Still Life, with Gummy (or…oh no, there she goes again…)
As mentioned, I have been taking a photography class, and by thinking about photography so much lately, it has me looking at the world in a whole new way.
I see the daily items in my life differently. I imagine the world through my lens.
I look at light a lot more carefully too. As in “whoa, that’s good light” or “man, too bright…I’d mute that, maybe dampen it with a dark cloth.”
So it’s been overcast here the past several days. Before this class, I might look at those cloudy gray skies and lament the winter.
But now, with a photographic eye, I’m like “yeah baby! Best light ever!”
The muted light of a cloudy day really makes the colors pop. Who knew the winter could be so photographically fun!
Also, now, since everything gets my look as though through a lens, I notice more. Little objects take on meaning. A weird weather beaten door is endlessly fascinating. I have to stop and look…sometimes to the dismay of people I am with…
So yesterday, on a routine trip to the post office, I saw a fascinating little tableau.
A careless, random smattering of gummy bears.
The stormy skies lit up the colors. They were bright like lit from inside.
All I had was my iPhone, but I had to stop and take a picture.
The photo isn’t great. It isn’t even artistically very interesting. And technically…oy! Focus is on the middle gummy with foreground blurry. Whoops. The angle isn’t interesting. Oh well.
So the photo doesn’t capture exactly what I saw, but helps me remember. Remember that overlooked things, weird leavings, and random items can, with the right light, be made beautiful and interesting and worth stopping to look.
My photography teacher is quoted as saying, “A photograph makes us care.”
So, really, no one cares about some spilled gummy bears.
But to me, I have to wonder, just what sort of gummy tragedy occurred here?
