Perception Versus Reality

Apparently I wrote Perception Versus Reality on August 22, 2009, then did nothing with it.

On my computer desktop is a folder called Articles To Write. In it are 43 things, some text files where I apparently started writing something, the rest are folders organized in the way I do things when getting ready to put up a post here. For whatever reason, lack of time, interest or anything all that interesting to say, they never got done. I went through a lot of trouble picking out images to use since they are all manipulated and sized correctly. And there they sit.

In an effort to clean things up in my life this year, I’m going to make these go away and put them up here where they were intended. If there were no words to go with the images, I’m not going to bother writing any down now. If there were just words and no images, unless I can find some in less than 5 minutes, I don’t see any purpose in spending any more time on them.

I might put one up a day, or one a week, or I might dump a handful of them up here in one day. We’ll see.

I got bored with them once, I could see that happening again. So after putting up a handful I might find better things to do. Like fishing. Or taking a hike. Or napping.
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Perception Versus Reality

There’s how things look and then there’s how you see things.

Or how you think you see things.

Back when there were no digital cameras you would have to bring in your roll of film and then wait a week for the 3×5 or 4×6 pictures. Duplicates if they were offering them for free.

Then you would pull open the envelope and thumb through the pictures.

Usually the first thing you think of is “that’s not how I pictured it.” Or, “why did I take a picture of that?” And then you would stash the envelope in a box or a drawer and forget about it.

Then some day you’ll die and some family member will find the pictures you took and start thumbing through them and the first thing they’ll think of is “why the hell’d he take pictures of this shit?”

And they’ll throw them all in the garbage.

That’s why I took photography years ago and had a black and white dark room setup. There was what I saw and what I wanted to see. Take the picture and then manipulate it till it matches what you thought you saw.

Or felt.

What I don’t do is mess with lenses much. Any idiot can slap a fisheye or wide angle lens on a camera and get an interesting shot. Same with telephoto lenses. Everyone makes a big deal about close up nature photos when in reality the photographer is a quarter of a mile away shooting away with a lens over 3 feet long.

Snap shots, stock lenses in the 35 to 55 mm range.

Makes you think differently.

How you going to get that close up nature shot now?