Being a tourist in your city is the key to taking exciting photographs in your neighborhood.
Practically always when I start to walk and when I take the camera out of my bag, I feel that hard-to-describe curiosity appears in my mind. Even though I know that I will walk through the streets, which I have seen countless times, I am still curious about what I will see during the next walk.
The fact is that without interestingness, I would not take so many odd photographs on the streets of Warsaw.
To be always curious about the surroundings, you have to switch to your brain’s “tourist” mode. I often imagine that I am a tourist from another culture (e.g., Japanese). When I start to do that, suddenly, everything which surrounds me (including trees, garbage, a block of flats, etc.) begins to interest me in an unprecedented way. In some odd way, I think that I even start to look like a tourist in my city. For example, a large backpack I carry on my back can be seen as a typical tourist’s backpack.
Thus, I think that many passers-by who see me believe that I am a tourist who came up in their district to photograph their mundane surroundings.
Those people do not know that I can be their neighbor. It is the moment when I smile to myself, deep in my soul. In general, I would like to encourage you, my Dear Friend, to become a tourist in your city. Believe me that you will gain unprecedented curiosity for your neighborhood. You will suddenly open your eyes and realize how many exciting objects you will find in your surroundings.
I wish you that, my Dear Friend. Meanwhile, I go outdoors. I want to take as many astonishing photographs as possible.
