“The most transitory of things, a shadow, the emblem of all that is fleeting and momentary, may be fettered by the spells of our natural magic. And may be fixed forever in the position which it seemed only destined for a single instant to occupy.”

William Hentry Fox Talbot, 1839

 
You know that feeling of sheer fascination and deep joie de vivre that you feel when you see little things and hear new things and do uncommon things when you’re travelling? It’s a brilliant feeling, isn’t it?

But why don’t we always feel those things even when surrounded by our familiar environment? What’s the difference between feeling and not feeling those things? Well, I set out to find out.

That came about from a travel-induced epiphany that I had a few years ago. I was thinking about how many times on a typical day I would drive past something in my routine surroundings and think to myself, “oh, that’s cool. I should stop and take a photo of that, but I’m too busy.”

The difference was that while I would take the time to pursue that exploration of life during times of travel, I wasn’t likely to in the dulling comfort of routine at home.

Let me say something about home. I live in Edmonton, Canada, a city known for long, cold, harsh winters. Some people who live here complain bitterly about our winters. And yet, other people fly from all around the world to enjoy our winters. That idea presented this question: if others can see the magic that is here, why can’t we?

Why not stop and focus on the little touches of magic embedded in every day life? Why not let that awareness of little magic be part of every day? My Photo of Day project is my response to those thoughts.