One Small Image, One Big Smile

Date created: 2026-09-05

Introduction

As a photographer, I have spent years training my eye to find the moments that matter. The quality of light through a forest canopy, the geometry of a mountain reflected in still water, the way a single frame can hold an entire feeling. That practice of seeing does something to you over time. It makes you acutely aware of how powerfully images shape the way you experience the world.

My photography is driven by the experience of the moment. Nothing I have done previously has put me so clearly in the present. I love it. For the duration of those moments, time becomes infinite. The normal rules of existence slip away and I feel alive with all my senses.

It is a wonderful experience that I keep searching out, from the forests of the Olympic Peninsula and the mountains of Colorado, to the tall grass prairies and rolling hills of Kansas. The more time I spent chasing these moments through a lens, the more I began to ask a different kind of question. If a single image captured in nature can shift my entire mood and outlook, what else could a well-placed image do in my everyday life?

That question led me somewhere unexpectedly simple and surprisingly powerful.

Imagery as Motivation

My photographs provide motivation to seek out more of these moments, to capture what I can with my camera and drone, and to share what I find. They feed my positive experience of life.

A photographer learns quickly that composition is intentional. You do not stumble into a great image. You place yourself, you frame the scene, and you make deliberate choices about what belongs in the frame and what does not. I began to wonder if I could apply that same intentionality to my surroundings. Could I deliberately place positive imagery in my daily environment the way I compose a shot, with purpose and with effect?

Subtly, I realized that to some extent I already do this. The paintings and art I surround myself with at home are there to please me. While not exactly chosen for motivational purposes, they are chosen to enrich my environment. It was a small but important distinction, and it opened a door.

An Interactive Example

The best example I already had in my life was sitting quietly on my bathroom counter every morning, waiting to be noticed.

It is a painted stone placed in the center of a mala, a string of Buddhist prayer beads used for meditation and mindfulness. The stone has a word painted on each side. One side says try and the other says joy.

Every morning I turn the stone over and remind myself that an attempt, whatever the result, is so much more than the regret of never trying. It also calls to mind one of my favorite quotes:

"I never lose. I either win or learn." — Nelson Mandela

This small object had been doing its quiet work for a long time before I fully appreciated what it represented. It was a deliberately placed image and object, positioned exactly where I would encounter it every single day. It was proof that the idea already worked. Now I wanted to take it further.

A Personal Experiment

Thinking like a photographer, I asked myself a simple question. What image, placed in the right location with the right contrast and visibility, would create an instant emotional response every time I saw it?

I like the classic smiley face image. It is bright yellow, it has a big smile, and it simply makes me feel good in the most uncomplicated way. Much like the way a shaft of golden light through morning mist makes you stop and breathe, it is immediate and it is honest. I bought a pack of smiley face stickers and began experimenting with placement, because in photography, placement is everything.

I put stickers on my travel mug and my laptop. With one sticker remaining, on a whim I decided to place it on my car, just above the driver's door handle. I might not have fully understood what I was doing consciously, but I am fairly certain my subconscious mind did.

Results

Not every placement worked, and that is an important part of the experiment.

The travel mug and laptop placements did not deliver the effect I was looking for. Because of their position, other people saw them far more than I ever did. As any photographer knows, an image only creates impact when it reaches the right viewer at the right moment. These placements were composed for the wrong audience.

The smiley face sticker placed on the driver's door was a different story entirely. That worked amazingly well.

Every day, like most of the adult population in the US, I drive to work. I walk to the garage where the car is parked and I see this image. I cannot help myself. I just smile back, and I have a small but genuine positive moment before I even get in the car and start the day.

The contrast between the bright yellow smiley face and the blue steel of the car accentuates the image beautifully, a lesson any photographer will recognize. Contrast creates impact. It is visible across the entire parking lot, and when I spot it from a distance I smile to myself, because I know exactly what it is and exactly why it is there.

Conclusion

The experiment worked. I was able to inject a genuine positive moment into my daily existence. Not on the scale of watching a sunrise from Mount Walker on the Olympic Peninsula, but that is entirely the point. I still pursue those extraordinary moments in the natural world through my lens, and I always will. But this is something different. Something small, something consistent, something that makes me smile every single time I see it, and I see it every day.

I am genuinely astounded by how simple it was to create this daily positive moment. Years of photography trained me to understand the power of a single image, and it turns out that power does not require a mountain at dawn. Sometimes it is a yellow sticker on a blue car door — and that is more than enough.

So here is my suggestion to you. Pick an image that makes you smile without thinking about it. Print it small, find a sticker, or place a meaningful object exactly where you will encounter it every morning. Think about placement the way a photographer would. Where you will see it, at what moment of your day, and against what background? Make it yours. Let it be your small daily gift to yourself.

Positivity is a wonderful and empowering feeling that we should all experience and enjoy, whatever path we walk in life.

Keep smiling and enjoy the journey 🙂