Curiosity doesn't have to end in childhood.

What I love about photography is that it gifts us the skill of curiosity.

Some people might call curiosity a character trait.

Or a subconscious behaviour.

But I like to see it as a skill, because I believe it can be developed. We can train ourselves to be more curious.

So how do we gain more of the richness of a curious life?

By practicing it.

And it starts with doing this: not dismissing the boring.

Here's an example of what I mean. My eye saw this:

But my iPhone camera saw this:

Sometimes we see something ordinary, and we judge it as boring. (first photo)

Maybe we've seen it a million times before.

Maybe it's not as interesting as other flashy things.

So we shrug it off and move along.

But if you take an extra second to wonder and pursue curiosity, you might discover something far from boring. (second photo)

I think we often do this with opportunities, new people or ideas. We see them, immediately categorize them as boring, "not for me", and we move on.

When we close the door to curiosity, we sometimes miss out on learning and uncovering a richness we haven't received before.

Photography protects me from that. It helps me to practice curiosity.

When I'm open to wonder and I push past the dismissiveness, I often discover a fresh new perspective.

That's what I love about photography. It trains me to have an open mind, and it leads me to uncover riches I don't see from my regular, everyday view.

So again, when my eyes just see this:

...I like pulling out my iPhone camera and choosing to be curious. It leads me to this:

You may not know how much photography is benefitting your openness to life. But it is!

Just keep taking photos, keep an eye and a heart open for the ordinary things around you.

Say yes to curiosity. And the ordinary things will become extraordinary.

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Curious to know how I took these macro photos with a regular iPhone camera lens? I created a video to share my tips and tricks with you.

(hint: you don't need a special macro mode or macro lens adapter. It can be done with any old phone camera!)

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Hi I'm Gabrielle. I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.

Find more of my resources here:

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Gabrielle Touchette Photography

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