(This is a series of posts on Jan Phillips’ book, God is at Eye Level, Photography as a Healing Art. For an intro check out the first post here.)
Speaking our Peace
Find something you like to do. Learn to do it well, and do it in the service of the people. Karlene Faith
Many of us want to make a difference in the world, we want our lives to matter, right? As photographers we want our images to stand for our beliefs, and showcase what matters to us, right? The emphasis of chapter six is how photographs can have an impact beyond the personal level. As an example, since I’m not much of a TV person, I enjoy receiving the news on my computer through visual journalism, specifically the photo blogs associated with MSNBC and the Lens of the New York Times. It’s the emotional impact from the photo that words often don’t come close to describing.
The following two photos are not mine, but I wanted to share them as they had much more impact than had I just read the words that accompanied them.
In the village of Wadia in the western state of Gujarat in India, prostitution has been a tradition for ages and very much a normal way of life. But developments of late have aimed at breaking this tradition by marrying and engaging the girls, thus taking them out of the profession. OK, but how much more of an impact this story has when you see the image that photographer Amit Dave captured of a veiled girl waiting for her engagement ceremony to start…
So young, only a baby herself.
Or if you read the statement, Nepalese women carry bricks to a brick factory in Bungmati on the outskirts of Katmandu, Nepal… But what an impact when you see the image that photographer Niranjan Shrestha captured…
It’s as if you can feel the weight of those bricks. Can you only imagine?
The author, Jan Phillips, says photographs can change the course of things, turn one’s head, alter one’s thoughts, enlighten one’s darkness. To shoot with that awareness, to know our images, made of light, can contribute light – that is the joy of photography. How profound are those words… Our images made of light, can contribute light…
That’s exactly my goal and mission with bringing awareness to Alzheimer’s.
my daddy
When I tell you my dad has Alzheimer’s doesn’t it have much more of an impact when you see this photo? How alone he must feel? Uncertain to what is happening in his mind…not knowing what is next?
Next week: Chapter Seven – Mindful Seeing, Mindful Being
Joining in for the first time? Catch up on the previous chapters!
Chapter One – Through the Eyes of a Child
Chapter Two – Seeing Our Way Clear
Chapter Three – Shifting the Focus
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