My favourite film is one by Stephen Poliakoff’ called ‘Shooting the Past’. There is this line that sticks with me almost everytime i look at a photograph, either my own or someone elses.
It goes along the lines of:
’ I just have to say one thing to make this picture electrifying, these people are about to be hit by the most terrible change, their whole worlds turned upside down …. they have no idea, uncertainty beyond their wildest dreams.’
And i suppose this is the power of photography, the smile frozen in that split second of time, with no knowledge of what the future may hold. This quote has special meaning to me also because i not only go ‘click’ with my camera, but i even find my brain going ‘click’ – i am constantlly framing life. An example of this was several months ago my sister had her first child, a little boy called Oscar – such an amazing day – then on the Sunday, they were supposed be coming home and i can remember ‘click’ i am in the dining room, ‘click’ the phone goes and i walk into the living room to answer it …. ‘click’ my mum is sobbing because he is being rushed to the heart unit for an emergency operation. Every moment for me was mentally frozen in time – and when i look at photographs of Oscar on the day he was born that quote comes flooding back to me.
On a positive note, Oscar is now 8 months old – he had another operation a couple of months ago and is thriving.
But to sum up, I suppose i just wanted to say that photography is almost like oxygen to me – i need it – i need to record all those around me that i love and tell the story of their lives.
I would love to know why you love photogaphy, or painting or writing or anything creative.
Love Debxxx
Chasity Edmonson, 8 months ago
So glad Oscar is doing well. And it was nice hearing why you love photography.
poppykitten, 8 months ago
I am with you on this one Deb, I walk along the street and see a couple laughing and “click” that would make a great picture, a secret whisper “click” that naughty look from a child “click”. If my eyes were a camera, I would be the happiest person alive.
I am glad to hear Oscar is on the mend now, it must of been a worrying time for you all.
shall, 8 months ago
‘photography is almost like oxygen to me – i need it.’.... God me too!
Paul Tupman, 8 months ago
Wow.. what an interesting read Deborah.. and what a great film “Shooting the Past” is.. I remember it very well.. the thought of that huge collection being split up would have been heartbreaking.. all of those memories and stories of ordinary people, all held together in one place…
Without going into too much detail, clogging up your journal, I guess my love of photography comes from being such a visually aware person.. all the way from childhood, with my little camera and collection of pencils through to my career now as a designer. Its a case of always being on the lookout for inspiration in everything, I’ve always been a great people watcher and love those little idiosyncrasities in life that will set things apart from the normal.. I guess with photography it’s the ability to capture slices of life and then leave your own impression on others… your own take on life and everything around you!
Nikki Trexel, 8 months ago
i too constantly “click” and wish i had an invisible camera in my eyes. how great that would be! :)
i enjoy photography because i like to show others what i see. it’s a way to be understood, i guess. i haven’t analyzed this and i have not considered myself an artist since i was eight (hehe), but i definitely love to find beauty and design and order everywhere…and the best part to me is when other people say “wow, i never would have looked at it that way.” i would say that’s the most fulfilling part of it. i am also a writer and enjoy helping others see what i see, using that medium. i guess i just like to be be understood. :)
Simon Gladwin, 8 months ago
Why do I love photography….hmmm…It allows me to express emotion…give out a message….it allows me to record the passage of time….to see my world change…to watch my children grow….......to hang on to a memory…it gives a milestone and marker for key events….it allows me to share what I find beautiful with other people….it allows me to ignore the ugly and cram the nice things…most of the time…into a rectangular box…...but I love it most of all because it allows me to be me…..
Victor(Vic) Be..., 8 months ago
yeah, it so sad and wonderful story.. i hope for Oscar !!! :-)
for me the photography is not “click” only, but great way to relax after or between crazy races of workaday routine… just when i look in the viewfinder of my cam – i see another world, relexed one, calm and beautiful… and ability to see something new, something small but another… all this in viewfinder…
and the frozen time – of cource, agree with you..
velveteagle, 8 months ago
I belive in eternal life. Our lifes are full of trillions of clicks. I capture so I can share my clicks. And hold something in my hands while I have flesh. The story of my life will be held in my heard and mind for eterntiy. Click away
velveteagle, 8 months ago
I belive in eternal life. Our lifes are full of trillions of clicks. I capture so I can share my clicks. And hold something in my hands while I have flesh. The story of my life will be held in my heart and mind for eterntiy. Click away .. Deb could you please my previous comment.. I clicked the enter button too fast … missed key again.. thanks..
