sweet mystery

I’ve noticed that I can no longer look at the world around me without a photographer’s eye. So much so that I don’t realize I’m doing it until someone reminds me. Like when I comment about the way something simple looks so complex or the mundane looks somehow illuminated, I will often get either a blank stare – huh? or someone’s light bulb moment—wow! I would have never noticed that but now that you mention it…

For the most part when I turn my lens to the subject at hand I like to think that I am choosing or even controlling how I capture it; the point of focus, the compositional framing, the direction or intensity of the light. But the flipside and perhaps the balance is that I gladly and willingly rely on the help of the mystery of the medium itself. For me, this magic is what breaths life into my work, not me.

And sometimes even when I think I know what I am creating in a photograph, the subject, the light, the alchemy of all of it mixed together in some kind of creative stew brings tastes and smells that I could have never concocted on my own. Maybe that’s why I’m always hungry for more. It’s always one succulent visual feast after the next.

My favorite photographs are usually those that surprise me. The ones I didn’t see coming. When something extraordinary has developed from the ordinary. An image that draws me in and questions what it is I’m really seeing. Something refreshingly stimulating and curious.

What about you? Do you have images that have brought their own magic? Share with us the shots that challenge your senses and tickle your pallet with mystery and intrigue.

Comments

[Kelly G]

love the bokeh in this picture very much. also the little halo around the leaves. i'm not a "photographer" but i love photography and Shutter Sisters. keep 'em coming, please. :)

[laura - dolcepics]

Tracey, it's nice to know there's a sisterhood of like-minded people who see the world through a "viewfinder" even without a camera in our hands.

Here's my little bit of mystery:

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/do-not-enter/

[mnkathy]

one of my unexpected favorites. I think it was my first photo using my new camera and I just fell in love with the result quite by accident.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2424476502/

[Jeana]

I am totally in love with my lilies lately. I was really surprised by this one.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/2607400248_848e4bf4f0.jpg

[Marcie]

So good to hear that I'm not the only one who starts to see everything as a potential photograph. For me - everyday is a new surprise..and a reason for discovery. Here's a recent image:

http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=433

[Tracie]

This beautiful but dying magnolia bloom perched so regally at my eye level begging to be seen and remembered. It no longer glowed that ghostly white new magnolia blooms do. Instead it had the patina of rust--of old age-- of the earth. It was beautiful. A wind came and blew it apart soon after I took this photo. I saw it though and I photographed it. I will remember it.

http://tracienolesross.com/sketchbook/?p=130

[Kathleen]

I never was one for the more abstract side of photography - until I got my new DSLR and really started experimenting and taking it with me everywhere!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2500887758/

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

I went for a walk a week or two ago, and as the sun was beginning to set, I wanderer over into the uncut field in an attempt to capture the warmth that was surrounding me. I didn't think I got any good shots, but when I got home, I was pleasantly surprised!
http://wayfaring-wanderer.blogspot.com/2008/06/splendor-of-sun.html

[e.darcy]

I couldn't agree with you more. I find that when I leave the house without my camera I stumble upon a world of possibilities that I'm later kicking myself for. When I do bring my camera however--I let the world unfold before my lens. I sit and study the surroundings and wait for it to show itself to me. (even with the simplest of things..)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2444216852/in/set-72157604745133686/

new perspective, angles, adjustments-always always help. turning your camera slightly to the right might later have you jumping with joy when it comes to proofing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2379283866/in/set-72157604745133686/

[lora]

oh yeah. GREAT photos! everyone. thanks for sharing. =)

[lora]

here's one that i took a couple of days ago. i just grabbed a quickie without looking as I walked by by son picking flowers for me. Angling the camera under his face, aiming toward the sky, I didn't realize the sun was right there, or I probably wouldn't have taken it...good thing. =)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2594988447/in/set-72157605717261098/

[psumommy]

As usual, the photos are incredible! It's difficult for me to look at something without trying to figure out in my head how I would photograph it. Now if I could just figure out how to make that image in my head happen through the camera!

Here's my surprising photograph! http://nittanymommy.blogspot.com/2008/06/shutter-sisters-mystery-and-intrigue.html

[camerashymomma]

i think it would be a great shutter sisters challenge to have everyone shoot the same object. just imagine the possiblities! that's what i love so dearly about photography, within the image you also get to see a bit of the photographer. how they chose to shoot something, from what angle, the focus, etc. maybe we can all shoot a lightbulb? ha! you made me laugh with that thought, tracey, i am the same. my brother calls it the 'photographer's curse' but i see it more as a blessing, i wouldn't want to see life any other way!

i keep coming back to nature to find my mystery there.
The slender stalk, the curve of the petals
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2578575299/

the stem, the puddling rain, the asphalt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2575586342/

[Tracie]

I love abstraction!

http://flickr.com/photos/morning-tea/2557558481/

[mary]

