Saturday, June 29, 2013

PhotoTao Card #31 - Creativity

Card #31

Creativity
Tao's creation is infinite and endlessly 
various.  Everything is unique, complete
and interconnected.
- Exercise -
  Visit a quiet and personally meaningful
place.  Spend several hours photographing
every element in the landscape, from the
"large view" to the smallest detail.  As you
do, try to see how each tiny part is connected
to your whole sense of the place.  Photograph
it as if you will never see it again.  Choose 12
images that, for you, tell the story of this one
place in one moment of time.

   This card relates nicely to the previous one but instead of a walk through the landscape, it asks you to find a place to explore in intimate detail.  It can be a corner of your back yard, a favorite park, or even a busy street corner.  The important thing is to leave no photographic stone unturned.

   On my walk on the coastal trail in Quoddy Head State Park, I had spent a half hour watching a solitary crow on the cliff. (read that post here if you missed it.)  I walked on and when I passed by the same place awhile later, there were two crows there.  I'm not sure if it was "my" crow or not but I like to think it was, joined now by his mate.  Perhaps he was waiting for her all that time!  I photographed the pair through the bleached limbs of a pine.

     I've always admired the crow.  Such intelligent and curious animals.  I think they don't get the respect they deserve. (Find out about these amazing birds here...you can even listen to their distinctive call on the site!) When I read about them it mentioned that crows are rarely seen alone so my time with my solitary crow was all the more special.  

   See what new things present themselves to you as you spend an extended time in your special place.  This is another dimension of contemplative photography...the call to curiosity.  Read Kim Manley Ort's lovely post on curiosity...


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