Jennifer Resemius, 8 months ago
I completely relate to that. I freeze moments in my mind as well, or sometimes as my day goes I can see my life or life in general in pictures. A moment captured/savored. :) I can’t imagine how scary that must of have been to have such a precious boy rushed to the hospital. Praise God that Oscar is thriving.
Catalin Soare, 8 months ago
I love my wife, I love my dog and I love photography! That is all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lonebearimages, 8 months ago
I absolutely can relate to your story (and I’m glad the little guy is doing well!); and have always kind of wandered through life mentally ‘clicking’ on life’s scenes as I move through them. Which, I think, has inspired me to be so much more responsible when I actually have a camera in my hands (or on the tripod) and try my very hardest to truly capture and record the moment as well as I can. As a funny side-note, I constantly use the gradational glass near the top of the windshield in my car to create interesting compositions and effects when I’m sitting in freeway traffic here in Los Angeles. I am sure that the cars behind me wonder what this idiot is doing in front of them craning his neck around and bobbing and weaving…LOL! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Deborah. Cheers! Chris
Antoine Dagobert, 8 months ago
I live, I walk, I breath even i sleep with my NIKON
so thats me!!!Sad but it’s true!!!!LOL
good question DEB..I just wanna say I am simply crazy and 100% prime time cant live without it!
Deborah Parkin, 8 months ago
thanks everyone for your beautiful, eloquent thoughts – really lovely to read these and great to see what makes you tick :)
Sean Farragher, 8 months ago
me too i love it,,,,
Dan Cahill, 8 months ago
First I am so glad Oscar is okay. Secondly, I couldn’t have said it better. Those who don’t take photographs with passion don’t seem to get it. I am constantly looking at life and settings and moments in clips also. Thank you for putting it into words.
Michael Oubridge, 8 months ago
I fully agree with you Deb, you never know what the future holds and our photos could hold the key to so many important images of the past that might quite easily be forgotten. It only takes a click!
So glad Oscar is doing well :)
paul777, 8 months ago
What a lovely entry….........i’m glad Oscar is thriving. The reason i love photography is; to be able to capture moments in a second and keep them for ever. Since an early age I ‘ve always had a camera in my hand.
Kerry McFarland, 8 months ago
So beautiful, Deb. I know what you mean. For me, photography gives me eyes to see. I feel like my ego isn’t present when I’m behind the camera, and something else is taking over for me. Sometimes I wonder how I got from A to B, but I remember how I felt when I was taking it. It’s an incredible process, that fills my days with beauty, for it has taught me how to see.
Karen Gough, 8 months ago
In order for her to let me take her photo, I once had to explain to my very camera shy mother what it is that I love about photography. I explained to her that when I look at an image I’ve captured – I don’t just see that moment in time; I see everything I know about the person or place, and everything that went before or has gone since. Photography gives me a connection to the people and places I love, and has become as much a part of me as breathing. Because of this, I’m the only person she allows to photograph her (also because she knows that if I take an unflattering one, I will bin it before she or anyone else sees it!)
I’m glad to hear that Oscar is well, Deb, and to have an insight into why you take the beautiful photographs that you do.
Cheers, K
freebornman, 8 months ago
Great entry Deb…. and like everyone i am so pleased for Oscar’s progress. For me photography always tells a story and has done so for most of my life, from my early Brownie 127 to my present day camera. I have always been a people watcher and my stand up or story telling has often revolved around some sort of social comment. It’s also an important creative outlet for me which is somewhat of a lifeblood.(I guess the equal to the oxygen!) I’ve often masked pain with humour and found it extremely healing, hence my photographic style. I never go anywhere without one of my cameras, even a small digital. I read an article recently which asked for adivice on the best and worst cameras to take with you. The answer:.. any camera was the best ….. no camera was the worst. And it is those ‘clicks’... those moments of life that are so magical for me. If i called the people back to take the shot again it just wouldn’t work…. never be the same again…. like trying to catch the same waves of the ocean. The bonus of course are the wonderful people I have met in this Bubble world we come together in. I just wished you all lived around the corner!! Gosh! time for me to have a coffee … I’ve started getting all spritiual.
