Beauty is right under our noses, in a mundane garb
Lessons from what was originally a rather simple industry photography walk
An industrial photography walk. Saturday 11 am. Meeting point at The Brewery. The event invitation stated plainly.
A Saturday between two long weekends stood devoid of busy appointments. I signed up — without expectations or clarifying questions.
Photography can be difficult at that hour; especially on a sunny summer day.
I parked, slapped on sunscreen, adjusted my hat, hauled my full kit of lenses on my right shoulder, and made my way to The Brewery.
“We are going to do some photography inside the brewery. I know the chief brewer and he has happily agreed to give us the space for us to wander around”, the event host said.
My initial thoughts of walking around the streets of a large industrial complex were put to rest immediately. My brain shifted mode to indoor, light and shade lenses.
I still did not know what to expect.
The Brewery turned out to be a quaint one — it housed one large area that converted ingredients to beer; a couple of storage rooms and a workshop at the ground floor.
The mezzanine floor accommodated a bar, a television, seven round tables and high chairs; and a dart board area.
How does one make beauty from the mundane?
There were nothing spectacular on the first look. A few large mechanical apparatuses with very little moving parts. But as one looked closer, there was beauty to be found.
Walk slow
When one is left in an environment with an objective and time on one’s hands; different gears kick in — perspective is one of them.
In this smallish space, I saw myself walking slow — really slow to find objects that maybe an interesting shot.
The slower I walked, the more I saw myself pausing, crouching and looking for perspectives and everyday objects started giving different meaning.
I found patterns that I would have walked past any other day. But, here I was finding beauty at the most unexpected places, right under my nose, because I cared to look hard enough.
Look and you shall find
As a lark, I started looking for faces amidst all that machinery. Interestingly, faces popped out from under shelves, on walls, in the repair shop or even the floor.
A slow, deliberate walk when combined with an intention to find something presents one with interesting results.
Faces — surprised, happy, spooky, mouse-like or ravenous — hid along the interiors, frozen, ready to enact their next movement, once all humans left the building
I walked back wide-eyed. Beauty has a way of camouflaging itelf among the most unlikely places.
I had found her at the unlikeliest of places — by going slow and looking deep.
