"The Language of photography"

The Language of Photography

When I was 8 years old, I was living in Northern Quebec, where the midsummer nights are long and the sun barely dips below the horizon throughout the sleeping hours. My parents bought me my first disposable camera, I must have filled the thing in a day or two, firing off photos like I had a digital camera from the future. Out of the full roll I can remember only one photo, it was of a beautiful summer sunset. I can still see the image in my head, as if I were holding it in my hands now. That photo was my pride and joy! When I came back to Newfoundland the next year, I even tried to win over a girl that I liked by giving her that same sunset photo (luckily I had doubles of it because it didn’t exactly work out). It was my first taste of the “spark” that photography can give.

Flash ahead 12 years. I had always been interested in space and the nights sky. This was around the time that cameras were becoming capable of photographing the the stars clearly at night. I decided to say screw it and ordered a top of the line dslr camera. Thinking at the time, that the camera was what made the photos so great, I assumed I would be taking photos like all the pros. To my suprise, the photos I had taken were actually pretty……horrible! Nothing came out like I expected it to and I had no Idea what I was doing. I thought to myself, “did I just waste 3 grand on this pile of junk?”. This thing was supposed to be my gateway to the cosmos, dammit!

Like most instances in life where something is going wrong, the first place you should examine for problems is with yourself. So thats what I did, only to realize I knew absolutely nothing about how to work a camera. I started researching how to use it and then moved on to staring in awe, at all of the beautiful Milky Way photos on Flickr and 500px websites.

On my first trip across Canada (in my van, of course), I took my first photo of stars that actually turn out the way I imagined. After 12 years, the spark was back again, but just a little more refined. I didn’t quite know exactly what it was that I loved about the photo, I just knew that it brought be great joy to look at it on the back of the camera screen.

Over the next three years the flame stayed bright and I spent all my spare time staring at beautiful photos with envy, noticing that my photos were lacking something that all of the ones online had. My inspiration was coming from the landscape photographers of the online community. My inspiration also felt tainted for quite some time. I would post photos on my social media, looking for nothing but the gratification of a “like” or comment that would make me feel like my photos had some sort of value. If the photo didn’t receive enough likes, I would feel negatively towards it. This was certainly no good reason to keep taking photos.

I realized the negative turn that my motives for photography were taking so I stopped posting to social media for quite some time. It was honestly the best decision I could have made. I started taking photos for myself again. My ambitions felt pure, no pressure from myself to get my photos out there. I could take out the camera whenever I wanted and just enjoy capturing the fleeting moments.

For me, photography has turned from an interest to a hobby, then a passion and finally just a part of who I am. It has given me a reason to get outdoors, to be happy while being alone, taught me how to appreciate nature and also taught me more about people than I think I would have ever known without it.

I’m going to go a bit off track here but hear me out.

What is language? Language is defined as “the method of human communication”. Have you ever been in the position where you are trying to express something to somebody, but you just can’t conjure up the words to express your emotions? Emotions are very hard to pin down with words. I have some musician friends (BIG shoutout to the “Cicerone” fellas) that have tried to express the feelings of playing a live show. They try to convey the emotions that there are no words for. The sentences are usually filled with “OHHH MANN” and a some pauses that have more emotion in them than sad puppy eyes. Those pauses and random nonsensical words say much more than happy, sad, excited. If you ever want to have a taste of what that feels like. Go to a show and you will feel it instead of having trying to have it described. This is where you find the connection between people, music and emotions. Photography is my way of expressing the emotions of a landscape.

Wether it’s a sunset in the rockies or a grey foggy day on the coastline of Newfoundland. Rain, snow or sunshine. There is always an emotion to the landscape. Photography has taught me to appreciate nature on every scale. From the veins of a leaf, to the Grand horizons of the mountains. It has taught me how to connect with people on a much deeper level. Photography has been my vessel for the last 5 years. Its the reason that I have found so many small joys in life, lived in a van, and is my well of ambition.

I am relieved to have figured out where the initial “spark” came from. It partly comes from the beauty that commands everybody’s attention. Like when everybody stops, even if its only for a minute, to take in the beauty of a sunset. The other part is being able to convey that emotional message of an landscape in an image. I don’t post my photo’s for the likes anymore. Its all about trying to shed a little bit of that feeling that the landscape creates onto your screen through the language of photography.

I appreciate every one of you that took the time to read this. Now get out there and read what the the outdoors is writing!