End frame: Blade of light by Rafael Rojas

David Driman

I live in London, Ontario, Canada and am a hobbyist photographer, and a pathologist by profession. I enjoy landscape photography in all its variations, attempting to gravitate toward the simple and abstract. 

daviddrimanphotography.com

Just as this butter knife incises and illuminates a dark Venetian canal, so did Venice illuminate our world. Since its founding in the 6th century as the Republic of Venice, this city became a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, an important centre of commerce, art and music, and a rich merchant republic. And of course, today, it remains an urban or street photographer’s paradise.

As with many of the best images, the sense of mystery and ambiguity in this image invites the viewer to engage with the image and to ask questions of it, all of which enhances the visual experience. But another aspect of this image that particularly appeals to me is that it highlights the importance of looking versus seeing. As a pathologist who spends time looking at images down a microscope and making diagnoses based on morphological findings, I stress to our trainees the difference between looking and seeing. Pathologists and photographers must go beyond the passivity of looking to actively see (and to seek) important diagnostic findings or photographic scenes that are not to be missed.