The famous kapok silk-cotton tree of downtown St. Petersburg in sepiaWhy did I make this photograph? Because of the shadows the branches were burning into the ground. That interested me. As it was close to mid-day the shadows were vividly dark. They appeared to me to be separate from the tree itself, not so much shadows, but rather an alternative existence for another kapok silk-cotton tree bordering two realities. This I saw for just a moment in between a lot of other things, like teaching a DSLR Photography Lesson and cars passing by and people jostling past on the sidewalk and the sun uncomfortably heating my skin.
The photography tip is this: see a different reality
My favorite artist is Van Gogh because he saw a different reality, not in his imagination, but through his normal eyes, or was his mind imaging what he say and his eyes believed it to be the reality of others? Regardless, I believe he literally saw the world as he painted it. When he looked at a night sky, it was all swirly. Thus, his paintings are now masterpieces and hold the interest of millions. If he had painted the sky exactly as it appears to look for most people, he would not be an artist of any significance.
Being able to see a different reality is an extremely valuable skill to any artist, to any photographer. I believe these different realities are not constantly around us though, they exist only for a moment. Take the above photo for example. If I returned to that spot a few hours later, the alternative branch shadow reality would not be there.
To me an interesting artist/photographer skillfully and creatively shows others the different reality he/she sees on a daily basis.