Essay 1

A Moment in Time

            Photography is an art unlike any other. With the click of a button, memories of that exact moment will forever live on. I believe Dorothea Lange says it best: “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding still.” I never understood the phrase “pictures are worth a thousand words” until I was older and realized that with every picture comes a story of a moment frozen in time waiting to be heard.

            Recently, I attended the 31^st Annual Photography Competition at FSCJ Kent Campus, where I was instantly drawn to several of John Shippe’s photos. The first one to catch my attention was titled “Immaculate Conception.”  This was a beautiful picture of the inside of a church. It reminded me of a church you might see in Europe. It looked as though it may have been a Catholic church from the beautiful architecture. The windows were beautifully colored stained glass; the aisle was long with what looked like a golden floor heading towards the alter; and the ceilings were tall and arched. The coloring of the picture is what initially attracted me, but as I stood there and stared at this picture I couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace. This picture captured not only the beauty of the church but also the warmth and welcoming feeling of being accepted.

            The second picture of Mr. Shippe’s that caught my eye was titled “The Coming Storm.” This is a picture of the beach right before a storm. This particular picture is my favorite since I love the beach. It is the most calming place I know. I seek serenity in sitting on the beach, feet in the sand, listening to the waves come crashing in and the seagulls flying overhead. Having spent many of my younger years at the beach waiting for a storm to pass, I’ve never seen a picture capture quite the essence as this one has. It captures the calmness of the water and the array of colors in the sky. The calm before the storm you could say. On one side of the once blue sky you can see this calming yellow-orange and red colored sky that will soon be giving way to the other half of the sky filled with dark gray and almost black clouds. This picture was really quite beautiful. To be able to capture mother-nature at work must have been very breathtaking.

            The third picture I really like was by Rockel Hammond titled “Innocence.” This was an absolutely adorable picture of a little boy, maybe around the age of three. He has the biggest most innocent brown eyes you have ever seen. This picture just touches my heart. When I look at this picture I see a little boy and know that at his age, he has no knowledge of the evil that exist in the world. He doesn’t know that twenty children, just a few years older than him experienced the world’s evil. He doesn’t know bullies exist, has no idea that child predators live among him, no clue of child abuse, nor does he know of the homeless or the hardships people face. He is truly innocent to a world filled with evil. All he knows, and should know is love. This precious little boy will one day know of the evil that exist, but for now he is oblivious.

            I have a great admiration of all art, but photography has my heart. Photography doesn’t just capture moments, it ignites emotions. Pictures don’t just have stories behind them, they also have emotion. Whether it a picture of a person, place or thing, each picture will relate to someone’s emotions differently. This is why I say photography is unlike any other art.

 The invention of the camera was one of the world’s greatest inventions. To be able to take that picture of someone you love and cherish it when they are gone, to take a picture of a place that you may have visited when you were younger, or to even take a picture of that flower you finally were able to grow, these are the stories behind the picture. These pictures freeze that moment in time.