The Beginning of Many

In the next several entries I will re-post some of the things I had on my other site before I deleted it. I went through a time last year where I was inspired to write by one of my professors and that's what I did ... a lot. Many of them are photographs from my time in college that I took and wrote reflections about, so enjoy and feel free to comment on them, challenge me, or ask questions.

Written on 11-13-06

A Great Photograph ...

"A great photo happens when a photographer sees a situation unfolding in front of him that evokes an emotion that he feels deep down, in the middle of his chest. And in a split second, he then makes a conscience choice of exposure, lens, depth of field, lighting, body language, composition, etc., and releases the shutter. The film is then processed, scanned, laid out on a page, printed on a press, driven across town to the newspaper carrier who throws it on some guy's porch, who then opens the newspaper and looks down at that photo ... And if that guy gets the same feeling deep down in the middle of his chest that the photographer did when he viewed the situation in the first place, the photographer has made a great photo."


As I read this definition on a journalism website of what makes a great photograph, I found it to be a neat way to explain the attempt we make to capture a still image of the essense of profound moments we expereince in life. It is these moments that we desire to remain forever and by photographing them, we are essentially capturing that expereince and its emotions in time in order to experience again at a later time as we are taken mentally and emotionally to that place of significance that it was at the time. Photographs remind us and encourage us in our present realities of the things we once experienced and continue to be affected by as we reflect on what that experience meant to us.

As I have been looking into photo journalism a bit lately, I have developed a deep interest for being able to capture those moments and write about them in such a way that I can learn and be challenged by some of life's deepest questions and observations. In light of all that I see in the world around me, my desire is to begin to touch on the question of "how then shall we live?" For so many years in my life, I have been content to simply go on living my life without critically examining the world around me and it's been a challenge to really face the world and all its controversy and understand why I live the way I do and what that means to me deep down. I know it's a long road to walk down but I'm excited to see what I am able to capture and examine as I go along. One thing I have begun to see is the reality that this world in all its complexity and ugliness often reveals some beautifully deep truths about my own life and faith before God.