we can miss beauty around us. We may not hear a bird calling from a nearby tree; we may not catch a comical expresison on a child's face. Seeing opens us to all that is nearby. Our senses come alive and we take in much more than the direction we aim. We see and hear as much as we feel and experience. Scents tickle us and spark our drive for appeciating all that we connect with, all that we are.
Simple doesn't have to be boring. It can be a step along the way or a main focus. Looking is what we do through a coin operated telescope, and that's what we get when we shoot that way. Seeing is freedom to capture. What a glorious way to live in this crazy world of ours.
Try these ideas for finding the simple:
1. Stop looking
2. If you stumble across something, take in the part that excites you.
3. Close your eyes and inhale. Exhale and capture what is directly in front of you.