Sometimes, when you least expect it, the stars align.
I participate in a photography group that occasionally offers “assignments.” They’re just for fun, but I like that they push me creatively so I always try to take part. This week the assignment was reflection. I had really intended to find some water; we were supposed to get rain and I just adore playing with puddle reflections. But alas, the rain never came. Since I was tight on time I decided I would just stick around downtown after dropping my youngest off at school and capture an image I had made before, playing with my own reflection in the glass of the window of Goolrick’s Pharmacy. I wasn’t thrilled about just remaking an image I’d already done, but I hoped that perhaps once I got there I’d get inspired to do it in a little different way.
When I got to Goolrick’s I took the photo. It was fine. But I didn’t love it. Mostly I didn’t love that I hadn’t done anything new.
A couple of weeks ago I admitted to a friend that I was feeling like I was in a bit of a creative rut; that whenever I picked up the camera nothing came. His advice: “just stop that.” Seemed solid. And so with that in mind I decided I wasn’t letting this assignment get the best of me, and I wasn't going to settle for a stale photo. As I stood on the sidewalk contemplating what else I could do I began to notice the way the buildings across the street reflected in the glass. It was just early enough in the day with the light at just the right angle so that sharp contrasts were created, and the store fronts became almost perfect mirrors. And I began to fall in love with the portraits of this sweet little town that I was seeing in front of me.
I started to play, focusing on what was in the reflection of the window, rather than the window itself. I realized that while I often shrug off the idea of shooting downtown because I feel like I’ve shot every photo of every subject from every angle, I just needed my eyes opened to a new perspective.
And that’s the amazing thing about photography. If you do it, and you do it right, I think it forces you to find new ways to see the world. And if you’re lucky you can capture something that allows others to see it too.
I walked around for nearly two hours (that I didn't really have) so excited to be seeing my town in a beautiful new way.
