Look and See
by I.J. Hudson
During my reporting days, I occasionally had master’s candidates at American University intern with me for a few weeks. The big lessons were – connect with people, listen, “look and see.” “Look and see” sounds like a childrens’ game, but it’s a matter of really seeing more of what you look at or seeing beyond the obvious. While passing a cemetery in Southeast Washington I would ask, “What do you see?” The answer invariable was, “a cemetery.” “Look at the names.” Upon prompting they saw Jewish names on some of the headstones. People forget that Jews lived in all quadrants of DC.
What does this have to do with photography? Look up, look down, look all around. See subjects near and far. When you spot something interesting far away, don’t forget to keep looking as you move toward it. Something else may be almost in front of you – or maybe landed just behind you. Or the light coming from the other direction looks better.
A recent post on “forest bathing” goes with “look and see.” I often sit down, take in the surroundings and start narrowing my gaze – from forest to tree – to nearby plants and even insects. There’s always something interesting. Look closer for photo subjects.
Example: look at this stand of Zinnias. What you see? Zinnias, of course. But look closer and “smaller” – and you see my frog friend.
I mentioned patience in a previous blog. Watch creatures for a while. Take a few pictures. Wait and watch. You’ll soon get tired of a “bird on a stick” type photograph. You want a cute expression. Wings flapping. A bird eating. Patience. I have seen several photographers bring along a small foldup chair, and plop down for 20 minutes and just watch….and wait for the opportunities to come to them, or for the scene to change.
At first, only one Cormorant was drying his wings, then two others joined in.
You can walk or wait. The pictures are out there for you – just “look and see.”