Excitement

After my later afternoon photo shoot today, I passed again the new stadium in Cape Town. I drove not on the road, I normally use, but Main Road, which is a bit further away from the stadium and then I realized something obvious. This part of town is totally changing. Where it was an area with a focus on car traffic, it is transforming to a more pedestrian friendly environment. It is really going to look nice in a few months time, when the soccer world cup happens. Wow. This is great. One of the things, I enjoy is to take a different route to what I normally do. It challenges me and as tonight it can show me a different perspective.

A lot of photographers tell you that you always have to look around to find a different view or perspective. It is true. Last week, I saw the amazing work of James Nachtwey, photographing the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. His work is not amazing, because  he uses an interesting style or camera equipment. His work gets to me every time, because his photography is so personal, so close and full of empathy. Whenever I hear his name, I have to think about the South African photographer Ken Oosterbroek. This inspiring South African photo journalist, who was killed by “friendly fire” just days before the first free election in South Africa. I remember the pictures, where his colleagues, including James Nachtwey tried to help him after he was shot.

There are these rare photographers, who touch the viewers so closely that it becomes uncomfortable. And that is very good that they do so. We need these reminders.

I am not a photojournalist of that calibre. I am just a portrait photographer, who loves what he is doing. I don’t bring important matters to the conscience of the world. In a small way, nevertheless, I believe that photographers can change on how people look at themselves. Photographers can show people their best side and give them new found confidence, when they look at their portrait. It might be a small thing, but a big thing in an individual’s life. It encourages me to improve my skills, to show more about a person, bring the essence of someone to life. It a steep goal, but I continue trying, because maybe, I might help someone a little bit to change their perspective on themselves and create something new. Every person, I met has a story to tell. Often, these are stories of unsung heroes. Trying to bring them to light truly excites me.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 23:52 and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.