Look

"Look" (Photobook, 2020)

As humans, we attempt to take everything in with one quick glance. One look and we can say we’ve seen it. But have we really seen it? Have we really taken it all in? Every detail, every speck of dust? The “it” in question can be anything, really. The moss you saw growing out of the concrete on a sidewalk near your home, a stray feather you spotted that a bird lost, never thought of again, or an array of icicles you spotted while taking a walk, slowly melting in the winter sun. We take in so much information throughout our lifetimes, we often forget to really look.

This collection takes a look at those details that we deem unimportant in our lives. Those moments now frozen in time; moments that might have been completely forgotten about otherwise. These photographs are instances captured in time; a split second that passes that can never be recreated. Moments like that are what photography is all about. Time is so precious to humans, so the ability to capture a single moment in time is a powerful thing.

There are many things that can get in the way of us taking in every single detail. Often, we can be overwhelmed by the amount of information that is being presented to us at any given time that we tend to block out the details and focus on the bigger picture, the surface level. The lack of color in this collection is intentional, to allow the viewer’s eye, not to settle, but continue to look. Often times, for example, the texture of a rose may be overlooked because of the color. The beautiful, unique texture of bark on a tree may be forgotten simply because it is something that is abundant in our everyday lives.

We don’t always have time to stop and analyze every detail all the time, but just stopping and looking, observing the world around us, might prove to be beneficial.