Learning To See — Donna Hopkins

I think we’ll go look at the the osprey along the Potomac River today. Dave will drive and I will read out loud to him. When we arrive at Westmoreland State Park I wonder why we don’t come here more often, and make a mental note to book a cabin once the park renovations are completed. Virginia is the first state park system in the nation to install a viewfinder at each of its 43 locations. The viewfinders are equipped with special lenses designed to help those with red-green color blindness experience an expanded range of visible color. We spend some time learning to see through the viewfinders. Just to see what we might see.

I know that this photo of the viewfinder will be the last addition to my current project. A photograph of a viewfinder, not the camera finder but a larger version of the same, is the perfect ending to my travelogue. Isn’t every photograph really about learning to see? To notice. And to feel it all so deeply.

The book, A Guidebook For Small Travels, is complete now. It’s being printed and you can view it here if you’re interested.