Speaking the language of photography

 

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
                                                                                                           ― Karl Lagerfeld

I attended the last session of a friend’s Photography 101 class this week.  The teacher, Kevin Gourley, who got rave reviews from his students, held a social night as their sixth and final class.  It was a chance to discuss what photography meant to each of them, individually, what they had learned along the way and an opportunity share their favorite images and their passion for photography.

There is something special about listening to the language of photography. I love hearing the enthusiasm of someone who just discovered what they could do by mastering the aperture setting, or the excitement of someone who just purchased a new camera or a new accessory.  Sometimes I forget just how much I have learned over the past few years – after all, photography is a life-long learning experience – we continue to learn new things as we pursue new subjects and new interests.

I was utterly amazed at the quality of the student’s images. One was a moth hummingbird  (I wasn’t even aware such a creature existed) with a long tongue poking into a flower. Many were of exotic places that I dream of traveling to one day. One was of a participant’s granddaughter that captured the light and bokeh beautifully. 

“The true gestation period of a photograph is not the seconds, or fractions of seconds, of exposure, but rather the years the photographer has spent on a journey that is both physical and intellectual before reaching the point when the shutter was opened.”
                                                                                                    - David Ward

Watching this group of images was entertaining for me – I've always been a great audience for viewing good photography. It also made me recall some of my own favorite images – places that were beautiful or great sharing times that evoke an emotion.  I just panned through over 7,000 images in my Lightroom catalogue taken in 2013 and find it very difficult to select my “10 best.”  Some I like because it brings me back to a special place and time. Some just make me smile because of the memories of a person or people I love. Many remind me of chasing the moment – stalking the hummingbird, blowing the bubbles or playing outside late at night with my husband and a flashlight. 

 

All of my photographs are special to me and bring me great delight at reviewing them, sharing them, giving them as gifts.   I feel quite fortunate to have the gift of capturing the moment and it was a joy to see others recognize that they, too have that gift and want to get better and better at utilizing that gift. 

"Photography at it's most potent can transcend mere reportage and reveal our very souls like a magic mirror: to make us think, to make us feel, and to remind us always that we're all fellow travelers on this spinning globe." - Bill Wittliff