Finding inspiration

Photography has its ups and downs. At the start, you are like an eager-beaver wanting to capture everything under the sun. You hanker for the latest photography gadget or the latest upgrade. You wanted the best lens available in the market and other accessories you think you should or wanted to have. Yet, unless photography is your bread and butter, there comes a time when you just stop. Yes, stop.

This blog has gone through “redesigning” and “reviving” so to say—simply because I,  the photographer behind this photography blog, just stopped “being creative.” Passion was not lost, but taking creative shots took a toll on me.

Creative photography entails not only cameras and good subjects. Your senses should always be actively waiting and looking for that scene you want to capture through your lenses. These images do not come very often. You have to be keen to your environment to be able to see what is photography-worthy. And you have to act fast for that “decisive moment” because when it is gone, it is gone forever.

I still took photos though, but just for work-related shots, and yes, touristic and eye-candy shots—photos that are “iconic” and those that pass on as stock photos. Even that, however, has stopped for a while.  I am glad that recently, I was able to gather my mojo again to revive my travel blog, The Pinoy Explorer, and now this photography blog.

Having no new sets of photos, I began rummaging through my stock photos again. It has been a while. I had lots of them left unprocessed—and I was surprised that I was able to select some good ones that are worthy to share. Sometimes, having a break and not looking at your stock photos for a long time will give you that different way of looking how a photo conveys its worth. This process sometimes desensitizes you, removes your biases, and allows you to have a “new” pair of eyes to see the beauty in those photos you thought were no good.

Finding this photo of a girl in India, which I took three years ago, made me find my inspiration again. It was just one of those photos saved on my hard drive. At that time, it had no meaning at all. It was just one of those random photos of playful kids.

Looking back where and why I took this photo made the difference. I took this photo in a Dalit community, where the untouchables of India thrive. We were there for a study tour to learn how this poor community thrives and how they meet their basic needs, particularly on electricity.

Looking back, my passion for photography was borne out of finding not only the beautiful—but finding life and reflecting social reality. Looking at this poor child made me inspired and keep me grounded as well in living my personal mission as a development worker.

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