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A Closer Look

George Kaplan, the Thomas
Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of
Public Health, believes public health
research and photography require
"the same kind of immersion, the
same kind of letting go of blinders."
Many people don't spot the tiny green
frog in Kaplan's close-up of a bright
pink flower (bottom left), for example.
"You have to make a commitment to
seeing as well as to understanding,"
he says. More images.

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George Kaplan can't remember a time when he wasn't interested "in the patterns that lie under the surface." It's what drove him into a career as an epidemiologist specializing in the social and economic determinants of health, and it's what got him into photography when he was eight years old. Taking pictures, he says,"is a little bit like thinking about society and health, looking at patterns that people don't see because they're in the middle of them, and trying to call attention to structure."

Kaplan, the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Health, believes public health research and photography require"the same kind of immersion, the same kind of letting go of blinders." Many people don't spot the tiny green frog in Kaplan's close-up of a bright pink flower (bottom left), for example."You have to make a commitment to seeing as well as to understanding," he says.

To see more of Kaplan's photos, visit http://georgekaplanimages.imagekind.com

Send correspondence about this or any Findings article to the editor at sph.findings@umich.edu. You will be contacted if your letter is considered for publication.