Slowing Down to Consider Perspective

Perspective, the way we see the world. Making meaningful interrelationships that gives depth to our understandings. If we have a difficult decision to make, it can help to ask others for their points of view. You might go for a walk, clear your head, and look at the facts again from a different angle. How you view events, people, and life is your perspective, but I challenge you to see different views from different angles that give new possibilities to your perspective.  As my friend Paul says, “If you are willing to do that, you might just find something beautiful in a mud puddle!”

In photography, perspective refers to capturing the 3-dimensional image you see in a 2-dimensional photo. Perspective is giving a sense of depth or creating spatial relationship between objects in the photo. Light is an important factor, as is changing your own position. Kneel down, sit on the ground, stand on a rock, look straight up, even looking at things sideways can give a unique perspective that makes your picture become more alive.

A friend challenged me to look at the Sticky Geraniums differently since I have many good shots of them already.  Walking around the plant I decided to sit on the ground, shot into the sun, and the result is radiant. The lines on the sepals (green leaves immediately behind the petals) are beautiful. Are you drawn into the picture? Do you notice the gradual increase in the depth, being able to sense things closer to you than others?

Sometimes if we slow down enough in our busy days, we see things we never noticed before. I don’t know about you, but surprises like that make me laugh.

The trail around Trout Lake in Yellowstone is a very popular and beautiful short hike. People come looking for Cutthroat Trout, to see the surrounding mountains, or to watch the many types of waterfowl that visit here. Others come to walk the trail and on to the next thing. I’m always amazed how few people take the time to see what is around them. This day we took a slow walk looking at the many types of flowers and plants. Surprise! Isn’t that a cat’s face with a crown of phlox?

There are many trails in the  Old Faithful area and this trail people walk quickly on their way to someplace better. The Upper Geyser Basin has countless beautiful hot springs and geysers, but not here. How many people missed the surprising happy face in the algae and fungi atop this indistinct hot pool. There’s even flowers in place of hair.

Some days are just difficult regardless of your perspective. Being near the Lower Geyser Basin, even though it is 9:30am and the sun is up, the steam and fog make driving tough and photos tougher. Sometimes you just go for it and something fun happens. One vole down, millions to go?!

Getting the best angle with fences takes a lot of moving around, getting higher, getting lower, back and forth. You don’t want the fence rails to get in their own way. Here I found a sweet spot with a lot of moving around and hanging over the fence. Got all the vertical posts separated and only one overlaps nearest to us. A neat, clean leading line to dinner! That’s the bunkhouse at Lamar Buffalo Ranch where the kitchen and classrooms reside.

I don’t do any optical illusion photos, not purposefully anyway. There is that occasional dead tree right behind the head of a bison, an awkward background almost impossible to fix. Or a sign you could swear was not there but is now prominent in your family photo. We always intentionally consider the subject of our picture, but are we careful of the surroundings? I’ve ruined many a photo being less can careful, however, you can carefully create illusions in your photos with great, inventive results. You might enjoy viewing some here.

Until next time, hoping your perspective is gracious and forgiving, not only in life, but also to yourself as a photographer and fellow walker. We are all here to learn from each other my friends! See you soon . . .