Kitty in a drum

Kitty in a drum

I am working on a week long photography and poetry challenge inspired by a prompt from Poets & Writers called Excavating the Mind.

Day 5 notes and observations

Today, I thought I’d switch things up and make observations inside. I didn’t want to just take pictures of stuff; I wanted to really observe something. At first, since Levi wanted me to open doors so he could wander around, I thought I would take pictures through doorways.

I quickly realized I was only putting lines and edges on spaces. Then I saw myself reflected in a light fixture and started thinking about how the observer alters what they are observing. So, today’s observations are a philosophical study of how I put myself into the images and the observations.

Now I’m brushing up on quantum physics. Though my observations were originally more philosophical, I’m playing with light, so physics it is. The observer effect is the theory that observing an object or phenomenon, changes that object or phenomenon.

In today’s images, I put myself, in reflection, into the images as I took them, thus changing the image through my observation. I know that this happens naturally, often not recognized or observed. It was different doing it with purpose.

Notes:

• taking pictures through doorways only works as a frame
• my reflection shows up in unexpected places
• certain illusions can’t be photographed
• I wonder if my reflection and shadow are in my photographs and I never noticed
• I find how objects end up together in space intriguing
• example hulk hands and taxidermied hornbill–hard to make that up

There you have it, Day 5’s pictures and observations. For fun, I recommend going back through some of your photographs and finding yourself in reflective surfaces or shadows.

Happy Reading and Writing!