Photographic Projections: A Secret of Light

Last Updated on August 1, 2016 by Patrick

The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep!

Rumi.

I don’t know how many great photographic moments I’ve passed by not capturing them in camera for different reasons: one of them could be not having a camera at my disposal then and there and another may be that I was too shy to do it. In photography, if you are passionate about it, it doesn’t matter whether you are comfortable taking a picture or not, just do it! You never know what you miss: moments that never come back and you will feel sorry.

I’ve been in the field and this time I decided I photograph no matter how difficult the trekking would be carrying my gear with me, no matter how exhausted I could be. This decision solo made me return home an accomplished man knowing that I had something out there, not only because I visited places I’ve seldom been or never been before, but because I witnessed beautiful moments with the intent to photograph them. Back home, in post, I could finish some photographs that pleased me to the max, I should say, instead of not having anything at all to work with, to exert my artistical abilities with, if I should not have photograph at all. So, from now on, I’m making a resolution: to always photograph when I’m in the field, in Nature, in the wild and I have my gear with me.

But this is just like in life, you know? How many times have we lost a moment so precious due to our lack of attention and awareness, for example? How many of these moments have we passed by? A gentle touch of light could be considered an illumination for the practising photographer, while for others it’s just a banal, ordinary moment where nothing happens. Have we ever considered looking at the world, the small synchronicities of life with new eyes? Have we ever told ourselves: this is new and have never seen it before, although I pass by this place many times? What keeps us from seeing the world as it is where every moment is new? I think it’s the so-called “neverending” chatter in our heads. Well, let’s end it!

Our way of considering the world makes us too shy to approach it, not daring, or too courageous that we may break it. Where is the balance?