“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible” – Oscar Wilde
Photography is much beyond capturing a moment in time to be revisited once in a blue moon to relive it. True, today with cameras in every hand, photography is no longer the passion and profession of a few but it would be a folly to imagine that the importance of the craft has reduced as a result of it. Rather, it has made possible, the rise of photography as a tool to bring the world closer and inspire people to do more for our planet and its inhabitants, and ultimately, for each other.
Appreciating the beauty around us
Photographs of the many wonders of nature, from beautiful flowers, blue skies, breathtaking waterfalls to awe-inspiring mountain peaks, have inspired people to take time to appreciate the beauty surrounding us or travel long distances to be one with nature or even to scale high mountain peaks. Photography inspires one to seek beauty around oneself in things small and big, natural and man-made.
Strengthening Relationships
Whether its parents capturing their little one’s every move, friends clicking selfies, beautiful moments from a wedding being captured by a professional photographer, family pictures being taken for posterity, all these ultimately strengthen the bonds between friends and family and add value to our lives by creating opportunities to laugh and cry together and sometimes even helps in taking the bitterness that may creep in into relationships.
Understanding pain
A picture, as they say, speaks a thousand words. Images of people and places less fortunate bring the suffering of others to the attention of the developed world moving those with willingness and means to take action to change things and make this world a better place.
Learning to value nature and environment
It is true that human race has developed in leaps and bounds in the past few centuries, but this pace of progress has wreaked havoc on our planet. From causing destruction of forests, natural habitats of animals and birds to inviting the wrath of nature in the form of natural disasters like floods and famine, the results are alarming and a wake-up call to all of humanity. But these words would not have an impact on people till they actually see the images of destruction and the pain caused by it. Photography brings people closer to the truth and prompts them to make small contributions towards making amendments.
Photography is no more a magic to us, we have become too used to images, but just try imagining a world without images! How would you teach a child about all the thousands of things that he today learns with the help of life-like photographs? How would you share an experience? Words are great but images make a story vivid. Photography is a tool to capture background, emotions, and fine details that add value to the moment or make the subject of the photograph special.