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Inspired.
October 8th, 2008
I’ve spent the last 2 mornings at what has quickly become my favourite place in Kathmandu. Where it is doesn’t matter, and truth be known I’m not sure it’s the kind of place that would benefit by being over-run with photographers. In broad strokes it’s a place where people go to spend their last days.
I hesitated to go in, and when I did, was told by a very severe-looking bureaucrat at the office that it would be best not to photograph. As always, I respected this. For a while. And then I began to meet the residents, hold their hands, watch the fire in their old eyes, and everything in me told me to quietly shoot, that photographing these old souls would be the best way I could communicate with them. Moreover, their body language begged me to do so. So I spent a couple hours with them, both yesterday and today. I photographed some of them, printed their images for them, and watched the joy on their faces. But mostly I just spent time with them, held their hands, listened to them babble away in Nepali. It did not, I think, expand my portfolio much, but it expanded my spirit immensely.
In all of this I met an older photographer from the UK. His name, too, is David. David is older than old school – shoots with a broken Nikon FE2, now stuck at 1/250, and no-name film. He’s roughly shaven, carries his kit in a crappy shoulder bag and his camera hangs from a leather shoe-string. He has nothing about him that marks him as a “real photographer.” But to see him with these old Nepalis, to see him greet them and meet the sparkle in their eyes with the one in his, and to see him photograph them – it’s like a dance, graceful and kind, and in those moments I watched this, nothing else about my craft mattered – all the rhetoric about which lens is better, which camera bag to use, or whether Lightroom trumps Aperture…none of it meant anything. I felt like I was in the presence of a master.
Meanwhile tourists were coming in, looking at the old people, snapping photos and rushing off to see more interesting things, and the often predatory hazard of this craft came rushing back to me and made me angry. Made me want to chase after these people, take their cameras from them and not give them back until they’d spent some time with the residents, done more than looked at them, but truly seen them. Presumptuous indignation, I know, but that’s how I felt.
Now, I don’t know what David’s images look like, but that’s very much not the point – the point is that he’s found something greater than the image itself – he’s found such joy in the moment of creating that image that I suspect if he ran out of film tomorrow, the bloke would just keep shooting all the same.
Sounds daft, I know, but if you could have seen it…you’d wish every photographer on earth could spend a day with him, and then a day with these truly beautiful people.
I’m not publishing the images from this trip, they’re for another project entirely, but the image above is one of the ones that hit the cutting room floor this afternoon, so I’m using it to illustrate this post. The woman in red is one of the many beautiful women I’d love to adopt and take home with me. That they spend their days here with no one other than their peers to love them is tragic.
Exif: 85/1.2L at f/3.2, 1/320, iso 200.
David
I’ll get right to it- I find your outlook on things to be as inspiring as your photographs.You are fast becoming the first blog I read in the mornings- not so much for your work( which is excellent, BTW); but for your insight. I find it can sometimes “carry the day” around here.
This is so beautiful David, I’m lost for words…
Thank you so much for sharing this story.
You said it perfectly. My favorite place I have ever photographed (I haven’t traveled much) was in India in a temple. There were no tourists and the holly man invited me for Chai. I listening to him talk for almost an hour.. I almost forgot I even had a camera, but eventually when I took a picture of him it felt so much more special and every time I look at the photos of him and his grandson it gives me a wonderful memory, story, and feeling.
I worry that soon every place will be swarming with tourists/photographers that do not connect with what’s in front of them, only snap and run just to show they were there. There’s soooo much more to travel than that!
I enjoy reading your blogs.. very inspiring.
Happy Shooting
Inspirational indeed.
And if this photo comes from your cutting room floor… well, I need to have a chat with my cutting room floor as it’s clearly not living up to its job description!
Another great post David and if you don’t mind i’ve linked to it over at my own page. I had a similar experience of my own a few weeks back and you’ve really hit the nail on the head with what you’ve said
Cheers, & regards
Wonderful story of insight and inspiration. It’s nice to know that a Travel Photographer “gets it”. Great post, David.
You’re very well grounded David. Great point!
So beautiful, and such a poignant lesson for living… whether we are capturing pictures with a camera or with our eyes.
And this image is gorgeous. I love the reds, and the patterns, and her sweet sweet smile.
Well, I hope you share your project with us when the time is right because I am seriously intrigued. And that photo is lovely.
I too will shoot less and get to know the subject more. Thanks for the post.
Wonderful photograph, you capture the person so well. And, the story behind it – inspirational.
Thanks for posting the exif data too – very useful.
Beautiful face! I think I know where this is and it is my favorite place in the world to photograph. See:
http://jeanmross.zenfolio.com/p737719591/h2d60cbbd#h2d60cbbd
or http://jeanmross.zenfolio.com/p737719591/h1b2679c#h1b2679c
Coincidence? I try to take a morning walk everyday and have my camera with me. Yesterday evening I took out the batteries to recharge and completely forgot about it. September/October is a fantastic time for landscape photography (my favorite season, moody, foggy, different colors) here in germany. Today however, I just roamed around in the forest and pretended my camera is working whenever I felt like making an image. It was really different and liberating. No worries about whether I’ve nailed it, just plain happiness of making an image.
Priceless post David, Pure and meaningful.
Wonderful article and good advice, we should all slow down and get to know our subject better. In this day of digital, instant gratification, 5 frames per second shooting, its far too easy to shoot and run.
Gary
Thank you for sharing this piece. Maybe I should slow and take in the moment more often. I love that you actually stopped, took a hand and learned so much about the people.
Willy.
Fantastic David. Thanks for sharing!