I was looking through the most recent photographs on my phone and noticed a recurring theme: the world outside viewed from inside, often framed by an open window. I am indoors but I am looking outside, turning my photographic gaze outward.
There are many versions of this type of photograph in my collection. The most common has me in a dark room with the lights out, the brighter scene outside floating in the black frame of the window.
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/IMG_3553.jpeg?resize=923%2C1230&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_3159.jpg?resize=922%2C1230&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_3474.jpg?resize=923%2C1230&ssl=1)
Or the quality of light (usually golden) seeping in through the window is such that I feel the need to capture the surfaces which have been transformed by it. The light effects a wondrous change which begs to be both savored and recorded.
![](https://i2.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_3148-1230x923.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_2991-902x1230.jpg?ssl=1)
Or something about the contrast created between the boundary of light and dark, the weight and beauty of the shadowy in-between.
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_3012.jpg?resize=923%2C1230&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/img_2893-1.jpg?resize=923%2C1230&ssl=1)
Or something about straining towards the light in the midst of turbulence and uncertainty. And now the metaphors fall away and I remember again how grateful I am for photography, a rich practice of attention. I am grateful for a practice which helps me to appreciate both the light and the shadows, which challenges me to linger just a while longer, hopeful that the darkness is never really completely dark.
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/IMG_3545.jpeg?resize=923%2C1230&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/viewfinders.io/wp-content/uploads/IMG_3558.jpeg?resize=922%2C1230&ssl=1)
-Eyes wide open, Chinwe
Your camera roll is filled with such beautiful images. I love how you find the light.