Life Happens…

Atop carefully laid foundations,
artfully placed stones rise into shape.
Craftmanship most intricate abounds,
reaching upward, revealing its form.

In September 2024, while immersing myself in the Diocletian ancient architecture of Split, my eyes were continually drawn around and upwards, and around and around turning as time passes, oblivious to everything except amazement. With both my Canon digital camera and Samsung phone in hand, I explore angles.

Graced with delicately
hand-carved aging pillars;
strength remains a legacy.
Beneath keystone arches,
hugging sombre-toned sentinels
whisper wisdom, “Look up, perceive.”

Spellbound by the skillful hand-crafted elegance of the stately columns and arches,
I seek a quiet spot under a lone arch.

Looking up, I feel an attachment, a connection to my surroundings.

Sea-salted breezes, particles cling,
Sentinel-like pillars, rising high
Voices echo in breeze-blown dust.

Here,
in solitude,
I sit still.
Perspective.
I see.
I focus my lenses.
Perception.
I press the button.
Here,
in solitude among the crowd,
I sit still, alone.
I marvel in silence.
A moment.
My experience.
No words.

Gradually, I get up and move around and through the throng of tourists, looking for and from different perspectives and angles. I concentrate on observing arches, columns, decorative finishes, and varying time period construction and a comparative observation occurs for me.

Looking outside the box of stereotypical touristy-type photographs, I focus on different approach, a unique expression of wonder.
My impressions.

My life, as if sheathed by guardians of mind and heart, interpreted.

Eventually my perspective shifts from outwardly programmed to inward examination.
My focal point, perception, widens by introspection, opening a wider field of vision.

These mighty remnants of ages past symbolize my life. I believe that photographing my experience as I deliberately did, let impressions prepare me to learn something of myself.
While reviewing my images, the words ‘perspective, perception, and interpretation’ come to my mind, and I reflect.

I stare at the one with four (4) architectural styles,
the clouds on one side and the blaring blue sky on the other.
Observing the differences and the wind-worn effects,
I discover myself reflecting on the experiences of my life.
From perspective through impressions to introspective perception.

The four structures in the above photograph represent, for me, many things.
Experiences, phases of life, people, places, personal strengths and weaknesses.
The consequences of adverse conditions develop strength, resilience, scars, survival, and character.
Appreciation and peace stand, sometimes braced, to continually hold the arches of my life.

Through my immersive, introspective experience, an interpretation of my life develops in a photographic exhibit for one.
Light, structure, arches, architectural types, and weathering differences symbolize, with significance, my way of seeing, thinking, feeling, and making choices, my perceptions, perspectives, and how I interpret my experiences, an abiding connection.

Everything happens for a reason.
Negative or positive, my choice.
Perspective, perception, and interpretation.
I choose to see, observe, feel, and make connections.

Life Happens . . . so does Perspective Leading to Personal Perception in the Architecture of Split, Croatia.

All rights reserved by copyright Vicki Nicholls 2025