“Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.” – Thomas Wentworth Higginson
A friend from our photo club posted a picture earlier this year that caught my eye. Not only was it very aesthetically pleasing, but it also drove me nuts wondering where it was. I knew that the venue of the photo walk that weekend was the capitol grounds, an area with which I’m intimately familiar. That’s what was so maddening. Where was it?

I finally recognized it as the scrolls of the capital of the pillars of the Liberty Memorial building, the home of the state library. I simply could not figure out the perspective of the original photo, however. No matter which angle I tried, it just didn’t work. That’s when I realized it wasn’t the outer scrolls I was looking at – it was the inner ones, facing the building rather than the capitol mall. Well, that was a game changer.

Due to growth of a few small branches over the summer, I wasn’t able to get a completely unobstructed shot; however, with the frost and snow we’ve experienced over the past couple of days, I think those pesky branches provide an excellent visual garnish to the photo. They make achieving the perspective of the original photo impossible, however.

While I will never be able to duplicate the original photo, that wasn’t my intent; rather, it was to figure out how that original photo was achieved. I consider that question answered, and was able to capture and present my own take on a brilliantly concieved photo.

One of the things about photography that appeals to me is the sensation of being in the right place at the right time. That’s how the original photo came about, and that’s how I was able to capture this one as well. The sun had started to poke through the haze enough to provide sufficient light, but had not begun to melt the snow and frost off the branches. Thus my photo is as unique as the original. How I found it is a matter of inspiration and even derivation, but from there I think I was able to take the idea and make it my own.