People often criticize (amateur) photographers, saying they can only see the world through the camera lens and don’t stop to truly ‘experience’ it. This has always frustrated me. One of the reasons I’m drawn to photography is that it helps me see the world in a different way. When I’m in ‘photographer mode’ I’m always on the look out for the unusual, the beautiful, the photograph-able.
A recent example of this was this week’s assignment for my urban landscapes workshop: take photos within 100 feet of your front door. Part of the assignment was to see if we really consider where we live ‘home’. I initially struggled with the assignment. For a number of reasons – we’re only there for a few months, the surrounding area is more business park than ‘neighborhood’, the building is new construction – our current living conditions feel more like an extended hotel stay than ‘home’.
This assignment helped me see where I live in a new way. Rather than just rushing through the cold New England wind to get in the door, I stopped outside, looking for the unusual, the beautiful, something I could photograph. Knowing those things are there now helps me feel more of this place.
A few of the results:
