Someone forgot the Windex

Who's behind the mirror?
Toronto, ON
October 2012
Thematic shiny contributions being accepted here
New theme, fall colors, launches tonight at 7

I grew up in a house where you didn't take multiple pictures of the same subject over time. "I already got that one" was a common refrain as the camera remained in its dusty corner because one picture of last year's birthday cake was more than enough. That attitude, which I never really understood, felt to me like a validation of the live-your-life-as-a-checklist ethos that ultimately leads to things like bucket lists.

I don't have a bucket list. I do what fuels my passion, and I'm perfectly content to do it again if I think there's a way to experience it differently, more completely. Learning is built on the foundation of earlier learning, so why would we ignore what we've done - or what others have done - previously?

Which brings me to this office building in downtown Toronto. It stands just across the street from Union Station. Coincidentally, that's where I got off my train earlier this week on my way to a conference. So as I exited the station, I found myself staring almost straight up, realizing I had never quite seen the light in quite this way before. Sure, I had been here before, and taken pictures of this very same building. But it never looked quite this way. I was using a different camera this time. I was in a different mood. The weather was different. In short, the opportunity was completely unique.

We've been exploring shiny all week (not too late to share yours here), and as we close out the theme, I realize we could explore the same subjects forever and never quite reach the point where we've completely figured them out. The light will always be different. The moment will always be unique.

Maybe this isn't just about photos, after all.

Your turn: Do you return to the same subjects? How do you find the new?