Thursday, December 25, 2008

17 Years

On December 25th, 1991, I took a walk in the woods. As I wandered along the cold, snowy pathways I reflected on the direction of my life. During the previous 3 or 4 years I had tried to find a destination for the journey of my existence. I felt like a ship caught in a dull storm, a random direction seemingly as appropriate as any other.

On this day, however, my life's calling came into focus, and I did not have a doubt that I would pursue pictures for a number of years. I had never before or since made a sincere declaration to myself which would define how I would live my life, but on December 25th, 1991, I chose the pursuit of pictures.

I wanted to work at it for at least 10 years, that seemed like a long enough time to discover my way of seeing the world. Each December 25th since then, I would take a walk and review the year, renewing the dedication to my work.

Somehow I have made it to year 17, and although there have been many changes in camera technology, the main work remains the same - to wander around with the camera, remaining aware of my relationship with the objects of the world, and to express that connection in pictures.

Today I ran around town, thinking about how special my life has been since finding my work. I thought about the past year, how I finally came to life a couple of months ago, and felt optimistic for year 18. Do I want to continue? Of course. Not much else needs to be said, just the day by day living amongst objects, landscapes, and people.

The picture I worked on today is a portrait of a runner whom I admire. He is not a world record holder, is not even among the running elite. But his dedication and enthusiasm is evident in his writings, and his racing achievements are an inspiration.


Greg at the Start of the Tecumseh Marathon

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's a great photo of Greg. I read through a little of his blog, great stuff!
That's very cool that you still have heart for your photography. I'm the same way with music, I've had periods over the years where I was not motivated or inspired at all. Then great surges of inspiration and energy that last for years. I don't know the exact quote, but I remember Bob Dylan saying in an interview that an artist just needs to keep creating and he'll "sort of be, okay."
Those quotes of Van Gogh that you post always ring clear with me...