Musings on Everything

My Scholarship entry - Drinking water around Lake Naivasha

Kenya | Monday, November 24, 2014 | 5 photos

I have been a photographer since being given my first camera, a Nikon E5600, in 2006. In the intervening years, I have produced tens of thousands of images of every subject in sight. Many people ask me, why do I photograph, and why to the degree that I do? Why do I record menial slices of life or of subjects that are not considered “beautiful”?
The reason is twofold. First, I take photos to remember. Life is fast and the only constant is change; if I do not photograph, I will forget it with time. I need my pictures because when I look at them, they remind me of how I felt at the time.
Second, I wish to use my camera as an agent of change a la photographers such as Kevin Carter and Brandon Stanton. Their images bring humanizing perspective to far-off events that are otherwise unrelatable. As I grew up, the work of photographers like them reminded me that the world was much bigger than the two block radius around my house. Through my own photography, I wish to do the same for others: I want to see, and I want to make other people see the same thing.
To this end, this travel scholarship would be the perfect opportunity: a chance to improve my existing skills and learn from a master.