Focus

I didn’t notice it when I took this shot. In fact, this shot was more or less an accident, a mistaken press of the shutter release. But when I got home and looked at this image closely, I was surprised by what was and what wasn’t in focus. It felt to me that the reflections of the limbs overhead where more in focus than the leaves, slightly submerged in the water.

I’m not sure why I expected the leaves to be more in focus. Perhaps because I’ve taken so many shots of oak leaves in water lately. Whatever the reason, coming to the image with that unarticulated expectation shifted how I saw everything.

In a few moments, I was able to let go of that expectation and look at what was in front of me. Still, that momentary pause, caused by my visual confusion, created sufficient space — just a moment — so that I was able to see something that I hadn’t noticed before.

It seems clear to me that my first impulse doesn’t always hold my deepest insight. So pleased to have been slowed down sufficiently that I could notice more of what was going on.