There are three, maybe four kinds of photos on this sight (interesting slip). There are miracle photos that I am honored to document when they occur. The angel supervising the sunrise is an example of that, in the "spectacular displays of nature" category. The trolley tracks and the washing machine are another type of miracle shot, the miracles of everyday life.
Beautiful sunrises, sunsets and flowers are also in this category. But after stalking the latter quite relentlessly this year and filling my heart and eyes with the breathtaking beauty around me, I realized that, let's face it , it has been done. The purpose of taking those picture is to keep me close to the earth and its cycles, so that I can be in the right place when the miracles arrive. I also use some of those photos when I need a pretty picture. The Lily illustrating Sonnet #98 is one of those.
There are guidance photos, like the lichen in the fish pond, the all in a row series; photos that seem to provide a message about direction.
In order to be categorized as either one of the above, the image has to appear spontaneously. It cannot be deliberately constructed.
Then there are photos that are taken for documentation, to let you know what I'm talking about. The Heaven photo is the best of this kind, because it was also naturally occuring. Others like the elephants on the bridge are there simply to illustrate the narrative. Sometimes these illustrations turn out to be interesting photos too, like the baby shoes in the frying pan and Ganesha - or funny like the goldfish in washing machine. When I set up a shot with my little hot hands, I don't consider it a miracle photo.
I saw a wonderful shot in an ad in a French magazine, a subscription to which is a mere $71, Cote Sud - a hummingbird hovering over the corner of a black and white, line patterned, silk scarf which was fully blown out like a sail in the wind at the beach. That's what I call a set up. It was probably adobed to the hilt, but it was spectacular.
Posted by Dakota at December 4, 2003 08:18 PM