Have you ever wondered what it means to be a photographer?
In a way, photographs allow us to be time travelers! I want you to take a minute and think about that concept. Capturing an image is really only a speck in time yet the results defy time. What do I mean?
I have spent the last 30+ years of my life capturing those oh so brief moments in time. When I look back at any of them, I am immediately transported to that time and place where I can almost physically remember the smell of the air, the taste of the food, and even the palpable joy or sorrow of the moment. What other occupation can say that? This is conceptually a heavy burden and is why I continually work to perfect my craft. Even a mediocre picture, when that is all that is left, can have that power. You may scoff at that idea, but I want you you sit back and consider how many times you looked at an image and were teleported back to that exact moment.
I don’t normally photograph people but I did when my sons were growing up. I usually try to do everything I can to keep people out of my images. It was Pura’s nudging that compelled me take images during our travels with the boys and my parents. Even at home she chided me to take images at family events. Today, I am forever grateful that she did. I have a digital picture frames playing all the time on a loop in my house of many of those images and I consider it one of my most priceless possession. It takes me back to those moments, even after my father has passed. What other craft has that ability?
My wildlife photography generally lasts just a fraction of a second in most cases. My most famous image, of the Wildebeest crossing the Mara River, immediately gets my heart pumping when I see it hanging in my house! That image allow me to recall not only where I was but also whom I was with fulfilled a childhood dream!!!
I wake up every morning to these images of my sons (this is an iPhone pic)… from Sears of all places, close to their first birthday, hanging in custom frames I made. In this image, their huge smiles are definitely deceiving. They weren’t actually happy… as a matter of fact they were really cranky! The simple infant game of peek a boo with their dad brought the smiles to their faces as an exasperated Pura and photographer did their absolute best to capture that moment. The power of that image, even though not mine, is very palpable and puts me in that moment.
Now imagine a world without those images. Our minds will eventually fade as we age, so photographs are most likely the only thing that will allows us to reliably go back in time and we must do everything we can to preserve them. When I am long gone, I can rest easy knowing that my images will allow my children, family, friends, and future generations to time travel with me. Next time you press that shutter, remember what you are actually capturing. That is the real power of a photograph.