Writing Prompt
Looking Forward to Looking Back
Side view mirror photography
Can we live in a way where we look forward to looking back? ― Matthew McConaughey
I was so glad to see Anne Bonfert introduce the side view mirror prompt in the Weeds & Wildflowers publication. I have always found the perspective of side view mirror photos to be quite fascinating. I was looking forward to looking back.
I recently shared a photo of a sunrise that took my breath away. It was happening behind me. I just happened to glimpse it in the side view mirror. I stopped and snapped a picture.
With this prompt, I took some time to look back at some of my other side view images from the past. I found sunsets and sunrise and of course, some traffic.
Dirty mirrors are often a problem and sometimes even dirty windows too. Another problem I have is little snippets of a shirt that gets in the corner of my photos. As a passenger, I tried to get the driver to lean back, way back. From the driver’s seat, I tried to get the rider to lean back, way back. It doesn’t always work, sometimes people still get in the way.
If you are like me, you searched for the snippet of the shirts in the pictures. If so, you missed some beautiful shots of Lake Huron in the mirror and surrounding the mirror.
One of the side mirrors is from a large truck and is a double shot of side view awe. The other is from a car ferry on the way to a very lightly developed island in Michigan. There is even a limestone freighter visible that will soon transport a load through the Great Lakes waterways. Here is a chance to take another look in case you were looking for the shirts and missed some of these more interesting details.
I found one side view mirror photo from a road trip. I was a passenger. I requested that my sister slow down so I could get a good picture of a bridge we were crossing. She said, Nope. So I tried to capture it in the mirror. I didn’t get much of it. I guess I don’t blame her. We were only a few hours into our sixteen-hour trip.
Just a few days before this prompt I read a photo story about golden ginkgos in Asia. I felt like I was driving in the photos of that story. I am probably the only person alive that hopes to get stuck at a red light. I did. I snapped this photo of gold dripping from the trees. The best vantage point would be right beside the trees, but that is not where the light is. Ginkgo trees have delighted me again this year.
Once I had pulled some of my favorite old photos, I started taking mirror photos for this challenge. I went to a bike shop to buy a gift for my brother-in-law. (A t-shirt, not a bike.)
The salesman noticed me taking this side view mirror photo. I told him I was making my Christmas list. We had a good laugh.
This isn’t the first time I realized there is an element of spy tactic that could be honed through practicing side view mirror techniques. I realized I might have been able to use this photo to inconspicuously see the price of the blue bike. Blue is my favorite color, but even without checking the price, I know it is not in my price range.
I was going to take some traditional photos of a pop-up light show at a local mall parking lot. Instead, I decided to back up into a parking space and try some more side view mirror photos.
I like the warmth of the lights in contrast to the crisp, dark fall evening beyond the mirror. For that reason, the photo taken closest to the mirror is not my favorite, it misses that aspect.
Only a video would really do any justice to the actions of the lights as they danced and twinkled in the night, but I took a series of photos to try to capture as much as I could.
So, those are my best shots! Of course, there is a blooper reel. Here is one of those!
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone lives in a way that makes them look forward to looking back…or look forward to looking back in a photo challenge at least.
Join the fun! Please see the prompt below.
Note: Through completing a challenge like this it is tempting to capture images when full attention should be on the road ahead. Please only participate while fully stopped. Be safe.
