Carly Ball is a student at Lewis-Clark State College and an ISA Featured Blogger. She is currently studying abroad with ISA in Dublin, Ireland.
Earlier this month, I headed west to spend a weekend in Galway. The sights were indescribable and the beauty unreal. One of my favorite ways to take pictures is to focus on something that commonly goes unnoticed by most people. In these images, the blurred background is the more magnificent object and the main focal point people are drawn to. The reason I love doing this is because it gives attention to the unusual and unpopular parts of nature that tend to go unnoticed.
The first picture highlights the detail and color of vines that overtook a concrete wall. When first looking at the picture, the viewer’s eye is drawn to the color and texture of the vines; however, soon after the castle in the background becomes visible. The beauty in this picture is expressed by the vines, but also in the backdrop of the castle. The castle is what most people are immediately drawn to and this image shows the castle as prevalent, but not dominate.
The second photo’s main focus is the sun, though it is captured through the perspective of the worn down wall of rocks. My focus here was to capture the beauty of the sun with it’s bright rays, but from the angle of something less admired. Soon after this picture was taken, I came to find out that these walls were built during the 1845 famine by people who worked to earn a bowl of soup at the end of the day. These walls served no purpose to those providing food, but it was a way for those starving to earn a small portion at the end of long days work. The beauty in this picture is portrayed through the story of this rock wall and the bright sun that peers through the crack.
The final photo captures the beauty of the Cliffs of Moher through the openness in each shaft of grass. This patch of grass represents a part of nature that is unappealing and lacks the attention in a setting like this. Most people are drawn to the cliffs they can easily look out at, but little to no attention is given to the beauty of the cliff being stood on in that moment.
My intention for these images was to capture the beauty of different places that are rarely noticed. These photos are meant to capture the uniqueness of something rare within a view of something spectacular. Enjoy the obvious sights of this world, but I encourage you to intentionally seek out insignificant beauty. Whether you are sitting atop the Eiffel tower, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, gazing into the Grand Canyon or standing below the Sydney Opera House, look for beauty in what surrounds the obvious. If you do, it may be the most eye-opening experience of how you see beauty in all areas of life.
The world awaits…discover it.
Reblogged this on Working Holiday Ireland.