The Power of Perspective

Part of why I love macro photography is the perspective it allows. I love how when I go to take photos because I see something of interest, shoot it, and it’s fascinating, but more often than not, I find myself  taking a photo of something else nearby. Typically those photos end up more fascinating than what I originally meant to take a picture of. Shooting in macro forces me to lie on the ground, kneel in the dirt, lean up against a dirty wall, bend and twist in unusual forms, but it allows me to look at things differently. See things in a way I may have not normally chosen to look them.

I was at a coffee shop I like to frequent, when I looked out the window and saw someone had left a mug on a table (which, personally, is rude - artistically, it made a cool shot). I don't know what it was about this image that struck me, but I like the intrigue of a mug left behind. Who sat at the table? People don't typically sit outside on an autumn afternoon alone, having coffee. What did they talk about? Were they friends? Lovers? Family? And while no, this is not technically a 'macro' shot, it took a lot of work to make sure nothing of the city behind made it into the shot. I love that the plants above the brick wall block out the florescent city lights and traffic.

 

A bit about this photo: if you look at the photo above, this shot is taken about three feet from that table. To get the first image, I had to kneel down on the 'cobble stone' you see here. I wanted the perspective in the first photo to match what I saw when I was sitting at a table in the shop. That involved kneeling down to take it. When I did, I saw the afternoon light hitting the green moss growing between the cracks in this stone. It was just a slight shift in my perspective. So now, I go from kneeling on the ground, to lying on it.

While I do typically favor close ups, sometimes I move back to capture more of what I'm looking at. Even when I do that though (because God knows I just can't be normal) I try to off-center my photos. Again, I feel like this makes me really look at something, and helps me to really appreciate what I'm looking at. Here, how could appreciate these crimson seeds without the muted brown branches and thorns?

Then I move in and take the close ups.

These beautiful crystal, snow flake looking plants, remarkably, were planted right next to the red plants from above. I didn't even notice them at first because I had only seen the red ones (hard to miss them). I was ecstatic when I found these however, because they sparkled in the sun.

I would like to note that I took all of these photos within in the same hour. I had my camera with me and saw these interesting things outside of the coffee shop. So a little perspective: yeah, I'm the crazy person outside lying on the ground taking pictures of the stone, but who cares? I realize that it's not for everyone, but it's all matter of point of view. What's important is doing that which makes us happy and respects everyone else at the same time. I'm not hurting anyone while taking photos and it's enjoyable.

Our lives are complex and can be so full of beautiful things if we shift our perspectives just a bit and allow a little room for different people and experiences.