"Blockages" [Gross and Shapiro - Tao Of Photography - Reflections - pp.90-100 - Section 3B]
It happened once some years ago –
I got quite good, and prints did show
A progress from beginning stage;
Zone system was the current rage.Then it was over – three days flat –
I dumped my kit – got vision back;
View-finder-life put me outside
The social world where I’d reside.Commercial part crashed on its own
When prices dropped just like a stone;
Before that day the cost went high –
“Not worth lab costs”, said I with a sigh.I got my family back that day;
And job exploded in new ways;
I never was in “chrome and glass”
(But digital allures – alas!)Now senses drop acuity,
And shingles fogged what left eye sees;
I value sight like glasses day –
Saw dirt and brickwork clear that way.I find that others block my view –
“Prosperity” – what I should do
Or not – both interrupt my sight;
So solo work is what I like.With camera I shift into cool –
Andreas Fenninger – his school –
“Think as the brain of camera tool,
Don’t give your camera mind of fool”.We all are biased in our sight;
That’s good idea – move from tight
To larger use of elements –
Check photos – see where mind is bent.I have a binder of such lists,
Like line and shape – it now exists;
I could use that to test what’s done
And find some tools to boost my fun.So we are blocks to seeing right;
So many ways we block our sight;
So to get free, I fix my gaze
By quarter hour without eyes raised –Until my mind bores out of sight;
Plays with design – impact is bright;
Mind floods with view I had not seen,
While in some rut my “self” has been.Thanks Lord for this.
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