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Lessons From Photography

The beauty of a thing depends almost entirely upon what perspective you choose to view it from. I am looking at an image I took of Queen’s Bath on the island of Kauai. I think it is beautiful. Lovely colors, water spilling over the rocks into a pool - the Queen’s Bath - making lovely doily like patterns on the surface. Yet, the other day I saw a picture of the same scene from a completely different angle, taken in the middle of the day in full, harsh light. From that angle in that stark light there was nothing attractive about the Queens Bath. It was kind of disappointing, and for awhile it affected my perception of this scene: which was the “real” Queens Bath? Is this it this one or the other?


I had to remind myself that I can be fooled by these things. Just because something is not so beautiful from one particular angle does not mean it isn’t beautiful from another. Same place, same person, same experience viewed just a little differently and it is transformed from not so great to wonderful. It is up to me as a photographer to find the perspective I find most beautiful, capture it with my camera, and then share the beauty I witnessed. I choose to choose the view that shows the most beauty, wonder, and enchantment; the view that lifts my spirit and deepens my appreciation of the beauty that is all around us.

My hope is that by capturing this beauty and sharing it with others, they will be able to experience some of the joy and exhilaration that I experience. We have been given such a treasure, such an amazing gift. I don’t think I will ever tire of witnessing its beauty.

You may also be interested in reading The East Side of the Sierras is Beautiful

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