40 Comments
User's avatar
Yasumi Toyoda's avatar

I love this! I am tempted to print them and move them around my desk in a never ending puzzle.

Susanne Helmert's avatar

So funny, I had the same impulse! 😃

Yasumi Toyoda's avatar

I think we HAVE to try this!

perfectlight's avatar

go on, do it please! just show us some photos from time to time

Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you for mentioning my book here. I think you pointed out one important thing here - starting to look for ordinary things is one thing, but looking at it from a photographers stand point a completely new one. Latter leads often to much more than just this one photo!

The rails are fun. Like Yasumi, I immediately thought it would be fun to play around with prints of them on a table or make collages out of them! 😃

perfectlight's avatar

all we have to do is look, there's beauty everywhere around us: one approach is trying to discover the world with a child's eyes and mind.

Paul Jenkin's avatar

Guilty as charged! So often, if I'm out and about with a goal in mind, I "look" but I don't always "see" what's right in front of me.

perfectlight's avatar

be a child 😉

KewtieBird’s Photo Journey's avatar

Yes! Artistic looks at random things…..very nice!

Lin Gregory's avatar

Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary...yes! There's a great deal of beauty in the random things around us - the more you look the more the imagination flows. I've not worked with collages or even triptychs much but I can see how something as simple as a handrail or any other random object can be transformed.

perfectlight's avatar

do it for fun at least once, you never know what road your creativity will take

Xavi B.'s avatar

Love this, that's the modernist spirit that transformed photography into an art form.

Sara Serrano's avatar

Nice read!! So true looking things a different “more abstract” way really sparks creativity!!

Marcel Borgstijn's avatar

Great example of finding interesting objects everywhere. No excuses that you live in a boring environment with nothing of interest. Love the mentioned puzzle idea.

perfectlight's avatar

no excuses is right!

Crina Prida's avatar

when I am uninspired I read or go out with friends, maybe edit stuff from my constantly huge backlog. I do NOT photograph hoping for the best.

perfectlight's avatar

people are different and different things are working for different people: some like jazz, some like rock. the meaning of the post is not "hoping for best" (that can be an approach, yes) but to encourage people to look, to photograph and stop moaning and use their creativity instead.

Giles Thurston's avatar

Many thanks for the mention, and guilty as charged on the pallet front 😔😂

As you can imagine, I totally agree with your perspective. You just need to slow down and look, really look. There is beauty everywhere and you just need to be open to seeing it.

Love your examples using the handrail and the idea of presenting them as a triptych is great 👌🏻📸

perfectlight's avatar

i'm a pallet lover too 😉

Pavel Petros's avatar

cool set of photos, somehow refreshing, I mean it is more interesting than to see just under photo of stop sign in grand canyon

Marco's avatar

These days, I've been realizing I'm taking pictures of ordinary, common things, which, however, in the frame take on a different identity, a different charm, or simply, who knows, express their true essence?

In any case, I find it very interesting, fun, and, yes, relaxing, without the craving for perfection or performance that often comes with taking a photo.

Great post and beautiful photos!

perfectlight's avatar

thank you very much!

søren k. harbel's avatar

There is something really interesting here. Whether it is how the rail cuts the white space, or whether it is the presence of the hardware. I am not sure, but it really works well. I like the idea of printing them and moving them around as a puzzle, as Yasumi Toyoda suggested! Great fun!

perfectlight's avatar

thank you! appreciate your continuous support

Todd Haughton's avatar

Wise words to live by! We are often surrounded by beauty, but are “too busy” to notice. All we need to do is slow down and pay attention.

I love your triptych and how the curve of the rail from one photo plays off of the one adjacent to it - fun!

Joseph's avatar

Great article...and so true...there are many things around us that we often don't see.

The Bard of Tysoe's avatar

Words that every photographer should grasp really hard; and photography students (both formal and informal) should learn by heart… – and then simply absorb as part of who they are and what they do.

Thank you so much for this; and for photographing what, to me, is a very beautiful handrail. (The people who made and installed it should be proud.)

perfectlight's avatar

thank you! i don't know how to pass on your message to the handrail people

Juliette's avatar

100% spot on! I'm getting more into this and make a small reference to it in my upcoming newsletter update. Great topic! Cool visuals.