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The Eyes Are The Windows To The Soul

If you think you need a better camera, I'm going to share a secret with you.

By Linda CarollPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Mountain Lion on a snowy winter afternoon // Photo © Linda Caroll

The eyes are the windows to the soul. A French poet said that in the 16th century, Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, and despite that most of us have never heard his name, we agree with his sentiment.

I wonder whose eyes made him feel that way.

I think he's right, and more so since the warm winter day I gazed into the eyes of a Mountain Lion as he paced the confines of the shelter that saved his life.

Incidentally, if you think you need a better camera to get the best shots, I'm going to share some secrets with you. First, this one. A silly secret, if hindsight were the judge.

Shame. That was my first secret.

I was a little ashamed of my camera. I'd been so proud and excited, walking into the store. I almost skipped in delight, because I was going to splurge a little. No more point and shoot, I was treating myself to a real camera.

But then, salesmen. You know?

He told me I'd end up disappointed with the low end model I was looking to buy. I really need the good one, he said, putting the higher end model on the counter for me to salivate over.

I know it was just an upsell, it's what sales people do, it's how quotas get met, but the heart feels what it feels. So I sighed and bought the bottom end model. It fit my budget, and it was on sale.

I'm happy to tell you he was wrong.

So I took my bottom end Nikon home and googled for tips on taking great shots with a not-so-great DSLR and stumbled across an article written by a National Geographic photographer.

I was in awe. National Geographic. The magazine I'd read for years. Decades. And here he was, writing articles to help people like me.

It's not the camera, he said.

People always think that. When someone is successful, people always ask about the tools. What software do you use? Which tablet did you edit with? What camera did you shoot that with?

It's not about the camera, the Nat. Geo photographer promised. It's about seeing. That's all. It's just seeing.

How lucky, I thought. Me and my four eyes should be able to manage that, so I slung that camera across my shoulder and headed out on a snowy winter afternoon to see what I could see through the lens.

Here's another secret that photographer taught me. Buy features, not prestige. It's not about what the camera costs. It's about whether it can do the things you want to do.

Let me tell you the best feature on my camera. Burst mode. It's also called continuous shoot and it means you just hold the shutter release down and the camera keeps on shooting until you let go.

It's for sports, really.

Rapid succession photos, to capture your little big-hitter as she slams that ball into next week, or to capture that precious once-in-a-lifetime second your little winner crosses the finish line... or a mountain lion pacing on a snowy winter day.

He was glorious.

Seeing and capturing are not the same, I quickly discovered. Cussing under my breath I took shot after shot of the side of his head until a light went on in the attic and I turned on burst mode.

Patience is a virtue, they say and I needed it that day, knees freezing as I knelt on the ground and the snow kept swirling and falling, turning my still, silent body into an abominable snowman.

It's like he knew.

He'd pace, back and forth, back and forth. Just when his face would fill the camera, he'd look away and I'd cuss under my breath.

I wondered, later, if it was the perseverance or the stillness. Did he recognize that I wasn't leaving until I got the shot? Or did I just become part of the scenery? Maybe a little of both.

I've seen photos of photographers laying on the ground while birds and squirrels hop on their backs as if they're just another log and that was me that day. Don't mind me, just part of the scenery.

Until that moment.

I don't know how long it was. A split second and forever seemed to collide when his eyes met mine through the eye of the camera.

I'd always thought they had golden eyes, but no. His eyes were as blue as ice and the frozen winter sky and staring into them was like peeking into the past, the present and eternity all at the same time.

Words do no justice. It was breathtaking.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and I believe that's true in more ways than one. What you see looks back at you and long after the snow has melted, I still don't know whose soul I peered into that day. Was it his, or was it mine? And I just don't know.

* * *

I am not this hair,

I am not this skin,

I am the soul

that lives within.

~Rumi

lenses
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About the Creator

Linda Caroll

“Imagination is the golden-eyed monster that never sleeps.

It must be fed; it cannot be ignored.”

― Patricia A. McKillip

* * *

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  • Matt Pointon2 years ago

    I recently learned a heart-breaking story related to the concept of eyes being the window to the soul. I should write it up somehow but I'm not sure how.

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