[RE:POST] "Dear Photography..."
A love letter.
I shared the following newsletter on May 19, 2023, when I only had a handful of (but not less wonderful) readers. I am sharing it again today, for two reasons: First, because I have been lacking motivation and inspiration to be creative lately and I needed a little reminder of how good photography is for me - even on the darker days. And secondly, because so many of you subscribed to My Morning Muse in the past few months (Hello there!), I thought I would share this again, so you learn a bit about my motivation and admiration for photography.
Yes, it’s a bit cheesy. I hope you like it anyway!
Dear Photography,
After 15 years of being in a relationship with you, I finally wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. Of course, we have known each other much longer than this. You have been tagging along to parties, going with me on vacation or other little get-togethers with friends and family. You were pretty much there all the time.
It was only when I got my very own camera - on Christmas Eve in 2007 - that I started to pay more attention to you. Little did I know back then how fond I would grow of you and what an impact you would have on my life and me as a person.
I didn’t know much about you. Nothing about your history, very little about your unique characteristics and even less about other people who fell in love with you and became famous because of you. All that came much later.
In the first few years, we hung out a lot. Working as a Social Worker in the psychiatric field at that time, you quickly became my best friend. When work or life became too stressful and busy, you were there. We would go on long walks together. You helped me to forget everything around me. Work, appointments, to-do lists - all put on hold when we were together. And it still is that way today.
You weren’t able to save me from Burnout, but you still helped me a lot during that and other difficult times in the following years.
When I moved overseas, it was because of you I decided to become an artist.
You helped me to find new friends and connect with people who share the same passion.
You taught me how to attune to my surroundings and to pay attention to the world around me.
You helped me to learn how to be in the moment.
You showed me how to connect with my inner world and how to communicate through my art.
Through you, I learned a lot about myself over the years.
You have changed my life for the better in so many ways and still keep on giving and teaching me every day.
You show me light even on the darkest days.
You get me outside the house, even if I would rather stay inside and hide under the covers.
You fuel my curiosity and help me to get out of my comfort zone.
You always inspire and excite me.
You help me to capture moments, I otherwise would probably have forgotten about.
You help me grow as an artist and as a person.
And even though it has been 15 years already, I don’t feel like I will get tired of you anytime soon.
Thank you for always being there for me.
Love,
Susanne
That’s it from me today.
Thank you for being here and for reading this week’s newsletter. It means a lot to me!
X,
Susanne
I would love to know: What does Photography mean to you? What role does it play in your life? I am sure it means something different to every single one of us. I am curious to hear from you and learn more about your connection to Photography. Or maybe you have a different passion you could write a love letter to? Please share it in the comments with me.
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Photography was my escape when my world fell apart. It started as a great way to re-focus my life. That was about 4 years ago. Most days I’m outside taking pictures they are good, bad, and who knows..It is such an important hobby for me. I’m now a free lance photographer for a couple of papers and do some writing too.
That was beautifully written, it takes some courage to share vulnerable moments; we all have them, yet society seems to demand "Repress them".
After a failed surgery to correct an injury that occcurred in the service, I became disabled and depressed. At one point I decided to take up photography again, to get me outside and participate in life. It became an important therapy for me, and remains so. I lose track of time and pain is more tolerable when I am out with my camera. I do have to take medications and am not as mobile as I would like, but certainly enough to capture a variety of subjects around me, on my terms.
So many of the words you wrote, I can identify with. Photography is more than a hobby or profession. The greatest thing is knowing that no matter what, something will reveal itself for me to capture. All I have to do is be there.