Expanding Your Photographic Style(s)

Introspection

Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings
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"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult."
— Lucius Annaeus Seneca
 
I’ve written in the past about experimenting and expanding your photographic style(s), either as a self-discovery process or simply for the fun of it (Where Does Your Brain Go? 8-9-2016).  Well, I recently put my money where my mouth is with a submission to an exhibition of an image completely different from my usual — and even my not so usual — imagery.
 
I strayed away from Nature to experiment with the mechanical/industrial side of life.  I was walking around Old Town Alexandria, VA — founded 300-ish years ago — where many of the old buildings have elaborate stonework and intricate wrought iron fence and gate details.  There is a marina there, too, rife with ropes and riggings and fabrics and peeling paint.  And, of course, among all this city stuff, there were also modern mechanical/industrial elements; bicycle racks, street lights, modern architecture, and cars with shiny bumpers and space age-looking headlights.  This is where I found my image.
 
In looking closely at the detail of all the reflective surfaces within a headlight fixture, I saw my reflection.  I wondered which of the many different points of view I saw was the “right” one?  If each one represented a separate interpretation of me, then which one was most correct?  Were they all correct in their own ways? Was any one of them really correct; or were they all skewed to some degree?
 
Introspection was born.

The rest of the images I shot that day were also interesting.  Some showing a way of life long past.  Some showing newer technologies.  But to me, compared to Introspection, they were all just catalog shots.  Just recordings of what I had seen. They didn’t really have much to say.  No “reason for being”.  No “hook”. 
 
So I learned a little something that day.  By stepping outside of my box and leaving my comfort zone, I got a glimpse of me reflected in a subject I would have said I had zero affinity for.  A glimpse both literal and metaphorical…
 
Thank You for visiting,
 
— Chris
 
P.s.     What have you tried lately that pushed your boundaries?  Either photographic or otherwise.  Try a new ethnic food?  Go see a “weird” movie?  Jump out of a plane?  Let’s hear about it!

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