Ok….  I’ve shared about being PRESENT… now the second principle which I have found  really important in not only being able to ‘hear through my eyes’, but an important element in my life – is to have PASSION!.

To be able to really see, one must open not only one’s eyes, One must above all, open one’s heart.  Gaston Rebuffat. French Alpinist

The above image is a happy snap I took using my iPhone the other afternoon and posted recently on facebook….sharing how amazing the sky was this afternoon. While not a technically proficient photo,  it exemplifies for me – PASSION.

Whenever I see this image I recall how excited I felt when I saw and experienced the colours in the sky….how overwhelmed I felt with the beauty and wonder of nature… how much gratitude I felt for being alive… how full of life I truly felt…. how much I had this visceral
feeling of my heart and my insides just opening up!

I wanted to view the sky form different positions. I wanted to explore seeing the shapes and colours from different perspectives. I was curious about the changing colour from crimson, to orange, to pink, to grey. I was inquisitive how the light fringed the clouds and observed in awe how the colour change was so fluid and subtle yet powerful.

When I see this photo, I don’t want to feel the same things again… because I can’t. Each experience is unique and therefore has a unique feeling or emotion. I don’t want to remember to replicate or hang on to those feelings of excitement…. I see this image and use it as a reminder of the PASSION I felt; and the intensity of emotion…. the excitement and energy of my body whilst experiencing the clouds and colours of the sunset.

My PASSION is the excitement which drives my curiosity to explore. If I am not passionate about my life it is revealed through my photographs. If I am not passionate about my subject matter or the vision for my photographs, they will have little meaning; not only for myself – but for others as well.

I recall the PASSION and excitement I had when I saw for the first time my photographs of a vortex in water. I could not contain my excitement. I felt the fire in my belly. I felt alive. I was sooo excited about them. I knew something had stirred that flame in me which I had to explore further and express. I connected with a child-like wonder and the fascination where the sense of mystery and excitement was tangible in my body.

Sometimes it could be easy for me to let the PASSION for representing the world which I experience be taken over by the passion for my tools… which are beautiful cameras and lenses. For me, my works must have meaning…even happy snaps…. and these must be driven by my need to express something through my images… my curiosity to explore….my curiosity to experience….my curiosity for learning about myself.….rather than just the excitement I have for my tools.

Sometimes I’m not certain about what I actually want to say through my images…. but if I am guided by my PASSION, by opening my heart….by observing my visceral response to something; then I can listen and learn…. learn more about myself, and have a clearer understanding about what I want to say through my images, and what they have to say to me.

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

Next post…. 3rd “P”…be PLAYFUL !