Seeing

I spent this past weekend at Sun Moon Lake in the middle of Taiwan. Northface hosted some races and a concert, and finally at the end of Saturday there was a fireworks show.

Before going I had known there was the possibility of seeing fireworks, but I wasn't sure of the exact plan. When it came time to pack, I left my tripod behind even though I know that taking good fireworks photos requires keeping the camera stable for a few seconds, I rationalized that I could find a rock to put it on if I needed the stability. I really didn't know what was going to happen.

When I found out that the fireworks were set to happen, I went down to the waterfront to scope out the scene. I could kind of tell where the fireworks would happen based on the tripods lined up along the shore, so I went back to the hotel and got my camera. At the waterfront I looked for a place to set my camera up. I was looking for a location where I could take a shot that included something in the foreground along with the light show.

I found a golf cart in the parking lot where I could place my camera on top of the roof. I had the people in the scene, I had the tents, you can tell it is a festival, it was just what I wanted -- just what I expected.

Everything turned out good. 

But could it have been better?

It turned out I couldn't see in front of the tents so I couldn't see the lower fireworks.

I couldn't see how the fireworks were reflecting off the water.

I couldn't see the people down at the waterfront doing what they were doing.

I didn't get a different perspective from the one I had.

You can change your whole outlook just by walking on the other side of the street. Taking a few steps out of your current place can change your whole outlook.

Seth Goden says we think we are looking for something, and when something else comes along that is good, we don't see it.  The act of seeing is not putting a name on the thing you are looking for. 

I can't help but draw a connection to my current role. I wonder what I am missing and how I can see what I am not seeing. How can I see better? Is there I way I can be better at predicting?

What would a different perspective mean for me?

Today I had a coaching meeting with my boss. We've had these meetings set up for the past couple weeks, but we have had to cancel the last few. We took an hour to talk about how things are going and discussed some strategies I can take.

For me, part of seeing better is being able to talk out my thoughts and have a sounding board. Maybe blogging more would be good too?