Day Seventyeight: Two Very Different Things

Again I will say, just carry your camera with you and you will be ready when something catches your eye. I don't know what it is about sidewalks and roads, but I see photos in them quite regularly. I do not specifically go in search of these photos, I just notice them. Usually my mind is elsewhere, I am walking to or from my car, on an errand, and suddenly, I see something. In the photo at left I was struck by the round shape within the square shape. It's also an unusaual cover, or whatever it is. It may be a steam vent. I realy do not know. Anyway, it catches my eye and then I begin to look at it through the camera. I pay attention to the cracks and lines in the sidewalk and try to work what I see into a composition. So I guess, it's about shapes, and arranging those shapes withing the confines of the picture area. They are "arranged" by camera angle and lens selection. The lens used in this case was a 17-55mm zoom. So, I zoom in and out and eventually settle on an angle. Sometimes I crop the picture later on. Thiese type of photos are my artsy ones, or personal work. It doesn'e matter a whole lot if they have widespread appeal. They just do something for me.
Now the second photo I present here is of an unusual butterfly or moth. I'm not sure which it is. I have never seen one that looks like this before. I was getting out of my car in the driveway of my home and saw the thing at rest on the pavement. I took this photo not to be artistic or to create a nature photo. I took it to document what I saw. An unusual insect. This way I can share it with family and friends, and, of course, the World via the internet. I am hoping someone sees this and can identify it. I did a quick Google search and came up empty handed. Anyway, to sum it all up, two very different things caught my eye and I photographed them for two very different reasons. I would say the greatest thing about photography is that it's a versatile medium. It's applications range from artistic to scientific, to documentary and beyond. Plus, the categories often overlap. A scientific photo can be artistic. As can a documentary photo. A documentary photo can contain scientific information. And on and on. It's quite incredible.