This seemed like a fitting photo for Election Day, one of the most grueling in my recollection. What I like most about this photo is the neatness and order created by the symmetry. There are shapes and colors mirrored throughout the photo and everything about how our flag is presented is neat and tidy.
This is a photo that represents what most people want to see. Ordered lines and similar and complimentary colors are safe and predictable guardians of our flag in the middle.
Life would be simpler if it worked like this, but would it be fulfilling? I, like most like to live in a comfortable and familiar place, without things that challenge me or get in the way of my routines. But I also know that discomfort and pushing past a place where you feel comfortable can result in incredible experiences that are oftentimes the most rewarding and memorable that you encounter.
The same can be said of photography or art in general. If you get comfortable in one aspect of your creativity and there are fewer challenges, your art may still be interesting to others, but less so to yourself. It's the challenges and stress that help us see differently and form new ideas.
One other aspect of this photo that interests me is that even though it looks well kept and tidy, when you look a bit closer the wear is starting to show. There is missing paint, a missing vertical shutter, and cracks in the foundation. The picture isn't as tidy as it looks.
So on this election day where we are placing all the issues in the complex world we live into two very different and inadequate boxes, where decency and honesty have taken a back seat to fear mongering and deceit, where we have forgotten that our candidates are a reflection of how we treat each other, where we have the ability to communicate faster and simpler than any time before in human history, but no longer know how to talk to each other with respect, and where we've forgotten that our strength as a county comes from the freedoms we all take for granted that others come here to find, we need to be OK with being a bit uncomfortable and learn how to listen to each other with empathy and respect.