Photo Literature - Pain

It's been over a year since I got my DSLR, and life has changed since then. I've been blessed with so many opportunities and also given another way to express how I feel. The more experienced I felt with the camera, the more I realised it wasn't about what settings and numbers were correct about a shot, even though it may help to know, it was really the meaning behind a photo and why I had taken it that way. It's all about creativity and what you make out of this art that matters. And this year it has opened my eyes to the possibilities of a new world. I have been unfortunate to come across many deaths in my life this year, and the feeling that you experience with death is like no other. It makes heartbreaks and the little complaints in life, so much smaller. It's definite that you can't compare the type of pain people experience as it's different with everyone. But the pain in losing someone, knowing that you can never talk to them or see them smile or react to your words and actions, is something beyond human understanding.

For those of you who know me, you know it's not like me, to open up and feel vulnerable, I am honestly one of those people who bottle things up until it breaks apart and my poor friends have to pick up the pieces! But, I am one to write things down, or put my thoughts on a photograph, or into a song. Not sure what they call those types of people, but I suppose I am one of them.

I took these three photos and I share them not for sympathy, but for a plea to understand and hopefully hit the same chords with people who are also lost, upset and in pain. And these days, I have taken photos to express how vulnerable I am.

Surrender in Silence - This was one of the most painful photos I took at sunset of the Swan River in Perth, it was quiet, getting dark and cold, but I listened to the waves gently rise and fall it's way onto the reef and sand. Trying to push further up, but pulling away as if in fear.  Surrender yourself to all the pain and suffering.

This was taken quite a while back, and it was taken for my friend who passed away in March this year, I was trying to hold onto the memories we had, looking through the leaves like this gave me hope, and a sense of reassurance that she was there, still full of colour and life. 

This was taken on my iphone4S onto instagram, and I realized how amazing having a camera phone was. The waves symbolize destruction and fear, with unpredictable outcomes to change in directions for the future, but the reflection of the sun made me feel comfort and a sense of hope despite all of this chaos. 

You might feel something completely different here, but that's alright. It's what photos are for. There's just so much freedom in it's meaning here. I used to think that Photography was just putting objects into a still image, and the colours and placement was all you needed for the perfect photo. But I now realise that it's not about that to me. I hope to continue sharing photos with you, and hopefully having the time to describe to you what they mean to me.

Thank you for reading this far, you have no idea how much it means to me that you would stop what you're doing to appreciate my work and my words. I hope they have helped you somehow in what you're going through.

JTionowidjaja Photography