Saturday, December 4, 2010

How Do You See, What Do You See

Do you see the world as a series of details or do you see the world as a series of grand themes?

One of the goals on my recent trip to the mountains was to find interesting bits and pieces of nature.  This goal lead me to ponder why I rarely spot these bits on my own. And this rumination lead me to realized that I overlook pretty pine cones and heart shaped rocks because I rarely look down, unless it's to make sure I don't trip over some obstacle.  I look up and out.  I notice the sky, the shape of clouds, the play of light and dark, the horizon.....but not the ground under my feet.


I'm a big picture person.  I like to see the whole and draw my conclusions from that.  Details are collected and used to understand the big picture more clearly. Detail for the sake of detail is just not part of my genetic make-up.


I realized all of this when I enlisted the help of my grandchildren to help me find tiny stuff.

 The kids and their other grandmother kept bringing me bits and pieces that I had completely missed.

But, I didn't miss seeing the incredible way the sunlight exposed the shape of this old cabin and the cedar tree growing beside it.  

I saw the way the sunlight backlit tree branches and made them look almost white against the eggplant of the dark mountain behind them.  I noticed the drifting mists rising up from the ground and off steamy wooden rooftops. I counted the colors of green-gray to blue to purple of the mountain tops as they faded into the horizon.

And occasionally I saw some details too.

Like the flecks of paint on this wagon wheel.


And I even found one of these!

26 comments:

  1. I love your header. Did you draw it yourself, and what are you using to draw with? Paper and pen or a computer drawing pad?

    Di

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  2. You are a true artist Stevie!! You find art in the world around you....love all the awesome pictures! :-)

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  3. Oh you see plenty and the more aware of what you see the more you'll continue to see. The camera sure helps me with that. Your grandkidlets help you too. Such a lovely post.

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  4. Love that heart-shaped rock!

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  5. The grandkids really brought you some treasures. There's always something in nature to see.

    Twelve years ago, one of my grandsons at age 3, found a small piece of a broken brick with bits of mortar. He said it looked like a butterfly...and it did!

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  6. For a minute there I thought I had the wrong blog! LOVE your new look - so festive. And the photos make me want to go back to the Smokies right now!

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  7. I guess it depends on where I am. I tend to notice the horizon and sky when I'm out and about..driving, etc. But if I'm walking or somewhere with a lot of things around me, I notice the little things.

    I love that picture of the barn!

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  8. Your photos are wonderful Stevie! I love big open spaces but oh the details can have me enthralled for hours, especially when I have my camera.

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  9. It's always exciting to find things that stimulate and attract, no matter 'how' we see things. I love your views.

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  10. Lovely post Steviewren - your photo of the old cabin is so atmospheric. I always see the big picture but I enjoy discovering the finer details too, especially if I have my camera with me!

    I'm not surprised you love going to the mountains - they look stunning.

    Looking back at some previous posts I see you have a sweet new granddaughter - congratulations - she is beautiful. I'm also very taken with your house!!!

    I wonder if you will get any snow, I remember last winter in your neck of the woods!

    Jeanne
    x

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  11. Beautiful shots!

    How I see what I see depends on what I'm looking at and the atmosphere it's in
    : )

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  12. I absolutely loved this post. I am so with you on this - we often miss the details, the small things that will escape us unless we pay attention; unless we look up or down. I have realized, since I started to carry my camera with me on walks, I look at the world with different eyes.
    Beautiful images, I particularly like that one with the old tree...
    xoxo

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  13. It's always such a pleasure to visit your blog, stevie. I think you see so much. I miss things on the ground, too, because I'm a long way from it...you'd thing I'd see more because my balance is pretty poor these days and I'm having to look more carefully at where I'm going. Since I've been blogging, I have my camera constantly, too, and I'm much more attentive to detail than I ever was. You are so lucky with those grandkids who have their eyes open for all sorts of things and they make wonderful spotters.

    Your pictures here are just wonderful. I do miss the South and all the spectacular scenery. It's beautiful out here, too, but in different ways.

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  14. I started seeing more details when I started carrying my camera everywhere and taking lots of photos...but still the kids will find something simply interesting:) Your photos here are gorgeous stevie! I Love the two with your grandchildren....perfect!

    And I LOVE your header!

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  15. Love the wrinkly red paint on that wheel. I love details...every tiny, little detail...that OFTEN gets me into TROUBLE!

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  16. I tend to see the details....yet I see some beautiful scenes too. I love the details though. Like that heart rock. I would not have been able to leave that behind. I would have brought it home. I get so excited to find a rock with a shape. I have several heart shaped rocks. I have a set of rock mittens too. Great finds. What are you going to do with all of these details you collected while on vacation? I really like your christmas header. FUN.

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  17. If I am making something, it is all about details. I notice everything. In everyday life, I walk too fast and for the matter I talk too fast. How can I notice the details! Just recently I have started making an effort to slow down. I am always rushing! I admit the only details I may notice are things that bother me, not a beautiful heart shaped rock sitting there with all the regular, old, everyday rocks!
    denise

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  18. You are such a great, artsy grandma, Stevie. They're lucky to have you.

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  19. I am such a detail person also. I love all of the details you found on your outing. Your descripions of what you saw are also beautiful! What a treat to find a heart-shaped rock in the end :)

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  20. Coveting that rock ... and I am loving these photos .. me, I see the big picture, sometimes I miss the details til after ..

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  21. Children always seem to notice the little details in nature so well as everything is so new to them. Your photos are beautiful! I love the heart shaped rock!

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  22. The photo of the cabin and the tree is truly stunning!! I can almost feel like I'm there. Such a tranquil moment captured.

    I just discovered your blog today and look forward to returning.

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  23. Wonderful shots. There is beauty in the small details as well as in the larger picture.

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  24. Through the eyes of children you found added happiness.It made me think of taking a boy out along a series of sandbars for his first mud hike on a river. I showed him what I liked and after a few hours he had expanded this thought to a backpack full of treasures, almost pulling him over. I go back and can hear his voice decades later, "Look at this one!"

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  25. A very thoughtful post. Congratulations on your potw.

    As to whether I see details or the big picture, I suppose that very much depends on my mood. Either way, I often see the one when I should be looking at the other. And there it is.

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  26. I DO see your lurvely new banner on the blog! That is sooo you! Oh, these pics are so pretty especially the grandchildren, they are getting so big!

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I'm glad you stopped by and I look forward to your comments. As Dr. Fraser Crane would say, "Hello, I'm listening."