A matter of perspective

When I was younger, I found that I could make big objects seem little by looking at them through my outstretched thumb and index finger. I could seemingly grasp them and, given enough provocation, crush them with just a pinch.

That feeling has returned while processing some of the photos I’ve taken around Elgin. I've applied the digital equivalent of placing big things under my thumb. In the photo above, a few changes in focus make the Fox River, Chicago Street Bridge and Elgin Tower Building look like toy models.

Human pride likes to place ourselves at the center of our universe, the masters of our domains, the frame of reference for all things. That’s what makes paradigm shifts - seeing the familiar in a new way - so powerful.

Pretty cool how photography can do that.

Click on picture to make tiny. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.