again there are so many topics i could write on. things have been just really crazy in our world, especially in egypt. however im leaving current events just for a moment focus on the joys of life. the joys of having a hobby and as you can read from before ive been taking a photography class that ended last night in an exhibit. i know there can be a lot of 'oh who cares, there are plenty of photographers out there' but this has been a journey where it's only just the beginning.
St. Thomas last August: My little point and shoot that I absolutely loved got fried on the last day. My heart was broken because I love to take pictures and to document random things as well. As soon as I landed in NYC I was on the hunt for another point and shoot until a friend of mine told me i should buy a DSLR camera. I've been always 'scared' to get one because i always thought those were for professionals. I did some research on buying a DSLR camera. While I was chaperoning the junior high school convention for church, I decided to take the plunge and showed Father Armia the camera that I was about to buy. I think he thought I was crazy to buy an expensive thing but something told me to do so.
In between unpacking, laundry and repacking from the junior high retreat and going to Spain I made my way to J&R in downtown Manhattan and bought the camera...24 hours later I was off to Spain and took 3000 pics on automatic mode in one week....I enjoyed my new toy and my parents were also impressed with the camera but taken aback by the price.
So I decided to take a class and found Photo Manhattan...a tiny school dedicated to teach people like me how to take proper photos. On a personal level, I wanted to do something for me, because I'm always running around doing something for someone else. Something that didn't really involve 'church' related activities or something where it's not centered around going out to eat. NYC is a fabulous city and we really dont take advantage of what it has to offer. More importantly, because we live in a large city, we tend to forget our basic needs and end up running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. So often we dont develop our God given talents because we are 'too busy' and can't stop for 5 seconds just to calm down.
The class I took was amazing and my instructor was fabulous...words cannot describe the value I got from the class for photo technique and most importantly FOR ME. My final project was on the church....more specifically the church where I grew up and serve at. I had support from the priests, friends, family and congregants to take photos. I shot my photos in between Palm Sunday and Easter where a lot happens in the Coptic church. Our Coptic Orthodox Church is a church that uses the five senses to praise God--I love that about our church...we are a very visual church (yah things may take longer but whatever). Many people don't know too much about our church so my final project was giving that inside view. After taking pictures...many people commented on how beautiful our church is and how they felt like they were present with us during Holy Week. It's taking that time to get the shot from that different angle. I've been at St. George's for my entire life (which is almost 32 years) and just when I think I've seen it all, I know I havent. I believe that's what our Christianity is about...to experience God in a new way on a daily basis. While the hymns stay the same, there's a new meaning or message we can benefit from...
It's the same thru photography, there's a new angle or viewpoint for us to experience despite the 'same old' space.
So last night the exhibit...
My parents came out to support me---they've been my biggest fans and support (now im getting a little teary eyed)
My priest and his wife--they came and took the time to look at each photo at the exhibit. i was personally touched and appreciated that they came out despite their busy lives...again i'm speechless (still teary eyed)
My friends--this group has heard me hours on end talk about photography and my class and take pics here and there...and 'can you be my subject?' LOL the support I got from my friends was just amazing.
My teacher-- you always want to impress the 'professional' but there was a more personal approach to her teaching...she taught photography as if you knew nothing (that was me). the feedback she gave helped so much. critiquing was a lot of fun because she was not out to criticize the subject for the final project but rather make sure that i take the best possible technical photos for the final project. our class bonded towards the end. even as we put up the pictures, she made sure that we shined by putting photos in the correct order. i saw other students not getting that personal attention...it's a testament how her teaching shines thru our work.
You learn people's personalities thru photography. You learn about someone's story. For me getting the right shot was almost a boost in my own self esteem and this 'can do' spirit. Photography is a very competitive field professionally and as people know I'm not a competitive person...actually I run away from it. But tapping into this talent/hobby...I've learned I can own it in my personal way. How I view the world is different. For now, I'm going to keep shooting because I know I have some message to send. For my final project, it was about the church---I got some snapshots of our priests praying, little deacon kids lined up and the things we use for prayer. The pictures came out so amazing and I know that the Author of Life was definitely snapping with me as I took the photos.
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