Take a closer look

APAD-20D-041111-5190 I shot this image one day in my back yard, right after I got a new lens delivered. I was in a hurry, not paying much attention to what I was shooting, just getting the feel of the new lens.

When I viewed the image on my computer later, I found that there was a little more in the image than I had expected. Click on the image to view a larger size and you’ll see it.

It was pure luck that I captured this image. But I have to wonder: how many other images have I missed by not paying attention? How many have I missed by hurrying to get to whatever next “thing” I needed to do?

INS-10D-040610-4356 Here’s another example. While I wasn’t rushing to capture this image and move on, I still didn’t See everything that was there until I viewed the image on my computer. Even in the thumbnail here you can see the tiny paper wasp eggs, but I was more focused on the wasps themselves.

Again: how many images have I missed by focusing on one thing and not seeing the larger picture? Have I lost the proverbial diamonds in the rough by focusing only on the sparkly quartz?

I think there’s a lesson to be learned here, and it applies to more than just photography.

How many times have I rushed through my day and my life, not taking the time to stop and examine the things that are, or should be, important to me? How many times have I focused on one particular job or project, and lost track of the big picture?

Am I just looking, or am I Seeing?

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