While I'm At It..
Set the camera down for a second. Because I know my "audience", this isn't a ridiculous request. What I'm about to say may sound preachy. You may not want to hear it but, it needs to be asked. When were you last a human first?
It's terribly easy to get caught up in being a journalist and believing that can be your sole contribution to the world. I have sad news friends, it's not good enough. How many people have actually ever made a difference in the world with a camera? Sure, a single frame has changed the course of the world for good before (a man by the name of Eddie Adams comes to mind), but how often does it regularly occur? With technology being the way it is, and consumers having the same tools we as professionals have, the distinct advantage we once had is diminishing. Should you quit striving to obtain that next image that changes the world? Not at all. Do you want to make sure that in some manner you make a difference in at least one person's life? There's an easy way to ensure that this has the best possible chance at happening. BE A HUMAN FIRST! Feel the feelings you encounter everyday. Live the lives that your subjects live. Love the way man was meant to love...passionately.
I realize that I'm not the most eloquent person in the world. Heck, sometimes I even have a hard time getting my point across to people in everyday conversation. I have realized though that there are two things that translate perfectly to any language. The first, of course, is music...you know, the kind without words in it. The next and, until recently, the less obvious of the two, is emotion. People around the world feel the same feelings we do. By we I mean Americans. Many would argue that some people, depending on their geographic location of course, feel pain or joy to a larger degree than we do.
So where do these feelings come from? Could be the fact that I've been living alone for the first time in my life. Could be the forced seclusion due to weather. It could be the fact that I have recently uncovered an intense desire to make a difference. To work to make a change and working tirelessly toward such a goal is a tremendous thing and I encourage each of you to pursue a like goal.
How about some more inspiration.
David Leeson - The Creative Alchemist
It's terribly easy to get caught up in being a journalist and believing that can be your sole contribution to the world. I have sad news friends, it's not good enough. How many people have actually ever made a difference in the world with a camera? Sure, a single frame has changed the course of the world for good before (a man by the name of Eddie Adams comes to mind), but how often does it regularly occur? With technology being the way it is, and consumers having the same tools we as professionals have, the distinct advantage we once had is diminishing. Should you quit striving to obtain that next image that changes the world? Not at all. Do you want to make sure that in some manner you make a difference in at least one person's life? There's an easy way to ensure that this has the best possible chance at happening. BE A HUMAN FIRST! Feel the feelings you encounter everyday. Live the lives that your subjects live. Love the way man was meant to love...passionately.
I realize that I'm not the most eloquent person in the world. Heck, sometimes I even have a hard time getting my point across to people in everyday conversation. I have realized though that there are two things that translate perfectly to any language. The first, of course, is music...you know, the kind without words in it. The next and, until recently, the less obvious of the two, is emotion. People around the world feel the same feelings we do. By we I mean Americans. Many would argue that some people, depending on their geographic location of course, feel pain or joy to a larger degree than we do.
So where do these feelings come from? Could be the fact that I've been living alone for the first time in my life. Could be the forced seclusion due to weather. It could be the fact that I have recently uncovered an intense desire to make a difference. To work to make a change and working tirelessly toward such a goal is a tremendous thing and I encourage each of you to pursue a like goal.
How about some more inspiration.
David Leeson - The Creative Alchemist
posted by Grant at
6:29 PM
1 Comments:
I agree with you 100%. I haven't felt that photojournalists can change the world on a regular basis by just doing our job in a long time, but I do believe that those images still exist out there and need to be found. It's been important to me that from now on I frequently put my camera down and be a person helping out other people. Building a house this past week for a family in need confirmed that feeling, and I hope that you and other people who feel like this will find other things to change the world outside of snapping pictures (and in my case, I was able to get pictures along the way!).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and thanks for the link to David.
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