[This project is just a sample of what yours could look like. Of course you can create one just the way you like it. I will be adding new photos over the coming days/weeks.]

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Points of View (what do you see? let me know in the comments)

It's been ten days and I am just so happy to see how this class is getting people into motion. 5 student projects already! And this one, my sample project.

Today I've added the images for points of view. The images come from the class and they intrigue me. Yes I can see that it comes from a flower. A dried Amaryllis, but by mirroring it, it becomes something else entirely as well.

I've shared it with my followers on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIN and Facebook. This is what they saw:

• a butterfly

• a heart

• 3 faces: a central large face is sereen/ sleeping. 2 lower corner faces seem jesters.

• a woman wearing a flowing dress

• the carefully pieced together remnants of a dress, revealed at an excavation.

• some type of octopus from the deep sea.

• a smiling onion skin Angel

• mesmerizing underwater creatures

• the party throne of the Onion Queen

• two dancing milkmaids

• a mythical creature

 

(And this went on for a bit. So I guess I made my point with this lesson?)

And what do you see in this mirrored image?

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Be a Tourist

The second tool, Be a Tourist, is one I try to apply every moment of my day. And even when on holidays, I find myself photographing waste or a tiny bug hidden somewhere instead of the main tourist attractions.

Below are a few of these somewhat uninteresting topics at first sight, but when I look at them a bit longer, I feel joy and admiration even. And most importantly, I've slowed down to look at it, which immediately calms and frees my mind.

A simple bottle cap on the beach. Waste, really, but what a lovely shape, and colour and look at the crisp shadow it casts. And then... look at all the little pebbles and shells.

A texture to drown in. I love the colours and tones and all the little creatures there are to be discovered. A meditative journey in itself!

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Journal entry Be a Tourist

Even though I've done this hundreds of times, it remains just as powerful. Looking not only at the little topic of my choice, like the bottle cap, but also at what is surrounding it adds even more to the tool's effect.

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Tunnel Vision

I loved making this assignment (as a teacher and a student, ha!). Particularly when my home is a tad messy at times, narrowing my gaze can be so very helpful!

And I am actually really surprised at the results, whenever I use this tool. If you have taken my class, you will probably recognise these photos.

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Just some wine glasses. Framed in that matted circle their shine becomes extra bright.

This is the first animal I ever made with clay when I was about 9. I like how the tube makes for a frame. The blur creates some mystery. What is there outside of the circle?

A shot inside of my Ikea lamp. While I normally have a trouble with abstract images, I am attracted to this one.

This is my favourite. The tube 'looks' at something in the background, but the real focus lies on the edge of the paper. Only the frame itself is in focus. There is so much focus and nothing to see hahaha. Which is untrue of course, because the colours and tones and the circular 'motion' are interesting to me. (I totally get it if it doesn't come across to anyone else.
The point of this tool is that it should mean something to and help the user.

 

What looking at the photos means to me
Looking at all the photos side by side (too many to show here) was quite interesting to me. They didn't seem connected with the original scenes, even though of course I KNOW the objects. 

 

From my Journal
[Dutch] Oké, dit was nog krachtiger dan ik al dacht. Te gek hoe dit werkt. Instant focus en een vreemde tinteling in mijn hoofd. En dan die gekke resultaten. Ik moet dit vaker gebruiken!

Okay, this was even more powerful than I thought. Awesome how this works. Instant focus and a strange tingling in my head. And then the crazy results. I must use this way more often!