micmac, 8 months ago
So wonderful Deb how you can explain how magicai is photography for you…thanks for sharing…xxx
Trish Cooper, 8 months ago
Deb, such a wonderful read…..for one who states her talents lie in the world of photography…i agree, but you are also blessed with the wonderful gift of self expression through your words. You are a very eloquent, well spoken woman….who with little thought shares her gifts with the rest of the world…and may I say makes a profound impact on those around her. I am so happy that Oscar is doing ok now…the story you told us has a very important message within….never take a moment of life for granted…things and circumstances change in an instant…we all need to remember that. You have the gift to tell wonderful stories through your eye, and the lens of your camera. Pictures do not go away, they are a constant…so the stories told will always be there for others to see. As you know writing is my passion… it has been my entire life… I am not a great writer…(though I aspire to be one) but I feel I am a good one. A muse in the making maybe…Writing is the air that i breathe, the food for my soul, the lifes blood of my existence….it is one of many ways I deal with lifes ever changing experiences…It is almost like being in a state of grace when your words and thoughts meld together into a piece of work you are proud of. It can also be a very truthful view into my soul, when I am writing about something personal and private…I love to share my thoughts and lifes lessons with others…and the feeling you get when someone comes to you and says they can relate to something you have written…that you have brought them joy…closure..laughter…or tears is a feeling that is almost priceless…to connect with another soul through your writing is a very satisfying feeling…..love Trishxxoo
Graham Dean, 8 months ago
Really enjoyed reading this, it adds even more value to seeing your pictures.
flower68, 8 months ago
because truly, I would GO INSANE if i couldn’t create.so many reasons WHY I love creative pursuits.photography because I can please myself how involved I am in my environment with camera in hand.It takes me wherever I need to be in my head and my heart.Mostly,away from everyday crap.Painting, because my spirit sings when I paint.I am most the person I am happiest being when I am painting.Even when it’s not working and I am miserable!
Dakolina, 8 months ago
I watched ‘Shooting the Past’ recently. I can’t remember the last time I watched a film where I felt so exhausted. lived every second of it.. cried my heart out and laughed… at times all at the same time.
I love painting. I love the total freedom of creating anything… having that power to even bring the lifeless object to life.. almost no limitation what so ever.. that its all yours… that you don’t just entertain an idea, you also bring it to life.. eventually with every brush stroke..
I love how when i paint time passes so quickly and I only become aware of time when my studio is too dark to see what I’m doing.. its almost time spent with loved ones.. its enough.
I love how a painting or indeed a photograph can evoke so much emotions, even if you have no idea about the story behind either of them.. it just becomes yours.. you link it with your personal experience and interpretation… and yes the story behind it is important, but you are welling to love it regardless.. I love how paintings and photograph can become timeless. and anyone of any age, race or believe can admire it.
I love how painting gives me a reason and a purpose.. at times even an escape from everything .. even myself.
PhotogeniquE IPA, 8 months ago
Anything creative? Well, I am always amazed that I can create anything at all. How the processes work is always a marvel to me. I get an idea for a poem and I know that if I don’t sit down and write, at that moment, it will leave me and I will never re-capture it.
The same with a song. I have often dreamt songs, woken up and had to go and write it down and perhaps even play it into a tape recorder because, again, I will loose it otherwise.
Taking photos is somehow different. You have the means of recording, instantly, any image you see. The artistic marvel is ‘seeing’ the image in the first place. What to a non-photographer might look just like a brick wall, to you is a mosaic of light, shade, texture and shapes. Where does that ability to ‘see’ in that way come from?
Being able to create something beautiful, of whatever sort, is what separates us from the animals.
Art, photography, poems, songs and creativity itself, are all, to me, spiritual, and that is perhaps the reason that they are so ephemeral and difficult to capture, and why I love it.
Mark Tisdale, 8 months ago
I don’t know that I have that same “click” but I have that urge to document the world. To capture a story in a photo.
Martin Derksema, 7 months ago
Yeah … why? The funny thing is: every time someone asks me this I have a different answer. Now I have to think of two important reasons. One has to do with something Einstein once said: “Creativity is seeing what other see and thinking what no one else has thought.” Every one of my days is filled with seeing, hearing, reading things and having thoughts and feelings about it, that I consider important, just for the reason that they are mine. If I do nothing with all those thoughts and feelings they will always stay unseen. I don’t want that, I want to share them. Just for the sake of sharing.
The other reason has to do with beauty. There is such an abundance in beauty in the universe I live in. I can, for example, be very exited about the beauty of a flamengo dancer. Sometimes I feel the urge to do something with this excitement. Drawing a dancer allows me to focus on this beauty and excitement for a long period of time. I concentrate on it and I explore it and this process learns me things about the depths and layers of beauty.
In fact there is also a third, important reason. Creative energy is, like sexual energy, a very strong force that has to flow and blossom. If I don’t let my creative energy flow I get frustrated and become unhappy. I don’t believe in celibacy.