Lessons Learned: Don't be too focused

When I'm shooting I have a tendency to focus all my attention on whatever subject I'm excited about at the moment at the expense of all else. This picture is a classic example of what I may miss as a result.

Although concentration certainly helps me explore a subject completely and find the best images, that intensity may come at the expense of overlooked pictures that fall just outside the range of my current obsession.

In this case, I was standing in the old Orland cemetery, looking down at the ground to search the vast array of fallen leaves covered with predawn frost for new and interesting compositions. (One of them, frost leaf, is included in this gallery.)

The sun was just breaking over the horizon. I paused for a moment to straighten up and stretch a bit, and when I did, I looked across the road. Dawn's early light had just peeked around the corner of the house backlighting the trees and the American flag, and it caught my eye long enough to make me switch gears and explore this new image more closely.

Colorful foliage. American flag. White picket fence. Porch swing. Kid's lawn chair. Classic New England architecture. All those "home" values from the 50s came flashing back to me in the composition you see here.

So this Lesson Learned is a simple extension of a photographer's innate powers of observation: Keep observing. Keep an open mind for new images, even when you're in the throes of creation with another subject.