Observing—for longer than you think — Donna Hopkins

Start in the same place: by naming what you see. Observe and describe.
Add context with additional information. Maybe the title of the picture, the location or date, the photographer’s name, or other context like the weather or the genre of the work. Whatever the new information you’ve added, go back and look at the photograph again.
Do not begin to assign meaning to the art, until you have observed the photograph for at least 10 minutes. That’s a long time in the world of Instagram scrolling. But this is how we begin to see our photographs tell stories.
Practice slow engagement with the work. Here we begin to interpret the art. I used to worry that my photographs were superficial, that they lacked some secret element that made for pictures that were truly moving. But now I see that there is no secret. Any photograph can be meaningful if we let go of the stories we hold onto, the ones we tell ourselves over and over again, and begin to write new stories based on our observations in the here and now.

“Slowing down our sensory input is essential to processing our experiences into stories. Because when we rush to decide what something means, we’re often not only missing details, but also the opportunity to connect in an authentic way.” —Stephanie Fallon, What Stories Are You Telling Yourself? (And Are They Harming Or Helping You?)