There’s been an ongoing joke amongst my friends & colleagues that I see the world through my lens.  Never before have I actually seen exactly what they meant.

I know that everyone sees things differently… but it’s a rare thing when we actually get to see how differently.   When I look at something, I unconsciously note the lines, angles, lighting, & frame it all within my head.  I didn’t realise I also factor in depth of field, different angles of view (as in, ones that would involve standing elsewhere to actually see), & perspective warping.

I was invited into the [beautiful, majestic & grand] home of a lady to photograph her shoe room & shoes.  I’d never met her before.  We spent just over an hour picking out her favourites & modelling them in different rooms, stairwells & balconies.  At the end, she offered myself & her cousin, who had organised the shoot, a glass of champagne to celebrate the fun day she’d had getting to model for more than the mirror in her much loved footwear. I accepted & suddenly had an idea – I asked her which of her shoes first came to mind when she thought of champagne.  She grabbed the step ladder, pulled them down & she took them with her to the kitchen while I packed away lenses & notepaper.

When I got to the kitchen, K & A were looking around the adjacent room & discussing what to move to create the perfect backdrop for the shoes & glass.  They’d left the shoes on the kitchen bench beside a glass of champagne.   I could see it.  In every angle except what was actually there.  I told them not to worry about moving a thing.

I had my shot.

The only correction/edit made to the above photo was a white balance correction from shooting indoors without flash. This is all but exactly the same (minus a bit more yellow tinting) as the view on the back of my camera straight after I shot it.

The first photo shown of the shoes on the kitchen bench, that included the full view of stairs, fridge & coffee machine, was taken with a mobile phone from where I’d been standing.

But the view from where I was standing, was not what I could see.