Being a photographer is not a job, it is an attitude towards the world. A photographer, at the core, is an observer of the world around him. An unflinching eye that “sees” what others don’t “see” or wish to see. When others look away, a photographer not only looks, but documents it and then forces others to look as well.
Documenting a beautiful landscape may not seem important, especially compared to something “news worthy”, but how many people in our busy culture truly take the time to stop…breath…and look around. Ask yourself the next time your late for something “important” and the light is amazing and your thinking, “I should have brought my camera,” is that “something important” really more important that being in the moment and truly living?
Stressed out and running late for one of those “important” meeting, I deliberately made myself stop the car and look around. I didn’t have time for a moments peace, yet I knew that I needed to take one. I went for a short walk and allowed myself to notice the light. I was immediately struck with the colors, textures and infinite vastness that was all around. I brought out my camera and began to document the moment. Not so much as to try and take a “portfolio” image, but simply to visually state, “I was here.” For the next 20 minutes, literally nothing else existed. Just the crisp air, the sounds of a morning calm and the sense of my true insignificance.
Suddenly, that “important” meeting was put in perspective.
Keep chasing the light.
~ Jonathan McIntyre