If shadows and pathways are common themes in my work, reflections must rank right up there as well. It stands to reason a contemplative photographer would be preoccupied with "reflections" after all, that's what we do...constantly. This was a particularly lovely one at the garden. It was what my "contemplating frog" must have been looking at when I photographed him...an upside down world! Is this his idea of "clouds"? Floating and shifting reflections in the pond water that is his home? Does he ever look up at the real clouds? Many people live this way too; preferring to experience the world second-hand on the computer screen or tv screen.
As I write this, friends who are visiting for the 4th of July are hiking Chocorua mountain with their teenage daughter who went under protest. She wears her ear plugs so she can listen to her music and walks along quickly to "get it over with". That is, of course, what teenagers do. She'll miss the glorious experience because she will, no doubt, never look up or around for that matter. She has a perfect excuse...she's 16 years old! But, unfortunately, many adults move through the world in the same way...oblivious to the wonders all around them. They seem to prefer to experience their world second hand.
Seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, your
intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter
with your whole being. It means looking beyond the labels of things and
discovering the remarkable world around you.
- Freeman Patterson
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