The light, I will seek and follow
For eternity, in darkness I will glow

Story of a photograph

“Photograph” - a normal imagery capture in a piece of paper or a screen. How significant would you consider a photograph. If you put many photographs together, it tells you a story.  A story about the people in the photograph, of the place captured in the photograph. Most of the times, a photograph is perceived as something that objectifies the things in it. It captures that moment to be cherished forever.

A photograph tells a lot - but do we ever think of the person behind it? A person who captures a wide blue sky or the deep green lake is different from a person who capture the tallest of the building. A friend of mine said, “Everything you create labels your mood at that time” which I absolutely agree. When I am happy, I write happy things, when I am sad I write sad things.

Looking at a deep blue sky, I would say “I love freedom”
Looking at the tallest building, I would say “I am amused by human’s imagination”
Looking at a pretty flower, I would say “I am in Love”

So, is he a free spirit who likes to capture the limitless sky? Is he a lover, who captures the pretty girl?

I hope he is....

Storytelling

It was the first summer that me and my best friend spent together. We learnt a lot about each other. So much that we can literally complete each others’ sentences and surprisingly read each others’ mind.

It was early Sunday morning, he was visiting after almost 3 months. It was his first summer here in Vancouver. I knew I had to pick him up around 8:00 but I forgot that the buses aren’t that frequent on a Sunday. I was definitely late, very late in fact. I was scared and ashamed that I wasn’t on time to pick him up and he had to wait all alone.

After being almost an hour late, I reached the bus station and saw my friend kneeling down by the sidewalk. I didn’t know what was happening. I slowly walked up to him, not to startle him. “What are you doing?” I asked. he looked up to me and said, “I am talking pictures”. I started to apologize for being late and gave him explanations how it was not my fault. He just smiled and asked me to look at  the photos he clicked.

The skytrain station was a couple of blocks away and we decided to walk till there. It was a bright sunny day unlike other days in Vancouver. It usually takes everyone 10 minutes to get to the skytrain station and maybe even 6 minutes if you can walk real fast. Amazingly, it took us more than an hour to get to there. And reason was - His camera!!

He was taking pictures of everything. Every single flower on the way, the clock tower, the road, even the cross walk sign. I was getting a little frustrated but pretending to be a very good host, I played along. This was the first of our many adventures together. We have travelled together to a lot many places. I have travelled to so many places that I would have never even imagined if it wasn’t for him.

I keep making excuses that I need time to relax before I write. And every time we come back from one of such trips I have a story to tell. Stories about the wide road, the green forests, clean water falls, endless lakes and so much more. My mind sees this endless world of possibilities and choices, and I jot it down in my notebook so, that I have stories to tell.

In some ways, we have both learnt this art, this art of capturing the moment. I do it with words and he does it with his camera.

My way of telling a story - Words
His way of telling a story - Photographs