Photography, to me, is the dancing of light.
Photography translated in Greek actually means ‘writing with light.’
That’s simply beautiful. That’s brilliant.
That’s exactly what photography is.
Images of the things that surround us can portray a completely different meaning depending on the way the light hits them. A mountain photographed at high noon in bright direct sunlight will not appeal to many of us compared to that same exact mountain just as the sun peeks through the morning fog.
Flowers in a field under late morning sun will have a completely different feel then the same flowers photographed with the sun setting beside them as her golden rays bathe each petal in a romantic glow.
Our children will look to us with big curious eyes on an over cast day compared to a bright, clear day with the sun hitting them in the face as they squint up at the camera.
In photography, it’s not what you photograph, it’s the way you use the light on what you photograph. It doesn’t matter if it’s a set of books piled up, the details of material, mountains before you, an old barn or your child’s beautiful little face.
It is the light you need to look for.
That’s funny, because isn’t that true in all aspects of our life? Don’t you get a completely different feeling inside of you on a bright sunny day compared to a dark gloomy day? Although there is nothing short of the beautiful wonders of the night, it is the light we all need. Whether it’s sunlight, positive connections, or just plain old hope. It is the light in our lives we all need to keep our heads up and our spirits high.
Use this light in all aspects of your life. Whether it is an object you are photographing, look for the light. Whether it is a hard time you are going through, look for the light.
It’s definitely not easy. In photography you might have to crawl out of your nice cozy sleeping bag at 3 am, taking in breaths of freezing cold air on your way to get to the spot you want to photograph. Yet there you will wait for the light, because you know it’s coming. You have hope.
Same thing goes for anything else in your life. Look for the light…the good things… and never lose sight of having hope.
Always look for the light.
