Name That Photo

Today's pictures are different angles of an East River boat house visible from the public landing just below the Court House.

If someone asked me to name these photos, I'd call the one above Boat House, Etc.  The etc. is necessary (to me) because of that stuff there in the foreground.

I like to use technical terms like "stuff" and "etc." when I write.  It's liberating, in an odd, quasi-rebellious sort of way. You see, deep down I know I should use descriptive words to paint the picture of everything there in the foreground including the way the sun was dancing off that marsh grass on the left.  But because I'm tired, and it's Monday night as I write this, and most of all because I can, I'm sticking with Boat House, Etc.

At least 50% of the stress in my life is caused by an internal struggle between doing things the way I think they're supposed to be/ought to be done--and the way I want to do things, which is usually imperfect, laid back, relaxed, and flexing the rules a bit.  This little exercise in naming the photo just made me realize that there is often a very large gap between CBW Ought to Do This and CBW Really Just Wants to Do That, and so much time is wasted trying to bridge that gap.

If you're lost, don't worry. Things will either become clear towards the end of this post, or they'll remain as clear as mud, like they are right now.

Either way, let's move on to the next photo, below.

This one I'd call Boat and House.

Can you believe I have a college degree?  Some days I really want to call the university and make sure the diploma on my wall is still valid. But since I'm so afraid they'd ask for it back based on the number of brain cells that have been lost over the years, I probably won't make that call.

Boat and House, though, really drives home the fact that we're not talking about a house for that boat; nor just the boat; nor just the boat house.

Dear University,
I know what you're going to say, but you're not getting that degree back.  Children, life, stress, hormones,  middle age, responsibilities, having to put up an artificial Christmas tree by myself, similar stuff, etc. have drastically impacted major portions of my brain. 
Love,
CBW

This one is just Boat House. Dead on, direct, just like the photo.

And because that's the sort of clever person I am.

Last but not least, this one is Boat House Framed by Tree. 

And now, for one minute, I'd like to talk seriously about naming photographs.

Surprisingly, I receive visitors to this blog who run away screaming because they're googling "how to name a photograph."  That's because a while back some of my posts asked the reader to provide a name for whatever photo happened to be featured. 

My immediate response to anyone wanting to know how to name a photograph is that if you have to ask, I probably won't be able to explain it to you. There is no right or wrong way to name a photograph.  The name or the interpretation is strictly in the eye--and the emotion--of the beholder.  

I could just as easily have named these photos something like, "Never Ending Quest" or "The Meaning of Life" or even "The Never Ending Quest for the Meaning of Life," but that wasn't what I was feeling when I took or saw these photos. Not at all.  Perhaps if I were trying to impress someone, those names might have come forward. 

It's sort of like trying to bridge the gap of doing things the way you think they're supposed to be done because that's what people expect.  Or the way you want to do them because it feels more natural.  

Go with your instinct and do it your way. The less you try to impress other people, the better off you'll be.

p.s. Are we still talking about photographs?

p.s.s.t. What name would you give to the series of photos above?