Nothing Particularly Remarkable

I was talking to someone recently about photography, and we found ourselves agreeing that neither of us necessarily takes photographs to look back at them.

Which is funny, considering the number of pictures sitting in my camera roll that I’ll probably never open again.

I’ve always enjoyed walking around with no particular destination, especially when visiting a new city. And somewhere along the way, I’ve started taking more photographs of the seemingly unremarkable things I come across. A peculiar building, an interesting reflection, or a street that looks a little different in the afternoon light.

But I’ve been wondering what makes me stop and take a photograph in the first place.

Sometimes it’s the light, an interesting composition, or a detail I hadn’t noticed before. Other times, I couldn’t really tell you why. Something just caught my eye.

I could walk down the same street a hundred times and only notice something interesting on the hundred-and-first. Someone else might walk alongside me and notice something entirely different.

I quite like that thought. The same surroundings, but a slightly different experience depending on who’s looking.

And maybe that’s what I enjoy about sharing these little photographs too. It’s not necessarily about showing someone something spectacular. Sometimes it’s just a way of saying, “Here’s something that caught my eye today.”

They might not find it particularly remarkable, and that’s perfectly fine.

I probably won’t look at half these photographs again anyway. But I do enjoy that taking them makes me pay a little more attention to the world around me.

And occasionally, I get to see what caught someone else’s eye too.