State of Mind

From a photographic sense I love the summers here in Florida because we get storms during the day. That means in the evening the clouds break and we have sunsets with a lot of colors in the sky. For this shot I grabbed my camera and headed over to a nearby rest stop along the highway. I’ve taken many pictures from here but each one is different in some way. I love gradients in the sky like this. I guess you could say this is a remake of a previous photo, it’s new perspective on a familiar scene.

State of Mind
Photos for me represent a state of mind – this is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay

The other day I wrote something to the effect that photographs are not so much from a place as a state of mind. Each time I go to the same place to take a photo I see and experience it differently. Even if some of the same objects are in the frame, the image reflects a completely different experience. And of course, the time of day, weather and lighting all contribute to that. But the main thing is that if I’m aware of these things, each time they will combine in a different way.

Photo of or around this bridge

When I’m aware of what’s around me then each moment is different and so this is not so much a picture of the bridge but a snapshot of a moment when I experienced this scene. That’s why photography for me is a state of mind. It’s not so much the location but the things I notice and see when I’m present in the moment. Whether it’s something truly new, or something I just noticed for the first time, each time is a new experience and a new image, even if it has some of the same old things.