"To write, with light. Photography."
Photography has become one of the most essential parts of my life, and with that, it means I spend a whole-lot-of-time thinking about the work-form. From event work to capturing ephemeral art pieces before they can weather, you end up with thousands of slices of different moments, a living journal of things you think and hope will be interesting, or important. Photographs, (writings using light) are phenomenal at highlighting where something is -in this moment-.
Photos, being a highlight of a moment, share your "best business look" when doing headshots, or how your workspaces looks when your spaces is set to it's mis en place. Sometimes, it is a slice of the moments of your wedding, charity event, or a get together with friends. Slices of moments you hope to cherish later.
There's a beauty and a joy in my work for me. Something that I find many career and hobbyist photographers understand deeply as well. For me, someone who has struggled with their weight, I understand how it feels when you "don't look your best physically" in the moments that makeup a headshot session. Maybe it is too early in the year and you haven't hit the gym hard enough, maybe your life changed and you haven't focused on maintaining that aspect of life. Either way, it happens, and honestly, the way you look, feel and existed in any moment is just how you existed that moment. Photos capture that, and can give you something to work from or to in your journey. You'll never be exactly the same as you were yesterday, a year ago, or 5 years back. But you can change the direction you're leading yourself into.
To quote a philosopher I enjoy, "You are not who you think you are, but are bound to be your thoughts" (and actions! -Charlie). With that said, I implore you to take the silly photo with your friends, and do more than just take it, print your photos that you love. I have no idea if you're reading this and were here for MySpace, Photobucket, or other websites that have come and went, but digital images are ephemeral and can be lost. The joys of holding a moment in your hands is something truly different than a quick glance of it on your feed as you scroll by. The image isn't trying to compete with the feed and algorithms, but exists to remind you of a great day that is gone.
I'm going to leave y'all with a photo of me from a lighting refresher I was doing for fun the other day. It is a slice of who I was on that day, and there's something wonderful about this.
