Twiggs on stones

Currently I'm of the frame of mind to take my photos without manipulating the subject, take the picture as I find them.

I think this way of taking pictures forces me to improve my skill with the camera, but since this also forces me to move around, close in and step away from my subject, experiment with different types of framing and such, you start to develop an appreciation for certain scenes that offer potential for this type of exploration.

This reflection comes to mind when mulling over these photos I took a couple of weeks ago during my daily lunch break walk.

I ask myself if I normally would have stopped to notice how these twigs looked as they fell upon the stones that line the path. Would I have otherwise found beauty in them?

One can argue, and with good reason that exploring ones artistic potential inevitably has the side effect of becoming more sensitive to the world around us, but I feel there's something added to the practice of not manipulating the subject that catches your interest.

As you adapt yourself and your camera to it, you are forced to become a more acute observer. Instead of forcing your own concept of beauty to the scene, you learn to find it.

More often than not, the specific seemingly randomness of these chance encounters, paint for us a scene that would be hard to replicate intentionally.

Andres Gonzalez