Date: October 5, 2009
From: Ryan Snider
Subject: Krista meet Sabrina
Message:
You two will be sharing a tent on the January photo safari (2 beds) and should feel free to email one another…I think you two will get along really well!
How prophetic that email turned out to be! We got along like a house on fire from the moment Krista stepped through the doorway of the second floor restaurant at Jomo Kenyatta Airport where I was nursing three beautiful bruises in the making. We clinked champagne glasses in the airport parking lot and we were off on an adventure of a lifetime. The next day at breakfast we met Maureen and Beate and our foursome was complete.
It really all began about a year ago–February 10, 2009 to be exact. David duChemin did a post entitled “Mountain, Part Two” a follow up to his post “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough“ an hour earlier. I was Comment #3 on the second post: ”David, do you believe in kindred spirits? I hope so…“. The next day David responded: “Sabrina, I certainly do believe in kindred spirits, I like to think people come here for that very reason.” To which I immediately replied “Hope we’ll meet soon“. Two hours and two posts later, the Pixelated Image Get-Together was in the works. That’s how I met David who a few months later told me about the photographic safari to Kenya. So as you can see the Universe unfolded exactly as it should have–spontaneously but with purpose.
So what was it that David wrote that resonated with me? I encourage you to go and read both posts but here’s the part I wanted to share with you.
There are of course as many reasons to write as there are to photograph. As many types of writing as there are types of photographs. There are shopping lists and novels, snapshots and icons. You might just as easily take a snapshot as write a one-line blog post about your cat. But if you want to create an image that’s worth its thousand words, about something meaningful or beautiful or deeply unjust, and you want those thousand words to resonate, to move people to wonder, rememberance, or action, then you shall have to work at your craft as hard as the anguished writer does hers. Or harder. For the writer has one thousand words to get it right, to clarify, to move people. You and I have one sliver of time, one frame, to do the same thing.
This craft is hard work. Like the roads we traveled in Kenya, the journey is bumpy but if you are persistant, you will be rewarded. This week I’ve been humbled and surprised by the reception this week’s images have received especially Wednesday’s Photo of the Day. I must admit it feels good to have created an image that has resonated with people who I respect and whose work I admire. It is just one image but hopefully one of many more I will create.
As I close this week of posts, a thank you to strangers who have become friends. You are a big part of why I am not only learning and growing but also enjoying this craft so much.
P.S. This shot was taken with Krista’s camera and 17-35mm lens. She also did the post-processing.
Well written Sabrina and an important lesson. On the flip side though most of my friends are stranger……..
Phew, I’m glad you said “most” of your friends. I thought you were spilling the beans on how strange I really am
All kidding aside Ray, I always appreciate your comments.
Great post! I am glad that the four of us ended up traveling together, especially since I was the last minute add-on to the trip. Ryan had first said, that the trip was full, but 2 days later told me I could go. You never know who you end up traveling with if you go on your own, but this worked out great! For me, as for you, the big challenge was photographing people and it was wonderful that you ended up with Christa at your side to help you. I still feel like I am just scratching the surface with my photography. But that is the joy of it – it keeps developing and changing for the rest of your life.
You were just meant to be there with us, Beate. I can’t imagine what it would have been like without you. For one thing, the world would not have seen your amazing shot of the Great Rift Valley and that moving lone tree in an approaching storm!
Sabrina, I’m moving your blog from my ridiculously-long “sometimes check” blog list to my manageably-short “check daily” list. You write with sincerity, compassion and wisdom. I hope to someday clink champagne glasses with you!
I’m blushing here, Jeffrey. I’m going to have to give my ghostwriter a raise and instructions to my sommeiler to find us a great vintage
Sabrina, I do enjoy your posts and in fact check for updates every day. I know coming up with new topics and content on a regular basis can be a challenge. By the way, I should say thanks, I think it was through one of your posts that I discovered David Du Chemin’s writing. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Ken for making my blog a part of your day, everyday. It’s good to know that readers feel I am providing useful content and not just rambling on about my trials and tribulations with my camera.
I am so glad you were my roomie. SO grateful. Almost all of my memories of this amazing trip include you. Can’t wait until our next photographic adventure. Maureen? Beate? Where to next?
The possibilities are endless of where to go. Bhutan sounds great. Somewhere in this part of the world would be not-so-expensive – especially if someone were to work it in w a business trip (you know who you are).
Sabrina I love your blog – am planning on reading lots over the next few days.
Every time I saw a lone tree over the last month – I was reminded of our great time together