Thematic Photographic 388 - Abstract

Life in all its forms
London, ON
November 2016

Not everything we see around us is real. Or perhaps it's real, but we don't see it as it originally was.

Consider this: Light moves at around 186,000 miles per second, so what we see is actually what it looked like at some point in the incredibly recent past. And as the light zips through space to where we're standing, it goes through any number of filters - air, pollution, radiated heat, that bottle of half-finished apple juice - that play all sorts of games with the original perspective.

And once it hits your eyes, the fun is just beginning. Because how your brain processes it adds another layer of uniqueness to the proceedings. Given the physical, biological, chemical and mental processes involved in seeing things and understanding what we're seeing, it's a wonder we can make out anything at all.

So when I saw this reflected scene in the slowly flowing waters of London's Thames River, I thought about all the tiny machinations of the universe that brought that scene, that intangible, fleeting two-dimensional representation, to the very spot where I happened to be standing.

Although I probably could have spent hours mulling it over, I instead metered and composed the shot, then squeezed off the shutter. Sometimes, it pays to think less and shoot more.

Your turn: Take a pic that supports this week's theme, Abstract. Share it on your blog or website, then leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants to share the photographic joy. Tweet it out using the #ThematicPhotographic hashtag, and feel free to return through the week: multiples are always welcome. For more info on how Thematic works, click here. Enjoy, and thanks!