Sights Unseen

I found this in my fridge the other morning. Before I tossed it in the trash—it was long past the point of being still edible—the insides this bell pepper caught my eye. Mesmerized by the patterned intricacies of the seeds I sat it on the kitchen counter. Once I got the kids off to school I came back to study, and yes photograph this strange and surreal object.

Later that afternoon I showed my 11-year-old the images. She was bewildered.

You took that picture? What in the world?

Indeed. There is nothing about this that feels familiar. That’s what makes it so curious and compelling.

The smooth and shiny bright outside of a pepper is interesting in itself but until one peels back the layers and looks at what lies within, part of that story remains untold.

So, what about looking behind the curtain today? What do you see?

Comments

[kosenrufu mama]

I love the picture....

http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2009/03/quotidiano.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23206424@N07/3286804319/

[Elizabeth]

Lately I have been finding beauty and intrigue in the oddest things...the disheveled edges of a ream of paper, the inner folds of my dogs' paws, the light bouncing out of the refrigerator door.

[Marcie]

It was the raindrops on the leaves that first attracted me. What I found was hidden beauty within:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=466

[Vanessa]

such vivid colour: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/3075836166/in/set-72157607625768404/

[Carmen Torbus]

Great photo and so much of life is like that ya know.

[Puna]

Thank you for this post...you inspired me to photograph and to write.

Inside my morning.

http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/inside-my-morning/

[~ kristina ~]

So true! The thing I love about my macro lens is that it often reveals tiny details that I don't even notice with my own eye.

I've taken better examples, but the fourth photo down gives some sense of this - a tiny blossom barely an inch wide - the stamens in the center are so much more visible when shot with a macro.

http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/2009/03/in-details.html

[shelli]

There is so much that is beautiful and bewildering in the natural world. This is a beautiful picture.

[Kelly]

I love this picture - it's so... calm and pretty... well seen! I dropped a tulip into a wine glass recently and found this shot a couple days later when I finally got around to tossing it...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3288786228/

[Jeannette]

I did this the other day with a cantelope:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7550209@N04/3332318705/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7550209@N04/3333157010/in/photostream/

My 5 year old didn't quite understand why I would want to take pics of it, but she was very polite (I even got a pat on the shoulder).

Love the texture on the pepper seeds!

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

New beginnings upon the horizon......

http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2009/03/in-end.html

[renee @ FIMBY]

Ok, I was TOTALLY inspired this morning by this post. I didn't exactly pull back the curtain or find past due vegetables from my fridge but I did look at the salve on my kitchen counter in a whole new way.

When I changed my focus, literally, I found such unexpected and slightly odd beauty that I just had to post about it.

http://fimby.tougas.net/shifting-focus

An inspired Friday morning, a good way to start the day.

[Sarah - Ji]

Oh, Tracey, we're tuned into to that same station again! Here's what I posted on my blog for today:
http://sarah-ji.squarespace.com/blog/2009/3/6/otherworldly.html

It's so weird how you can take photos of something so familiar (in my case, our neighborhood beach) and wonder to yourself what planet you took those photos on. Funny how your daughter's response to your picture was the same as my response to my own photos.

[Leslie]

Georgia, I just spent a lot of time go through all your photo's. Your work = food for the soul. Thank you for creating such amazing photo's - I really appreciate them

[hi kooky]

Taking a closer look this morning. At toast!

http://hikooky.blogspot.com/2009/03/he-made-his-own-toast-this-morning.html

[bee & jack]

I've loved this rust pipe ever since I moved into our house.

http://beeandjack.blogspot.com/2009/03/sight-unseen.html

[Alejandra]

I found this at an art gallery in Sta. Monica.

http://fotografias-fotografias.blogspot.com/2009/03/reduce-reuse-recycle.html

[Charlane]

I love red bell pepper - to eat and to photograph. nature on its own is stunning in it's simplicity and intricate details.

[Amanda Johnston]

My daughter said your bell pepper looks like brains, LOL. I think it's fabulous. I took my camera out this afternoon with the macro and had fun shooting very small usually unnoticed things. I continue to be fascinated by weeds.

http://endlesslightcreations.blogspot.com/2009/03/weeds.html

[Leslie]

I am loving the recent posts, but finding little time to comment with three healing cases of chicken pox just behind us! Thanks for being here as an escape even though I haven't been able to participate!

I am a sucker for taking interesting pictures of things normally unnoticed when I am out with the kids on walks. Here are a couple from recent times:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/3315541184/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/3267579563/

[jenn]

We actually did a project like this in an art class I took. We had to bring in one of a list of different fruits and vegetables... mine was a pepper. We had to draw it whole, and then cut it and draw it closer and cut it again and draw a smaller section (we weren't allowed to draw the whole thing anymore), etc. It was our introduction to abstract art and was a really fabulous exercise. I've never thought to try it with my photography though. Thanks for bringing it back to mind!

[Julie Alvarez]

This is what happens when you pay too much attention to the shape of things, and the light:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3308064446/

[littlepurplecow (Stephanie Roberts)]

Love this capture, Tracey.

[Serena]

what in the world are those.. stuff! :O

[Tammie]

This is a wonderful image, I love the magic that macro shots reveal.