Looking at a project from different angles

For our 15th anniversary my wife and went to the south island of New Zealand, with a long layover in Sydney. We only had a few hours in Sydney so we went to see the Opera House and then walk through the botanical gardens next door.

As we walked around the harbor I took pictures of the opera house from several different angles. And that got me thinking about the advice I’ve been given both about photography and about my work: make sure you try things from different angles.

A classic angle of the Sydney opera house from across the harbor.

Too often all kinds of experts get into a rut and lose track of the perspective non-experts, and other experts with whom they disagree. Cable news channels like to package those ruts as two talking heads yelling at each other by calling it “debate”.

It’s an easy trap to fall into even without watching the people paid to yell at each other. Sometimes when we look at a problem twice it looks different because we changed something small, and we think we’ve seen all the valid angles. But we’ve just reinforced our sense of superiority not actually explored anything interesting yet.

When you look right at the sun a small change can have a large impact, but you may still be fundamentally in the same place with a fundamentally flawed perspective.

And sometimes you look from a new angle and something easily recognizable becomes new and different, but that’s not always an improvement. There are reasons for best practices, and sometimes we just reinvent the wheel when we try to break our own path.

You don't see pictures of the opera house from this angle often – which is probably for the best.
You don’t see pictures of the opera house from this angle often – which is probably for the best.
This angle was even worse. It's a good thing I wasn't using film for this exercise.
This angle was even worse. It’s a good thing I wasn’t using film for this exercise.

And sometimes it is important to think about the extra details that you can capture by changing perspectives and taking the time to figure out the best approach.

Opera House with sailboat
I had to wait a few minutes for the sailboat to get into a spot that made it look right.
Sometimes too much context is too distracting.
Sometimes too much context is too distracting and makes it hard to know what you’re supposed to look at.

But when you take the time to look at things from different angles, perspectives, and positions sometimes you get to discover something you didn’t know to ask about.

This little guy and an older buddy spend lots of time in the sun on these steps behind the opera house – I had no idea they were there until we were walking around.
This little guy and an older buddy spend lots of time in the sun on these steps behind the opera house – they are well known locally, but I had no idea they were there until we were walking around.

For me the best moments are those gems you find when you take the time to explore ideas and view points and discover something totally new. Nothing beats travel to help you remember to change your perspective now and again.

4 thoughts on “Looking at a project from different angles”

  1. Hi Aaron,
    I like your photography analogy for looking at projects from different angles. Thanks for the insight. We are also Drupal people, based here in beautiful Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  2. I like the last picture, but there is something on the water? In my country, there are no seals, so beautiful.

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