The power of a photograph
As I made my way around the corner shading my eyes from the hot Argentina sun, I took it all in. The smell the sound, the mist filled breeze; everything Iguassu waterfalls had to offer filled my senses. In an incredibly poor stricken village, I walked through and a sense of quiet within myself took over.
I turned the corner passing the falls to my left and a small group of children playing instruments so softly, come into sight and sound. The tune lead myself and sister towards the group. We sat on the ground in awe of the six children. In tattered clothes you could see the sadness each of them held within their voice and behind their eyes.
A close friend had a poloroid camera and snapped a photograph of the line of children. We all sat and listened keeping very silent.
After some time my friend handed the polaroid to the little girl at the end of the line. Probably shy of six years old, the little girl stopped shaking her instrument. One by one the photo passed child to child. The repetition slowly turned to a jumbled group of tears, jumping, one child even sat down…..every emotion I could list crossed through each child’s face.
As we kept watching, we were so confused. Did we Offend the children? We shouldn’t have given the photo to them. Was this against something they believed in? We were informed to be careful with local interaction.
I was then told these children have never seen a photo of themselves. For a group of children who can’t predict the security of their next meal, an instant photograph was so overwhelming it brought most of them straight to tears.
As we began to comprehend our emotions as well, my sister and I, along with a few friends started to gather our things and walk away. I remember thinking how this one day in my life is incomparable to any other. As I walked away I wiped my tears, turned back and made eye contact with the little girl standing behind what must have been her older brother. She looked at me, smiled. It is moments like that that feed my passion. Raw.pure.emotion.
Within every aspect of my life I carry that little girls smile. Life is truly about the little moments. It’s that slight smile, the slow rolling tear, the burst of uncontrollable laughter. It’s these moments that I strive to encompass in my art.
If the power of a Polaroid can change a little girls life and bring fourth these raw emotion. The power within art and photography is endless…
