I just like to take pictures
and play make believe.
Photo Credit: @walts_memory_book_ch4
To Release the Shutter
Deep breath. Breathe slowly. What do you see? There’s a world on the other side of this prism. It’s speaking a language that moves so quickly if you don’t pause to listen closely you’ll miss it. This language is spoken in moments, moments which move so imperceptibly fast we call them instantaneous. Inhale, wait. Like points in space, moments have no bounds. They are continuous, like your slow breath in and out, always in motion. Each breath you take, energy is sent around your body; each moment in time invisible particles send waves of light throughout space. This is the world on the other side of the prism. A world which dances in waves that tell a story of an ocean and an eye. Exhale. A photograph. My love letter - To the world, I see you. The world, perhaps a person that smiles in glee, sends a message across the sea to all those with eyes. And I have the ability to capture it in silver grains. Memories once transferred to gray matter can be difficult to translate back, but grains of silver preserve the waves for all to see. This is what I see with my two human eyes. This is the energy I feel crossing through the prism only for a moment, a moment which encapsulates the spirit on both sides. You smile. I feel it. I release the shutter. Click!
About
“The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we live as if divided.”
-Guru Pathik, Avatar the Last Airbender
I never imagined I would fall in love with photography. I found it by accident when studying light transportation for computer graphics, an elective as part of my double major in Game Design and Computer Science at NYU. I needed to understand what was happening inside the mystery box called a camera so I could simulate it virtually, and at the time a film camera was the only camera I could afford. If it wasn't a necessity to understand the underlying physics of light I’m not sure I would have ever found the appreciation for life that I have now. It’s this appreciation for the imperceptible tiny things that fills every frame with awe for each moment. Simply being aware of the complexity and uniqueness of the physical world inspires me to create and discover.
Photography was only the beginning though, later working in a photo studio, on film sets, and across mediums with other cross-disciplinary artists, my need for practical knowledge as well as my curiosity and hunger to learn more about the invisible world all around us has only grown. Every light in the studio needs power, but how much and from where? What is film without sound? Or fun costumes and imaginative sets? I found a cool location, but how do we get to it? How do you get the word out to fill a venue for the show you’ve just booked? Every project is more fun working with collaborators, so how do you get them in the same room together? At the same time? And on the same page? Light, sound, electricity, chemistry, anatomy, directing, acting, project management, even scheduling, it’s all connected. We are all connected. I’m thankful to have learned to wear many hats. I find it freeing. Through my work, no matter what it is, I hope to inspire reverence for all things.