Seattle Gum Wall
One of the aspects of photography, when it results in a truly meaningful photograph, is when the photographer is present in the moment of seeing, editing and printing (more on editing and printing is subsequent post). While all moments in time are unique, there are these moments in life, that are sometimes just milliseconds, which mean more to us. We are able to, for some reason, recognize that what is about to or is currently happening is unique never to happen again. We are shaped and influenced by these moments.
Everyday each and everyone of us has the privilege of getting to see and experience these magical moments. As a photographer, like all artist, we are in may ways more privileged to be truly present enough, through our craft and art, to extend these moments to make them timeless. Our craft has found a way to make us capture these incredible moments so that we are no longer bound by the limits of that past, present and future. We are, through photography, able to extend our own existence, and the subjects of the frame beyond that moment by the mere act of creating a photograph. This is why photography matters. It makes us hold the presence of those moments, capture those moments and reflect on their meaning and impact. It is when that awareness of the magic appears in the photograph that the photographic art develops into a universal. To understand the value of the moment in the photograph, allows all of us to explore the photos meaning, intention, and purpose. And in that dialog, you may also find in yourself your meaning, intention, and purpose.
New Orleans Secret
I have read a lot on being a better photographer. Use the camera you have. Buy less gear. Take this workshop. Learn Photoshop. Learn film. In the end, the better photograph is not about any of those things. The real photographs in your life are the photographs you have the patience to let unfold around you AND being present to the splendor of the moments once it arrives
Knowing that, you are getting to see something that will never happen again. The light. The gesture. The subjects. They will never be the same again. You will never be the same again. When you get the privilege of being allowed to be present in that moment, and with respect and compassion, you find a way to translate all of that into a photograph. You finally get to see.