Pulling Back The Pages

Writing has always been something I’ve enjoyed doing. The idea of sitting down with a paper and a pencil (or a laptop, if I’m being honest) and transporting a thought to an audience of readers always fascinates me. It’s not the act of writing that I’m particularly drawn to or the struggle to write something that people will actually care to read, but rather the visual narrative that writing gives us the platform to create. It’s the creative process that I find myself really excited about.

Recently, a good friend of mine sent me a link to a blog that had nothing to do with words but everything to do with storytelling. A photojournalist named Balazs Gardi travels all over the globe documenting the needs of crisis victims in incredibly challenging parts of the world and was prompted to answer ten very basic and personal questions about himself and his career. But… he was required to answer only using photographs.

As I read through his questions and responses (which you can find here), I found myself trying to visualize my answers as well. Some came easier than others, but at the end of the day, I found myself coming back to a deep feeling of gratitude for the ways that photography helps us preserve life. It’s in the joyful celebrations with my family, the minute I reached the top of Half Dome in Yosemite and the snapshot of childhood that capstones all I can visualize of me as a little kid. Those are the images that help us remember. Photographs are what help us pull back the pages in our lives and feel something familiar.

So just as Balazs Gardi has written his visual essay, here is my attempt to respond, using only my personal photographs.

1. Who are you?

2. Why photography?

3. What is your trademark photographic style?

4. What truly inspires you?

5. Where do you go when you close your eyes?

6. Where is home for you?

7. How would you describe your lifestyle?

8. What makes a great shot?

9. How do you view the world?

10. What is an important lesson you have learned?