Photography: The Medium for Uncovering a Secret Life

Einstein famously referred to photographers as lichtaffen which means “monkeys drawn to light.” Though he may have intended that in jest, the humor is solid and so is the degree of truth it’s rooted on. There is a story that lives in each one of us, just waiting for the right moment to be explored, to be captured. I wouldn’t go as far as Einstein. I prefer thinking of photographers as moths to flames. We are by design and purpose drawn to subjects that radiate life. It takes the photographer’s sensitive eye to spot the shot that carries a message.

The photographic possibilities are endless—anything that moves or stays still is fair game. This is especially true in outdoor photography, which is something I’ve set my heart to do since I started taking pictures. It’s all about waiting for the slow unfolding of a moment. When the sun is just sitting at the right angle and the clouds hover near enough to touch the closest leaf of the highest tree on the symmetrical mountain. I frame them while balancing composition and imagery in this relatively small aperture. At times when I encounter a panoramic spread on low light, I find joy in uncovering its secret beauty, an overcast landscape with muted colors and leaden sky. Being  able to bring life to it, waiting for just the right touch of light that would turn it into a beautiful infusion of grace and mystery, like an image taken straight from a coffee table book. One such as one of mine.

There are different types of focus in photography. You need to find the one that fuels your passion and fills you with joy. You can choose from portraits, food, wildlife, plants, family photography, macro photography, or even architecture. Once you’ve done that, couple it with your willingness to learn and be taught. There’s no limit to you using this medium as your visual language. A beginner can start telling a story. Start small. Gather many pieces. Connect them all together, like a jigsaw, completing the larger picture of a captured story.

Minnesota is a beautiful state with many photographic possibilities: rivers, lakes, forests, wildlife, birds, plants, geography, and culture. I feature them as backgrounds or subjects in my books. I am also on Capture Minnesota, a pictorial website with over 900 photos posted there.  Revel in its imagery with my full page color photographs that display it.