Perspective Shift
Field Notes III.VII: Summoning the Muse with radical changes in point of view
Welcome to Field Notes!
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It is early February in the South. Last month’s blanket of snow has somehow already contorted into air conditioner weather, despite groundhogs unanimously calling for 6 more weeks of winter. Climate twists are bewildering.
My world is dominated by bare, tangled, brown branches. Views of any forest here are chaotic; uninspiring at best, but often dissuasive. Even so, these warmer temperatures have me dreaming of more backpacking trips. I haven’t been on an adventure like that since November. But that has more to do with circumstances than the weather. Whatever the case, these are my winter doldrums.
I am beginning to see that veneration of the natural world is a separate thing from the creative impulse. Intertwined, but be sure, but subtly independent things within me. Reverence has become a constant at some level, even in the challenging times. It is stick season, but the sun on my skin and tiny red buds on the twigs provoke smiles of gratitude.
Creativity, the urge to seek the sublime and craft it according to my vision, ebbs and flows. I find that energy to be fueled by newness and challenge. So, I here I am in February staying close to home at least for now, staring mostly at bare trees and empty fields. The Muse has wandered off without me.
When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
At this point in life I am familiar with the rise and fall of creative energy, and also with the highs and lows of circumstances. Everything turns and turns again. But I don’t want to wait idly for a change to come to me. I need the Muse to see me working. Is there a way to scrape the ferro rod and spark that tinder of creativity? Perhaps what I need is a change of perspective.
I took a day off of work to visit family, but the plan fell through. So, I was left with a rare free day with absolutely nothing to do. Bored, but knowing time in nature would help, I unenthusiastically made myself leave the house. I took my daughter along for a walk in the woods on this overcast day at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia. I brought my camera with me, just in case.
As we were leaving I suddenly thought of
and THIS POST he wrote recently in which he captured some very unexpected and interesting underwater images of the surf with an action camera. I grabbed my GoPro. Why not?
The Miriam-Webster Dictionary’s 3rd definition of perspective is “the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distance and positions.” As adult humans, we all tend to see the world with eyes hovering about five and a half to six feet above the ground. It is a point of view that we are highly familiar with and rarely change as grown ups.
What if we do change that point of view? Or change the relative distance and position of things? Very simply, we then see the world from a different perspective. Possibly, we could see an entirely new world.
It is often noted that children find fascination in the world around them. Much of this is likely the newness of it all. But I also cannot help but think of the greater variety of perspectives they have than most adults. As smaller beings, they likely spend more time looking up. They see clouds in the sky, migrating flocks of birds, or the breeze tumbling through leaves in the branches. Those same kids may sprawl on their bellies to tip grains of sand into the funnel of an ant lion’s trap to watch it spring, or to see roly polies curl and uncurl from tiny beetles into armored grey spheres.
With the idea of wondrous child-like exploration in mind, I set out to shift my perspective of the world.
The botanical gardens do have a variety of manicured spaces, terraced groves, and cultivated herb gardens. However, much of the location is forested hills near the Middle Oconee River, netted by a network of trails.
We set off down the Orange Trail for a short and simple walk in nature. This path leads downhill along a very small stream. As the elevation drops the stream builds a bit of momentum until we hear its gentle gurgling over rocks and roots.
The stream captures my attention. I begin thinking of how to use the GoPro to see it differently. Our walk soon transforms into a waiting game for my daughter as I stop frequently to crawl on hands and knees to view the tumbling water.
The GoPro has its advantages and also quite substantial limitations for photography. The most obvious and immediate advantage being that it is waterproof and can take photos underwater.
I try to think creatively. Not only do I want to see what this submerged world looks like, but wonder if we can see the world above and the world below simultaneously? Sure, I have seen other photos like this. However, it is not a point of view we can generally achieve with our own eyes. Certainly not with my DSLR camera.
Does the water pushing against the lens show the dynamic motion that divides our generally terrestrial existence from the aquatic?
The split screen shots are interesting, but an obvious choice. I’m seeking a perspective challenge. Another advantage of the GoPro is its tiny size, small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. So, it can easily fit into places larger cameras cannot.
