Photo caption: Moments that have happened in the last few weeks that I never want to forget about, so I photographed them.
The power of photos is immense. While the written word, or better yet the spoken word can absolutely compel people for the greater good if used with integrity and incite very strong emotions, photography surpasses the words’ ability to affect people’s thoughts and emotions in a tremendous way. Photographs have changed the course of wars, civil rights movements, and environmental crises, and told stories that are difficult to explain with words alone.
A photo can take you back to a moment and remind you of how it felt, smelled, and visually impacted you to be there. Susan Sontag pointedly said that “[P]hotographed images do not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it, miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire.” A photo can make a person live on after they pass away in a way that connects a loved one to them so deeply.
Photography can remind a person of their past passions, dreams, and fears. The way that it can expedite social change speaks to its ability to connect people based on an understanding of perceived reality. Someone in one corner of the world may never see the lands and conditions of another in a literal sense, but if they can gain access to a photo of the scene, place, or people, they may be able to understand the functions and traditions of a faraway society or culture, and by doing so, find a sense of empathy and connection to them.
I feel it is the responsibility of humans to utilize and stretch one’s mindset in a way that promotes growth and to also remain aware that there is much to learn. Those who think in unusual and inspired ways are oftentimes criticized, as Plato’s allegory of the cave points out. This understanding, while very intriguing, does raise the point that to be sure of something means that the mind is not growing, but rather, absolute.
“As we go throughout our lives, can we be confident in the things we think we know?” Gendler, TED-Ed lesson creator said. Since the “truth is constantly changing, the answer is no. With that understanding, the solution is clear. One cannot ever be entirely sure of anything, and must always maintain a healthy amount of doubt, so that one may be unsurprised and also unwaveringly curious. A wonderous way to carry oneself is in a manner that incites an individual to let their beliefs retain the necessary amount of flexibility so that they do not get stuck in habits that are counterproductive and outdated as knowledge progresses.
Most individuals, besides a lucky few, have an immense number of responsibilities that remain unwavering day in and day out. When there is a moment to slip away to share a bite to eat with a loved one, to watch a film, to go dancing or to hike, or so much more that there is never enough time for, a photograph can make that moment last forever and “…we become our own documentarians and archivists in order to impose meaning on daily life, to show that we are honoring moments with the seriousness we are told they are supposed to possess and to preserve that honor for posterity,” Billy Perrigo, reporter for The New Yorker, said.
Ruby Cayenne 