Inspiration

A photo captures a moment in time, it creates a visual memory. That moment is not about me, the photographer, it is about the subject. Whether the subject be a person, an object or life; honoring the subject is what photography is about.

A photo tells the beginning of a story. The beauty of the story is that the person viewing the photo finishes it, they may say it out loud or they may create it in their mind, but it is their’s to create from the image. The story I tell about one of my own photos may not be the same story you would tell, we all see things differently. We are each unique, as it should be.

Photography enables not only me to create, but the viewer to create as well. Picasso said, “The chief enemy of our creativity is common sense.”  Sometimes common sense can filter out to much of what we see, because we are afraid, afraid of being wrong. There is no ‘wrong’ when viewing images.  Images speak to each of us differently.  Images can inspire.

When I hold my camera I am excited about the possibilities within. It begins with what I see through my eyes, first I look. Seeing this way is somewhat new for me, I used to pick up my camera, look through the lens and shoot. After attending a class at the Santa Fe Photography Workshop school, this changed. One of the first lessons was to walk around with a small note pad and write down what to photograph, this exercise enabled me to see subjects differently, I was learning to see.

All the steps between looking for the story and viewing the final print are exciting, however when one of my final images makes a person ‘feel’, invites them to participate in the image, to make them think, that is what inspires me to go out and look again. Chris Orwig states it well, “Photography open’s other’s eyes to the mystery and wonder on planet earth.”

“Whatever you are looking for, is looking for you too.  The catch is to recognize it when it pops up in front of you.”  Keith Carter

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