In the eyes of the beholder

Art and beauty has a different meaning from person to person. One persons junk is another persons treasure and it depends on what you choose to see. I think this picture is a prime example of what I’m trying to say, and I remember taking it as if it was yesterday. I know the location I shot it and I remember that on that day, I choose to see more than just a weed. I think it was the beginning of pushing the boundaries, and opening my eyes to the unusual and different.

I added the bubbles later, trying to give the ordinary subject of a thistle an extraordinary feel and this was the end result. But it was far from being done and many month later, a friend urged me to submit it into a local photo contest. He loved the picture so much and thought that I should give it a shot. I did and forgot all about it. Weeks later the newspaper calls me and initially I’m thinking that they were trying to sign me up to receive the local paper. No, I’m sorry, I don’t want to subscribe and I get my news in the go, I say. The man on the other line pauses for a moment and finally resumes by telling me that he would like to interview me in regards to how my picture came to be because it has won first prize. Now I’m the speechless one, as I hadn’t spent any second thought about the picture, after submitting it that very day, which now seemed weeks ago. One week later my picture with a brief bio, as well as a few runner up pictures made the paper and I won out of nearly 300 submissions. I still can’t belief it and my humble self would tell you that I think the other pictures were better than mine. But it just goes to show that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and in what you choose to see. You can bring beauty to every day and to ordinary subjects that mostly go unnoticed. It’s a challenge and something I love to do these days. What will you see today?

As a thank you for my friend for my local hall of fame success, a framed enlarged copy, was the perfect thank you gift tomadorn his wall. 😉