Friday, June 20, 2014

Do You See a Pattern Here?


by Dotti



So … how are you doing in your quest for patterns this month? Me? You ask how I’m doing? Well … true confession time. Not. Very. Well.

You see, I tend not to think in patterns but since I had a post due today, I thought I’d better put on my pattern-thinking-cap. Normally, I ‘see’ patterns, I just don’t notice them. Or maybe it’s the other way around. I ‘notice’ but don’t  see. In any event, I think it’s safe to say I’m ‘pattern challenged’.



It’s no secret that I love to take photos of flowers, so  I tip-toed out to the garden to see what patterns I could find. As you might imagine, they were everywhere!



And there were lots of different shapes and different colors but all had patterns of their own.



Then I realized some were newer than others.



Some were past their prime. And I found that when I took out the color, I could see the patterns even more clearly.



But wait … It’s not only flowers, there are lots of patterns everywhere … if we just bother to look. Or notice. Whichever.



And if we let ourselves, we can begin to correlate patterns to our lives, as Kelly shared just a few days ago.



We have always had patterns in our days, our weeks, our months, our years. Babies demand pattern by their need for routine. When they’re hungry every 2 hours, that’s the pattern. Children have patterns, in their play and in their schooling and sports.

As adults our patterns change, too, as we move from one set of patterns to another but they always dominate our lives. We just don’t always notice them.

That’s what’s so cool about ‘focusing on life’! If we hang out a lot with our cameras and with other photographers, we’ll soon recognize the patterns that exist all around us and all through us, the seen and the unseen. It’s called ‘being present now’.



There is still plenty of time for you to share the patterns in your lives with us here in the comments, in the Flickr pool, or on Instagram. If you’re like me and  bit pattern challenged, this is a good time to stop, look around, find some patterns and click your shutter.



8 comments:

terriporter said...

Beautiful photos and great examples of patterns! I think one of the reasons I love shooting flowers so much, aside from their beautiful colors, is the fascination with the patterns of nature. I loved Kelly's post too about the patterns in our lives. So true! Life patterns keep changing and you can never count on them being the same for long. I guess that's what keeps life interesting!

Carol said...

This was eye-opening for me, Dottie. Maybe its semantics, but I never thought of flower shapes as a pattern. I'm going to have to go home and look more deeply at my yard!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i had to come over to see what you were speaking of when it comes to flowers & patterns. i guess i sort of see it ... but never thought of it that way? have you always thought of in that way? you have my mind wondering. thanks, for that!! ( :

Cathy said...

Oh what a perfect post Dotti! Patterns everywhere!

kelly said...

dotti this is so me too! for me I think it's because intend to overthink think things. these are wonderful though. you've opened my eyes too today !!

Anonymous said...

you got me thinking -- need to be more aware -- beautiful photos..
Hugs

Deanna said...

I am like others, I guess I don't think of flowers as patterns but you are so right, they are loaded with amazing patterns, that's probably why we love them so much. You have some wonderful images here, Dotti!!

Anonymous said...

Delightful patterns, Dotti!

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