Life Lessons Through Photography

Today I was outside taking pictures for only five minutes.  However, in that short amount of time I realized two important things about photography that can also be applied to life in general.

1.  You can't always plan on moments of greatness happening but you can prepare for them so that you are ready to seize the opportunity when they present themselves.

This afternoon, I was driving home from an incredible acapella concert, featuring the Yale Whiffenpoofs who will soon appear on NBC's The Sing Off.  The corner of my eye caught a tree whose leaves were illuminated by the late afternoon sun.  (Apparently the tree must not have gotten the same message as the other trees lining the street-- time for your leaves to fall!)  Luckily, I had my camera with me so I pulled my car over to the side of the street and was able to capture this afternoon sunlight on film.  Had I not had my camera, this moment would have passed, sans pictures.

 

2.  Changing perspectives can make the picture look entirely different, just as looking at a situation from a different vantage point can entirely change one's view of a situation.

Taking the same tree, I simply snapped several pictures but from different directions.  This completely changed the way that the light illuminated the leaves, affecting the composition and mood of the pictures.  Some of the vantage points created a neat effect.  In this picture, the silhouette of the house, nicely frames the tree.

In this picture, the angle of the sunlight indicates that the sun is going to be setting soon.  For me, the picture triggers what I feel when the sun sets early on a late fall afternoon.

The perspectives of all three of the above pictures are effective.  Although the pictures are of the same tree, the compositions and moods of the picture change depending on the vantage point.  Not all of the perspectives that I attempted this afternoon were effective. 

For example, in the following photograph, there was too much light and the picture looked overexposed.

This last picture was taken at a perspective where the sunlight created a glare on the windows of the houses lining the street.  The effect that this had on the photographs was that the light reflected from the windows detracts the viewer's attention from the subject of the picture, the tree. 

Questions to Ponder

1.  How can you make sure that you are prepared to seize the opportunity when moments of greatness occur?
2.  When has changing your perspective affected the way that you've viewed a situation?