Floating Focus

In this picture of a small flower, I modified the background after taking the picture in order to highlight the flower and to separate it from the grass below it. Mainly, the grass was blurred a lot and made darker.

I like the way it worked out – the flower seems to float above the grass and is definitely the thing that grabs your attention. The background fades away even though it is a lot of the image.

However, it occurred to me to wonder what was being ignored in the grass. Surprising plant shapes, some interesting bugs, textures on leaves or the dirt, and so on.

The picture was designed to create focus on the flower, and as a metaphor it mirrors our ability to focus on single things in the midst of distractions. This is often a good thing, but it also creates a risk that something valuable is being ignored. That may be the price we need to pay, sometimes, but it’s still important to remember the choice being made. When we choose to focus on anything, there is always something else that is being ignored.

Because sometimes we focus on the less important things, and remembering the grass may help us return our attention to what’s more important.