I’m a picture person.
There is no denying that. I wouldn’t say I’m great at photography, but I live for the moments that a photograph possesses. You see, I love the way you can capture the beauty of a moment in a photo. It’s like freezing time and years later when you look back at that .jpg file or a polaroid photo, you can time travel right back to that exact moment and live those memories as if nothing has changed.
That one photo can bring the scent of that stranger you hugged or the taste of those fresh olives, back to life. A photograph never lets you forget that moment of pure bliss and ecstasy.
I have travelled but I’m not a very good traveller. I experience things to the fullest and explore the tiniest details. But I don’t remember the name of the speakeasy bar that I loved or the name of the private island that I visited back in Greece. And I suck at giving suggestions. You’ll always see me scrambling through my pictures, showing you stuff instead of just speaking of them.
But if you ask me ‘How did that place make you feel?’ rather than ‘Where is that place?’, my photographs can spill out the answer in great detail.
It is because of these photos, I can move along with time with no fear of brushing off those memories. I know that someday when I want to look back at those incredible days of my life, I can trust these photos for keeping my adventures safe all this time.
My camera – You’re my secret keeper, my saviour of memories, my treasure box… I’d like to thank you. Thank you for reminding me when I was scared that I have walked down streets and explored untouched running trails. Thank you for making me realise that I’m not monotonous because I have a million stories to to share. Thank you for showing me that I have friends, all over, and preserving their faces and the shape of their jawlines in your 1200 x 1200 pixel frame. You have made me realise that I’ve changed to a great degree and how. You have preserved my little milestones that have shaped me to be me.
I will always, till the last day of my life, want to see parts of the world I haven’t yet seen.
I will always embody this constant need to explore and find a new sense of self. But I will always do this with a camera in one hand. It will be these photos that would have the imprints of my footsteps all over the globe.