A Beautiful Thing We Leave Behind

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

USA | Friday, October 15, 2010 | 5 photos

While traveling to New Mexico, I visited White Sands National Park. The seemingly endless sand awed most tourists, yet I was disturbed by the amount of human destruction beset upon such a beautiful, sacred place. It was evident as I looked around: from the dirty “snow” ploughed sand paths created to allow tour buses, to the destroyed plant life from the sandboarding teenagers, who mucked up the pristine dunes as well. And I shuddered at the thought of the destruction the military had done to the restricted areas of the park, reserved for missile testing. Seeing this, I decided to use my camera not to record the destruction, but instead to capture the beauty that still remained. It was my gift to the land to be able to preserve its beauty in a photograph, so if one day humans completely tarnish it, my work can testify to what we destroyed.

I have learned a lot through my photography. One thing is that I am not the best, but I take every opportunity given to me to improve not only my skills but myself as a compassionate person. I have learned that photography isn’t always about getting the best shot or being better than everyone else, but instead it is about self-discovery. Once we discover ourselves, we can help others find their own paths. Sometimes this is as simple as allowing someone to find his or her own inspiration from our images, or it can be as difficult as having to make a blatant statement through our work against an issue. The journey of a photographer is one that is not easy. However, it is one I will continue to make as I not only try to discover the world around me, but also the world within me as seen through my lens.