Your photo is so wonderful! I know that I, too, seem to see everything in terms of light and composition these days. This quite ordinary flower became something extraordinary because of the light:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2544238425/

[Dawn]

i couldn't agree more!

http://nolegirl.typepad.com/my_weblog/

[Kacey]

I look at everything with a photographer's eye now too. Right now I'm into staring at catchlights in everyone's eyes, especially subtle ones:

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/05/10/my-favorite-flower/

And I'm all about the bokeh. I see bokeh opportunities everywhere:

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/05/10/my-favorite-flower/

[Mishelle Lane @ Secret Agent Mama]

I am actually working on a post about photography. I don't know when it will be ready to share, because I feel so much about it. Photography has certainly become my purpose in life, and I'm allowing it to.

I have certain shots that are quite accidental, but that have become my favorites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/2541552362/in/set-72157604353736068/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/2540730273/in/set-72157604353736068/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/2464339352/in/set-72157604353736068/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/2486183752/in/set-72157604353736068/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/2601633466/in/set-72157604353736068/

[Kate Baumert]

http://happyinthehamptons.blogspot.com/2008/06/summer-skies.html

[Mrs. Eaves]

I was really surprised at how beautiful the leaf of a tomato plant can be when the morning sun hits it just right:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrs-eaves/2607190953/

[heidi]

i didn't intend for this shot to be so abstract, but i love the result:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hstender/2517207023/

participating in Project 365 has forced me to bring my camera more places and develop a photographer's eye. i enjoy it more than i expected!

[Temmy]

This first one did not look anything like this with the naked eye. And, I didn't post process either.

http://tbirdonawire.net/tbirdwp/2007/10/24/wordless-wednesday-9/dsc-0036-4jpg/

This one is one of the ways our barn cats get inside the barn. We have no idea how the hole was made in the first place.

http://tbirdonawire.net/tbirdwp/2007/11/02/cat-door/cat-door/

[Lawyer Mama]

Oh gosh, Tracey, I find myself doing this too. I get a lot of strange looks when I share it out loud but I just love it when someone *gets* what I mean! (-;

I'm so glad you liked my shot. Another one that I unexpectedly loved, was the companion to the shot linked above. Different child, slightly different angle, but same composition:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2596944154/

[carrie]

Some of my favorites were just results of me shooting away. I suppose there is a subconscious thing happening there.

I love this site, by the way! I am new around here and I love it.

here are some I haphazardly shot from my front porch because I liked the light, but it turned out to be way better than I had expected.

http://visuallyhandicapped.blogspot.com/2008/06/sunshine-rain.html

[jag]

Wow - I can't believe I'm actually posting a couple of my shots on Shutter Sisters! You guys are amazing teachers...

I often find beauty in the ordinary and take joy in capturing it with my P&S. Here are a couple of my favourites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2608585282/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2607754445/

Shutter On, Friends...
jag xox

[mika]

tracey, you write beautifully and your photo selections are lovely... i love thinking about and expressing all this in an almost poetic way... my three favorite forms of expression are photos, words, and dance...

and that feeling you're talking about...it really is magic..

here's some moments when i got something i didn't quite expect...something simple yet...in my eyes at least, some form of beautiful...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2513788471/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2569823562/

:)

[Michelle]

I was goofing around with my camera the other night and I got this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26029966@N02/2608061351/

Can anyone explain what I'm seeing?

[Christina]

I too see the world through the viewfinder now. I am forever seeing the potential photographs. A few days ago my sister and I took the kids on a walk through the woods, and I stopped in awe and said "wow, that LIGHT!" She looked at me as if I'm crazy. :o)

[kristin]

my little mystery. just a day late.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2609812405/

[Jane]

http://janeswanson.blogspot.com/2008/06/electric-sailboats.html

This photograph was taken at dusk
at Eagle Harbor, Ephraim, Wisconsin.
In the daytime, this harbor is filled
with anchored sailboats.
I love how the night lights on the shore line
were turned into ghostly electric sailboats.

[Rachel Parton]

http://partonpics.blogspot.com/2008/06/droplets.html

[elizabeth]

for me, this shot was one. I remember taking it, then looking at it in my camera and thinking, "Hmmm .. don't really like this .. I should delete it." But for some reason I didn't. And after a few months of seeing it in my photo gallery, I realized that somehow everything in the shot just worked for me, and it became one of my favorite photos ever.

http://retinalperspectives.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/a-look-back-at-2007/


there are some gorgeous images in the links above!

[Alice C]

This picture sparkled when I saw it for the first time. I love it!

http://magpiefiles.blogspot.com/2008/05/lucky-moment-in-treviso.html

[MelB]

I got tulips for Mother's Day. This photo was taken when they were droopy and slightly wilty. :)
http://flickr.com/photos/melbaldwin/2522853887