“What you choose to focus your mind on is critical because you will become what you think about most of the time.” ~ Noel Peebles

 

I recently completed Kim Manley Ort’s online photography class –“The 50 mm Project”. I enjoyed this class and learned so much about using a 50 mm lens. I had no idea that photography was so complex and scientific. Until this class, I had only used a “point and shoot” camera that makes all the decisions for you. Being challenged to use my dSLR camera on manual was a new experience. One of the more important learning objectives in the class was learning to choose what is inside your frame (the composition) and choosing an object to focus on. In the photo below, I put a beautiful, yellow, Dancing Lady Orchid that was living in a large tree inside my frame. My photo composition was directed on the orchid. The orchid is the most in focus. I decided not to focus on the spider web underneath the orchid. The tree is barely in the frame.

I am learning that life is a lot like photography. What I choose to put in my frame narrows down what I will focus on. What’s in my frame and the objects I focus on are based on my paradigms. In order to shift my paradigms, I have to be willing to Re-Frame and Re-Focus. The only way to do that in photography with a 50 mm lens is to either step back or get closer. I think that in life it’s the same.

Re-Frame

Re-Focus

New Paradigm
I learned a lot more than photography in Kim’s class.

If you are not familiar with Kim Manley Ort, you might enjoy reading her blog 365 Days of Inspiration. If you love photography and can’t get to a class, her online classes are fun, engaging, and informative.

(Photo credits: I made the photo of the orchid at Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida, May 2013. The photos of Nina, Cheyenne, and the Banyan tree were taken in Key West, Florida, August 2013.)