Little did I realize that when I dipped my toe into the waters of photography two and a half years ago, I would be completely and eternally swallowed up in its beautiful tides.
Photography has consumed me, mind, body, spirit, and soul. I am quite convinced that a grand design I cannot fathom was behind all of this. Nothing has come together on my journey seamlessly as photography. Nothing has challenged me, humbled me, or spoke as truthfully as photography.
It has given me the ability to see beyond sight, feel beyond touch, hear beyond sound and cry beyond tears.
There is a fragile magic behind photography and its ability to heal. There is a serene, yet powerful science that gives foundation to the necessity of photography. Still, there is a plethora of benefits, physically and mentally, that photography can imbue in the individual behind the lens:
It helps in fighting depression. Studies have demonstrated that just 20 minutes in nature, berthing fresh air, helps reduce depression and heightens the mind. Your camera can help de-clutter your mind and help you to focus on the moment at hand.
Photography is a great way to stop time. It can help you collect and arrange moments of joy and happiness in your life that you can revisit whenever you would like. It eliminates the stress or worry if you are remembering a moment or experience clearly. I always say that photography is the greatest and most sure way to undertake time travel.
Exercise plays a huge role in our mental and physical health. Photography is a vehicle that will get your body and mind moving. Recently I have left footprints in Mississippi, Wisconsin, Utah and Portugal. There are days I would come in from a photo excursion so happily exhausted that I felt energized and joyful because of the hours I had spent walking and hiking.
Photography improves your creativity. Photography allows the brain to process a cadre of emotions, feelings and thoughts. It also helps the individual to develop their inquisitive side, helping them see in a different and more robust dimension.
Photography connects us to our world. It allows us to discover, experience and learn about our planet and our global brothers and sisters naturally. It helps to break down prejudices and preconceptions by immersing the photographer more deeply in the elements that shape their own understanding of the world.
and finally, photography is just fun.... powerful ....and life changing. It has the ability to give resonance and meaning to every moment of every day. It is the totality of who each of us is. Ansel Adams once offered that, “You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” I do not believe I will ever come across an insight that so perfectly illustrates my own personal feelings regarding photography, and my journey has only just begun.
I encourage you to dip your toe into the endless ocean of photography. Fall in love with it, baptize yourself in it, brutalize yourself by it and watch your journey through life become something you never came close to imagining it would be.
Grab a camera and tell a story!!!!
Jerome
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