As I last mentioned, there is an advantage to going to an unfamiliar place. The new environment provides ample opportunity to really take a look around you.

Then there’s the stuff that’s right in front of you and realizing it might be gone all too soon. I ran across a photo series on Petapixel this morning that documents a dog’s last day with his family. The dog apparently had a tumor that could no longer be treated. Robyn Arouty’s photographs are presented from the dog’s perspective (Warning: your monitor will probably start to look a little blurry as you scroll through the pictures and captions.):

http://www.robynarouty.com/i-died-today/

Photographs capture moments and representations of the beings and things around us. They can serve as ways to communicate ideas to others, and they can be aids to our own memory. I’m reminded that while there are big things going on in the world, there are lots of little things that are no less intense to the people involved. And I’m reminded that those little things we see daily won’t always be here. Time to appreciate them, and maybe make a few pictures.

(And rest easy, Dukey.)