In five minutes, here’s an image I made:
Here’s the original:
Not nearly as pretty, right?
This took about five minutes, shot and processed on my iPhone (my app of preference is SnapSeed, if you must know). An insignificant image that makes a point:
The art of learning to see isn’t about the tools. It’s about learning the tools like you learn a language. We know that language influences thought, and thought in turn influences language. These visual abilities are just another tool in the language toolbox, like grammar and punctuation, that aid in our ability to see the world—and speak—in new ways.
Sometimes I feel like we nerd out on the details: which lens, which app. This can be like happening upon a conversation of copy editors discussing em-dashes, predicate objects, and the Oxford Comma. It’s useful as a practitioner to know and discuss your tools. And occasionally, as a learner, it’s good to break down work you admire to understand how it’s made. But…
Language is something you use to communicate. It’s the art of hearing your voice projected into the universe, or receiving those artful words from someone else, that gives what we do its enjoyment.
Tools, art, photos; understanding, learning, discovery—all good.
Then, speak. Let your voice be heard, through the intuitive art of seeing and creating.
