Different Perspectives

I found a great quote by Ansel Adams, a famous photographer, and I think his words capture the very essence of what I love about photography.  

"There are always two people in every picture:  the photographer and the viewer."~Ansel Adams 

 To me photography is art. It's about creativity and expression.  It's about telling a story and preserving a memory.  It's a unique way of capturing a moment in time forever through my eyes!  It has been said the eyes are the window to the soul.  .. thus, through such a simple action as looking through a lens and capturing a photo, I am giving you a preview of the world thugh my eyes, a momentary glimpse into my soul.

 

What makes Ansel Adam's quote so profound is the very fact that my taking the picture is only a part of the equation.  My audience and their perception of the picture is a completely different aspect of photography.  As a viewer of a photo, we let the picture speak to us.  Our own life experiences color our perception of a picture.  Two viewers may see the same photo and have very different reactions to it.  In the same manner, two photographers may photograph the same "event" and yet capture very different pictures. This is what is so captivating about photography!!  Photography is psychology! 

As humans, we want to feel connected to others.  We want to share our lives.  I think the popularity of photo-sharing websites and blogs and facebook all speak to this need of wanting to "share" who we are with the world and fufills our to feel connected.  

Photos evoke emotions and stimulate conversation.  They make us look at the world through a different perspective than our own.  When we allow ourselves to view the world through some one else's eyes, it is in that moment when the world takes a giant step closer to being "one" and in understanding that is then that we begin to understand the power of photography in our world.