Almost every day when it is cold and clear, I look out the window in the back room late in the afternoon, and I see the setting sun through all the trees to the west. I like seeing that because is is part of my everyday. Finally today, it occurred to me that I should take a photograph of this scene. Because it is beautiful in its way and it is also kind of ordinary. Interesting thing about those who do documentary photography. You have to learn how to photograph the ordinary and the commonplace, which is really difficult. Because it is difficult to see the things we see every day, and realize that some of what we see is important and should be photographed, so that in 20 years, we can look back and remember what is important in history. What I have photographed today will not matter in 20 years, but I wanted to explain about photographing "the ordinary." Don't feel badly if you are completely confused by all I have written. I guess I should say that as I drive around Long Island and see the changes, I think to myself, "Oh man, why didn't I photograph that house or building or empty field 20 years ago. Everything has changed and I have no record of what was once there."
2 comments:
I can understand the difficulty in photographing the “ordinary” because we see the same things every day. It’s only when it’s gone that we look back and think “ I should have taken a photo of that!” Here’s to the ordinary… Betsey
This is a beautiful photo. Love the light as it fades through the trees. I like the title of the blog and the message today. There is something extraordinary in the ordinary moments. (Meant to send this yesterday!) Trace
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