Seeing Things Differently

Someone close to me recently asked me why I create out of focus images.  She wanted to know why, if I wanted a photograph of something, I didn't want it to actually look like that thing.  I explained to her that creating out of focus images allows me to shoot what I had began to consider the same old things in a different way.  It also allows me creative freedom to showcase what was important to me in that moment, creating an image that not only documents a memory of mine but also expresses a feeling.  By creating out of focus images, I am able to relax, releasing the pressure of perfection, and see things differently through a lens that only I have. In this series of out of focus images, I was standing on the shoreline of my normal sunset spot on Hatteras Island watching an incredible sunset.  The sky was filled with magnificent clouds, clearing from days of dreary rain.  The sunset was spectacular and I created many images of it.  But, it was allergy season and my eyes were itchy and blurry and as I stopped to close them for a moment, I was drawn to the most beautiful highlights of the golden sunset as they created incredible patterns on the water.  My blurry eyes had allowed me to notice this moment when everyone else on the beach was watching the sky.

Out of focus images don't always work.  Many times the message is lost and and the images are trashed.  But occasionally, the mood is captured and the moment is perfectly documented.  And like anything else, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So, while some might see a photograph of a thing that doesn't look like the thing, to me, it's an exact replica of a moment, a feeling, and a memory.

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