Looking at light

I didn’t know whether to post this in OT or 3D, but safer here.

I was enjoying an after work pint this evening, and since the threatened storms haven’t arrived yet, I sat outside. The sun was low in the sky, and away from the sun, dark clouds were forming. Gulls were flying in the air, and this is a suburban street with a row of old shops opposite.

After 15 minutes, I realised I’ve been looking, not at what is there, but how the light hits it, illuminates it, reflects off it etc. The detail was irrelevant, just the light interaction.

And this was entirely for rendering reference (by the way, reference photos don’t always capture reality in an accurate way). Has anyone else ever found themselves accidentally not looking at what is there, but looking at “how” it is there?

Yes, often with the details of exhibits in museums, to work out exactly what sort of shape to be modelling, again photos can’t fully capture it.