Julie writes "this ordinary world of ours is actually quite extraordinary. It might not always seem this way when we stumble out of bed in the morning finding our way to the bathroom or to the kitchen to prepare our coffee or breakfast. Instead, our ordinary life leaves us feeling rushed or even irritated while we try to make it out of the house on time. We’re uninterested. Not curious. On auto pilot. How can we truly appreciate being alive if we are missing the seemingly insignificant yet beautiful details of our daily lives."
Week 2 was about noticing our Ordinary/Personal world. Exploring our own -often overlooked- personal world and hopefully find the beauty and richness in the oh-so-ordinary.
Mental Challenges can arise out of this connection to our personal world. Personal ‘blocks’ about our space, emotional associations (my Mum gave that to me), mental jargon (I really should sweep) and the difficulty some of us have in finding ‘space’ at home. When photographing this assignment, sometimes the default is to ‘document’ our environment. For example: a picture of your bedroom or kitchen or backyard. In these ‘documentary type’ images it is easy for the viewer to clearly feel the lack of ‘feeling tone’ because they are documentary in nature. “ This is my fridge and look how little food there is in it.” or “Here is my fireplace…I wonder when the last time I swept was.” The stories begin to arise quite quickly. Maybe you see your space as cluttered. This is not always an issue of your environment being cluttered rather the mind of the photographer being cluttered. We can photograph a cluttered home in a mindful way, one that honors the space for what it is, rather than attempting to explain or justify it.
So, here are a few snaps from week 2:
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| Sunlight reflections from my table lamp |
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| Fork and spade resting in the sunlight |
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| Living room sofa catching the sunlight |
I am enjoying looking at the world in a simplistic manner (through the lens anyhow!) and it has had an additional benefit in that I am leaning towards the "less is more" approach.
The minimalism of your photos is beautiful. All of them are about sunlight and shadow, as well as focusing on the ordinary and homing in on just a small section of life. You are so talented as a photographer, and Julie's course very inspiring.
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