Team-Up Thursday

Week 12 Theme - From Lying Down

My picture on the left, Gini's on the right. Love the blue sky in both of our shots, and how you really get a sense of lying down in Gini's.

This one posed some challenges for me. When I first read the theme, I was very excited at the prospect. I liked the idea of changing up the perspective on things, and the first thing that popped into my head was a photograph I saw years ago by Dewitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer. I first saw it at work in a training video he put out called "Celebrate What's Right With the World". The message of the video was about choosing to see possibilities rather than focus on what's wrong. The message stuck with me, as did the stunning photos he used to make his point. As I remember it, he told the story of how one day, he'd gone to capture photos of a field of yellow dandelion flowers for a spread in National Geographic, but when he got there, they'd all turned to seed. At first he was disappointed and frustrated, but then he decided to think of what was possible. He laid down, looked up, and this photo was the result. Simply beautiful.

So, all that to say that I loved the idea of "from lying down". I actually took my picture in Court House Square in Springfield on Sunday, after we'd taken Matthew to a hockey game. We were walking back to the car, on that gorgeous afternoon, and I saw an idea for a shot before me. I'm sure I looked hysterical lying down on the ground in downtown Springfield, but I figured - who the hell cares? Matthew popped into view as I was taking my series of shots, and this one ended up being my favorite.

Putting the diptych together, though, was a challenge. I tried it a bunch of different ways, and just couldn't get excited about any of them. I sent one off to Gini, but then stewed about it all night. Then this morning, after taking some time away from it, I gave it another shot and was really pleased with the finished product. I just love how the tree branches seem to line up - totally unplanned, but I love how it worked out.

Now if I could just get myself back to remembering Dewitt Jones' words of wisdom on a more regular basis.....