Zero In on Subject

Our eyes zero in on subjects without us really know it.  Its only when we take a photograph that we see all of the extraneous material that our "eye" did not see but our camera lens DID!  Sometimes it takes a while to fully comprehend what the subject is.  Or, just maybe, there are several ways of presenting the same subject - one in a more "environmental" setting and one that is close-cropped, centering on the "real" image. 

One of my favorite photographs from last fall's journey to Rajasthan and the Pushkar Mela was of a young girl, perhaps 10 years of age - though looking more wizened than that.  The daughter of itinerant salespeople, she naturally composed herself for this first image. The "environmental portrait" included the tools of the family trade and the jumbled surroundings of sand and litter.  And those "Raj Girl Eyes" always have drawn me in. 

Recently, in looking at the photo again, I realized that there was a second image - and I think a stronger one - that zooms in on the face and the eyes. The wizened beyond years look is more pronounced because our eyes are now longer distracted by the surroundings, but can zero in on the face. Both images are, in my humble opinion, wonderful.  Each has its place. And as you review and edit and view and edit some more, look at options to more tightly zoom in the the "meaning" and "subject" of your photographs. 



Salak's Four Corners - A Recommended Read

I've just completed reading what is, perhaps, my favorite travel narrative of all time - and that's saying a lot with well over 200 such titles in my personal collection.  Kira Salak's "Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea," is filled with personal tales of triumph and near tragedy, of pushing one's limits but being aware of one's vulnerability, of traveling solo (and as a woman) to prove something to one's self and of being open to the road less traveled, and of an understanding of cultures and different ways of being.  Full of serendipity and with the machete ever-ready, her travels are expertly relayed in wonderful, detailed, yet straightforward prose. 
Talking about a intricately carved canoe and paddle that she and a male companion purchase for an on-going journey down the Sepik River, she writes:

In the West, this might be called extravagance, a waste of time. If the purpose is to create a canoe, why bother with superfluous decoration? But in PNG, time is wasted when one makes something purely pragmatic reasons because then nothing is honored in the process; one creates an object without meaning. As the crocodile figures in all of the local creation myths, its carved presence on paddles and prows revels a reverence for the divine, which coexists closely with daily life. 

 And at the end of her journey, she realizes the world of travel is multi-faceted:

In the end, I see that there are many kinds of journeys, and one isn't necessarily any better than another - just different.   

*****

http://www.kirasalak.com/FourCorners.html