Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.

Jonathan Swift

What do we see as we move through this world?  Each of us will see the same molecules and atoms but we will ‘see’ them differently.  Above is merely a piece of  root from an Australian eucalyptus tree.  The tree has been logged, dragged from the ground, the valuable parts harvested, and this root remnant left sitting in a paddock.  Just a bit of dead wood.

And yet for me, its form was suggestive of an animal feeding, its colouring and shape reminded me of visits to the museum to see dinosaur mockups .  I ‘saw’ it, not with factual eyes, but with eyes attuned to forms and shadows, shapes and light.

As photographers we see the world and interpret it through our visions and ways of seeing.  As people we do the same.  We look at the world and the people in it from our own perspectives, and interpret from our own internal visions.  These visions are wholly personal, and rarely factual.

I can present my vision to others, show them why I ‘see’ this object/person/concept this or that way.  But I cannot expect my interpretation to be accepted as truth.  And in turn, others cannot expect me to accept their vision and interpretation as ‘truth’.  We can only present, not demand; share, not impose.

There is nothing true anywhere, The true is nowhere to be seen; If you say you see the true, This seeing is not the true one.

Abraham Lincoln