The Great, Wide Unknown ...

I've been asked repeatedly from what do I gain inspiration for my photographs? What do I look for? Being the overtly analytical Virgo that I am, I've thought often about this question. I look at the photographs I've uploaded to my Etsy site for a clue as to a theme. There is none that I can discern, other than repetitions. My eye does go to repetitions of shapes. I tend to be drawn to diagonals, angles. But that's the extent of inspiration, and I think that's just personal preference, not inspiration.

I think I gain most inspiration from just being alive. There are so many things around me that may seem mundane, unremarkable to most, and I couldn't tell you ahead of time what will, in the next moment, catch my eye, that will take my breath away and know that I HAVE TO CHRONICLE THAT IMAGE!

A case in point, this afternoon my sister and I got haircuts, and then drove on to Costco to pick up some items. Items purchased, Mel started to drive to our next destination, but the route she normally takes was blocked off due to road repair, so she took a detour.

Stop the car and go back! As Mel drove around the back of Costco I spied a whole bunch of crushed cardboard boxes. Lordy! Lordy! There were shapes and colors and repetitions I could NOT pass up! So, she calmly turned around, pulled over, lit up a cigarette, and I hopped out and clicked away to my heart's content.

I didn't wake up this morning with a hunger to photograph bundled cardboard boxes. And they were not in a route that I would normally take. I absolutely love this adventure aspect of photography, the serendipity, at least the type of photography that appeals to me. At the end of the day, I am amazed at what caught my eye.

I printed out the images to share with my sister and to see which, if any, appealed to her aesthetic. Her favs are not included in the selection below, but I valued knowing how her eye/mind read images.

So, good readers, the following are five of the 15 images that inspired me today. They may simply be cardboard boxes to you, but to me they are treasure.

August 9, 2011