Isolation... A Photographic Essay

Photography has always interested me. I am fascinated by the idea that a moment in time can be captured forever with a camera. I respect and admire a photographer who is able to create stories with his camera much like an author with her pen. Please do not accept this post as an attempt to place myself in the league of these artists. This is just a hobby that I would like to share with you...

I call these photos... Isolation. I think of my camera as a tool that I use to manipulate, create, capture, and document the world around me. I noticed all of the subjects of these photos while armed with my camera. Pushing the shutter gave me an opportunity to freeze forever the beauty that my eyes originally saw. In life we can be so enamored with one single object but our focus is blurred because the background becomes the foreground. We miss the beauty of a child's smile because of the fear that it won't last forever. The magnificence of a kiss becomes dulled by the thought that it may never be repeated. Even the sun abruptly bursting into our window is drowned in negativity because of the day it signifies is before us.

I wish that it were possible to see the world like these photos. The beauty contrasted in color and the background in black and white. The joy of our lives plucked from the fear that holds it captive.

This is my essay on isolation... enjoy.

Isolation

The gentle curve of this flower's apex intrigued me. It gave the impression that the flower was competing with it's origin, did the leaf come from the ellipses or visa versa? Are we products of our surroundings or of the desire we have to be more.

These Koi swam in sync for at least 2 or 3 minutes before I snapped the photo. The darker of two was smaller but appeared more dominant. It gave me pause that as humans we give dominance to size and appearance, rarely do we allow dominance to come from within. Our obsession with outward appearance forces us to submit to inferiority disguised as dominance.

These beautiful flowers seemed to take over the shot. I tried to isolate the flowers but the chaos of their growth wouldn't allow me to. It so true that in order to take control of our lives, sometimes we have to submit and emulate the chaos around us.

I have always been impressed with the pride and cockiness of a rooster. Unlike the Koi, the rooster has accepted that appearance is as much apart of who he is as the vibrant colors of his feathers. I can't help but wonder what secrets this animal may be keeping as he struts through the brush he calls his home.

Honestly, I didn't think this was a very good photo at first. It wasn't until I manipulated the colors that I realized how much of the shot truly is the butterfly. It made me think about my own life as I search for assurance that I am the focus. I may need to just spread my wings and realize that I am as important to the world around me as the world is to me.

These two photos are simplistic and verbose. The story they tell needs no words. The colors allow these flowers to control the photograph and force the eye to focus on them. In my own life, I have found myself the focus of scrutiny and praise. I have found that all of the identities I hide behind: father, husband, writer, lover, son, brother... they can never hold as much weight or importance as my first identity... me.