"See Something New Every Day"

[NJCher]

Yesterday I had some time to kill between a work appointment and a trip to pick up someone at the airport, so I went to the public library in Newark to browse books. I found a book of Vivian Maier's photography, and in the foreward, the writer talked about how Vivan Maiers "saw something new every day," as we can see through her photography.

The writer, whose name was Lippman, I believe, said she vowed to do the same. She said, however, that she was only able to keep this up for three days.

I thought I might take up the challenge, but I'm curious: what do you think Lippman meant by "see something new every day?"

Did she mean "see something you've never seen" as in a section of town you've never been to? A painting you've never seen?

Or did she mean see something familiar in a new way, such as looking at a chair from a completely different angle than you've ever seen it before?

Did she mean see skin cells through a microscope instead of looking at skin with the regular eye?

What do you think she meant? Your answers might help me in my endeavor so that I can carry on longer than three days.


Cher

[NV Whino]

1. See something in a new way

You really can't help but do this. Every day, every minute, the light changes. The seasons change. You come upon something from a new angle or new direction.

I go to a favorite forest frequently. Every time I go, I see something new. Same old forest. Different perspective.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I would think she meant see something new.

Not something you have never seen before all the time, but more like NV Whino suggests in the forest. The forest is a familiar place, but if you look closer, you will maybe see a tiny wildflower, or an interesting leaf, or a mushroom, or the way a blade of grass is backlit.

If she meant seeing things in a new and different way, I would have expected her to say it that way. I am intrigued by this challenge as well.

[mnhtnbb]

3. I walk my dog on two very familiar routes every other day.

And I LOVE those walks with her for precisely that reason: that I try to see something new
in very familiar surroundings every day. I don't always have my camera with me--in fact, usually
I don't--but I do see something new almost every day.

[Mira]

4. For me, like the others say,

it's not "seeing something new every day" but seeing something in a new way every day.
That is not only seeing my familiar environment differently, or from a different perspective, but also translating what I learn on this very board by seeing the work of others and evaluating it in my mind and then applying some of that to my own stuff.

I have taken photos all my life, it's a joke in the family that I was born with a camera around my neck and took photos of the midwife.
My otherwise very full life and choices have not turned me into a knowledgeable photographer when it comes to equipment familiarity. Yet my consistent and never ending schlepping of a camera and my open eyes to the work I produce and that of others have made me a person who sees angles and compositions that others might miss.

A really proud moment was when a photographing Chinese lady with a hugely impressing looking setup kept copying the photos I took behind me at some tourist attraction, and when I looked at her quizzically she said: "I can tell that you are seeing the good stuff I am not seeing."

Working it. Being there and being awake. Comparing. Participating. Loving the give and take - and accepting criticism from yourself and others - that is what learning to see is all about IMO.

[fizzgig]

5. i think it's a combination of all three

right now i'm seeing something completely new and i am sure i will see things in a new light when we get home.

[alfredo]

6. BTW, "Finding Vivian Maier" is showing on Showtime.

If you don't have cable, check your local library.

[NJCher]

7. Thanks!

I have it on order. I didn't even know about this, so I really appreciate your telling me about it.


Cher

[alfredo]

8. She was quite a character.