Article

Photography gives you new eyes

Very many people when they take up photography notice that they suddenly start to see things they never noticed before, perhaps its the light coming through clouds, detail in leaves, or the beauty in our natural birds, coming in many colours and having a range of dances and the like. They notice light and shadow, detail and of course colour. But it also brings about changes in the way we look at and perceive many things.

It allows us to both visit new places and to revisit places we have visited before. It often stirs an interest in discovering new things, and finding out information of some of what they see and photograph. Of course some will want to become more proficient at photography and look at gaining photographic knowledge and skills while others will find specific topics are more interesting , and they want to find out all about it.

This revitalisation of not only the way we see things, but how we enjoy life and search out more, can make us feel far younger, can wake us up to many other areas, interests and increase our understanding and enjoyment of life.

There are more male than female photographers and many of the male photographers become seriously interested in mid life and beyond, some when they are approaching or arriving at retirement. It may be that its in part the inherited hunting instinct we have, but now rather than going out to bag a trophy head to hang on the wall, we are able to use our weapon, the cameras to shoot and capture the spirit of the beauty of so many things without destroying it. While we may live in society that preaches equality of the sexes, in photography there is often a distinction between the interest of male and female photographers. The female photographer are far more interested in photographing grandchildren, and family members, while the male ones are more likely to be interested in capturing wildlife, nature and scenic material. The area that they often have in common is the documenting of holidays and trips, as well as enjoying projects.

Photographers who are active, get out and see new places, discover new things, tend to stay healthy and live far longer. We all have seen the difference between those people who have an interest, are active and enjoy life and live a pleasant and long life, whole some others just seem to loose the interest in life, don't do a lot, succumb to illness and soon after retirement die off. In the same way as you get some teenagers who are quite naturally always bored and others who are going to grab life by the throat and enjoy every minute or make things better, often in later years people are seen to fall into these camps, some with so many interests that its difficult to achieve half of what they would like to, while others exist to look forward to a few days a year, and often disappointed with them. It may be in part that those who are searching and are therefore in the camp that is predisposed towards success are more likely to take up photography, after all the others have no interest in anything so no interest in photographing anything anyway. The difference is probably more with the 'rountuits' those people who would like to do something, perhaps they could make a change but are waiting for the mythical 'rountuit' to arrive. You hear they say I would like to but I never get a 'rountuit'. Perhaps for many the camera is the 'rountuit' they have been waiting for, now they can learn to use it, become skilled in applying this art form and by this means catch the photography bug that develops into the development of the mindset that suddenly makes things far more interesting, colours brighter, and stirs a part of you that you thought had withered away.

One you have caught 'photography' and realise the many benefits, you need to encourage this to grow, and the things that you can do to achieve this includes:-

• Noticing how good your new eyes are, even when you haven't got your camera with you.
• Learning to capture more of what you can now see, accurately, the detail, the colours, the spirit of life.
• Deciding on a personal project or projects to give you the challenge and need to get out and take photographs, just in case you end up waiting for another 'rountuit'.
• Making sure that you have a use for your images, perhaps getting some published, maybe a website of those that you want to write and illustrate, perhaps putting them onto picture libraries so others can use them. Of course some you should print, frame and display, so no dead animal heads are needed on your walls.
• You also need to make a concentrated effort to get out, to walk and just see what is out there, to spot, enjoy and photograph what you discover.

Can I suggest that you take this opportunity to push a stage further the revisit much more, and open up your mind in other areas. So why not pick on a topic, whatever you like, and take a completely new look at it, don't be hemmed in by what others have said or written but look through your new eyes at the information, consider if it can be relied upon, and look beyond for your own meaning. One of the easiest areas to apply this too, are the areas of the unknown around myth's and legends, ancient history and our own distant past. We could attack this by re-regression and take you back in a trance to this time, using the inherited memories buried deeply inside you, or we can allow you to use your eyes and the power of your own mind to take a fresh look and see what you can discover.

To get you perhaps thinking, I want to give you some information and a challenge, to go and look where few have looked before, not outer space or time travel, but at possibilities and pieces of information that you can discover and put your own story around. It does not matter if you are right or wrong, and no one is harmed by you coming to a different conclusion to the published view. the challenge is to look at the questions around King Arthur, did he exist, if he did which places did he occupy, and where you go from there I will leave to you. Information I have for you includes a number of write ups:

• King Arthur page with locations discussed.
• A page discussing if he existed and if so who was he.
• A page looking at the way we learn, our understanding of what is truth and how this can often turn out not to be correct, can we rely upon victories history, or selective history when other information has been hidden or destroyed.  In this article we question a number of facts you will have learnt, and perhaps suggest some new ideas. Most of this relates to the time before King Arthur.
• A few weeks back we had a special feature week looking at stone circles and this could link in if you wanted it to.

Of course there is a danger that you might start to ask other questions like:-

• Why when the banks had their shares hit by rumours could the government print £11bn to assist them, yet many elderly and sick people can't get any help or treatment.
• Why when people have paid home insurance is there still a year on about 8,000 still trying to get the insurance companies to honour their side and fund the renovations following last years floods.
• If we are a Christian country that believes in forgiveness, why do we have one of the largest number of prisoners locked up, keep them locked up for years and do little if anything to help them back into society, especially when the Probation Officers Association tell us a third were not guilty of anything and a further third did something but not what they were convicted of.
• How come Scotland and Wales have their own regional governments, and large funds flowing through them, do the English not have the same and why do we have two Scottish MP's as our Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, when they should not really even have a vote on English matters.
• What are you going to do with the rest of your life, and is what you are doing now right for you.