DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Photographers see things! As we go about our daily routine, adventures and photographic journey, we tend to "see" what others may not. It might be the way light is hitting a subject, an unusual situation, or even the charm or sadness of an occasion and we find ourselves automatically framing it in our minds.
Our eyes are our cameras and our cameras are our eyes.
Photography, like the paintings and sculptures of the old masters, capture moments. Try as we might, memory is not always enough to capture it. A photograph helps to recreate feelings that memory itself cannot create.
When we look at a photograph, memories come crashing back. It is a kin to hearing a sound such as a lawn mower or an ice cream truck and remembering the lazy, hazy days of our youthful summers. When we catch the scent of freshly mown grass, or cotton candy or a campfire, the same memories flood in. When we look at our photographs, or the photographs of others it makes us recall all those things we would have otherwise forgotten.
Taking a photograph a day is probably the best way to record your year as your eyes see it! In the future, we can revisit these photographs and feel again the mood, energy and vibe of that moment in time.
And speaking of "seeing".....have you seen the following pictures on flickr and instagram?
Patricia Grof posted a wonderful picture on flickr of her mailbox for the prompt "arrive". It is a fantastic example of photographing her memories of receiving mail at her family home. It also makes the viewer nostalgic for home delivery!
Stephanie Todd (@windsurf257) posted a wonderful selfie of herself on instagram for the prompt "active". Stephanie is extremely active and this amazing selfie is going to go down as a great memory for sure!
We can always rely on Daneen Roth to impress us with her great photography. She always has a special way of photographing real life in real time and her rising smoke photograph for the prompt "rise" can be seen on flickr.
Sherri Brown (@gypsysnapsthejourney) captured an old rice dryer structure that always intrigued her for the prompt "monochrome". This photo can be seen on instagram. These old buildings are always being raised, so photographing it will preserve it for ever!
The prompt "veil" in black and white was no easy task! Yvonne Devereux (@whyemdev) nailed it with a stunning portrait of her Aunt who kindly posed for the photograph. She was making memories for sure! This photograph can be seen on instagram.
We had a really fun day with the "Where Is It?" prompt. Sue Burn really had us "I spying" with her fantastic take on the prompt as found on flickr.
For the prompt "Wander" Cheryl Toms (@tlacres) delighted us with her little beaver crossing the road....why did the beaver cross the road? It is a very charming forever memory caught on film!
Jessica Liniger continues to delight with her response to prompts. Her black and white photograph of tap shoes is one for the memory books!
Rebecca Darby is our resident Australian! It's always so wonderful to see what is going down ....well, down-under! Bec used the prompt "linger" to show us what it looks like down under the sea! Bec featured this photograph on flickr.
When it comes to the prompt 'numbers', Jen Little showed us she knows how to count! Her knitting photographs are always so special. She not only made memories with her knitting project but with her photography too.
Diana Rajala (@dsrajala) is a photographer artist extreme! Her work is absolutely stunning and so much fun! Diana's take on "on the ground" had us all oohing and awing over not just the picture but her gorgeous shoes! This photo was posted on instagram.
The prompt "Flutter" which included instructions on ICM, brought out the best in us. Cathy's (@wendel68vt) take on the prompt was simply stunning! Art in motion!
I think I could easily choose every single picture posted to feature in April's Picks, but alas, I can choose just a few. All of these pictures will be someone's memories sometime in the future. Remember to checkout Flickr and instagram to view more pictures like these!
Photography make us look. It makes us see. And most importantly, it helps us remember!