What if I stick it behind the cascade? What does the forest look like as viewed through a sheet of falling water?
There is more to this idea. If I can stick the camera behind the water and look out, what happens if I put it on the bottom of the stream, looking up? Maybe I have seen something similar as a kid, swimming in the lake I grew up on. If so, it was only a moment at a time.
Now, I see a world of distorted trunks and branches. Is the water below or above? Are those trees extending down towards the sky below? Perhaps this is the common perspective of crawdads and salamanders as they ponder the clouds. What wisdom have the crawdads learned from this view?
The land below the surface of the stream is a fascinating one. It is a realm of moss and sand and fallen leaves. Conditions are defined by the current. Everything exits in a constant state of motion.
Perhaps this is also true for us on dry land. Maybe it is only the cold density of the water as compared to the air that gives the passage of time its tangibility here.
We walk further down the trail and after a few minutes come upon a small cascade. It is a true waterfall, in miniature. As I examine the falling water up close, I find a limnal space. Not quite in the stream, but not outside of it either.
Even falls this tiny carry a force and energy within them. I remain uncertain. Do I really see the energy here with my eyes, or is it something felt within? Will the camera translate the feeling?
Some of the photos do capture this dynamic element. Still, there are ancient mysteries here. Consider this transparent liquid that slides across the land. It is both shaped by its vessel, yet shapes the vessel as it moves across. Colorless, it can be vibrant. Tasteless and devoid of nutrients, it is vital for all of life.
The waterfall speaks of these enigmas in its musical gurgling. The sound carries both the mystery and the energy.
Bubbles. One final cascade on this creek churns bubbles in a small pool before the stream flattens and widens into a reed covered shallow beaver pond. What combination of height and water flow causes this? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they are here for me to contemplate.
The GoPro allows me to look at the bubbles from several up close angles as they move towards the lens.
Then, the plunge. I submerge the camera to see them from the perspective of below the surface. They flow through the images of the bottom of the creek. They catch the light and glow as I photograph towards the sky from beneath them. Every bubble morphs the light and transforms the visual representation of the world we know. And there are dozens, hundreds of bubbles.
Fascination does not quite define what I experienced. This short walk in the woods was a true perspective shift. Changing my point of view this dramatically summoned some kind of deep magic from the earth and water. There was an enchantment here.
Are these photos I created show stoppers? Gallery or portfolio pieces? No, definitely not. As I touched on earlier, the GoPro has some formidable limitations. First among these is that I cannot even change its focal point.
This cluster of conical water snails on the left would have made for an interesting composition. Sadly, I was unable to focus on the snails in the foreground. I would like to see this photo with the closest snail sharp and the falls in the distance softly blurred.
And then, at times, the ultra wide angle lens of this camera catches a lot more than is intended!
This accidental adventure became an important learning experience for me. It didn’t help me learn proper exposure, focus, shutter speed, or any other common skill of photography. What it did teach me was that there are amazing points of view all around us, at every moment. Things worth viewing and worth viewing from a unique perspective.
This is the art of seeing.
And I know that as I crawled on the ground trying to learn these lessons, somewhere deep in the forest the Muse was watching.
Thanks for reading! I personally grew from this experience, and I do hope that you all got something from it as well. A lot of these photos are abstract, almost amorphous. I know that’s not everyone’s preference. Its usually not mine, either! So,
I’d really like to hear what you think of them.
Also, let me know if you have a preference with these photo grids. Using them frustrates me. I’d like to hear the receiving end feedback.
And finally, have you tried any perspective or point of view challenges? I’m interested in more ideas!
I put a lot of work into Field Notes and make it available all for free in the hopes that we can learn and grow together. Here are a few ways that you can contribute to help me keep this thing going-
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I agree, there is enchantment here! Shifting perspective can be very hard, but you made it easy this morning. Thank you for the beautiful work.
Thanks for such a great lesson about how valuable the ability and willingness to reframe our circumstances can be. More important than ever these days. And the photographs could be very small portfolio pieces in grids etc- maybe e only palm-sized, maybe in an accordion book layout, I see lots of possibilities!