Lost Coast

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

USA | Friday, July 5, 2013 | 5 photos

On my eighteenth birthday my uncle gave me his old Leica M2 camera, the same one he used in his travels half a century ago. What I first looked upon as merely a family heirloom –a novelty artifact of vintage mechanics –quickly became the focal point of my outlook on the world.
Some say that carrying a camera cuts you off from the moment or limits your experience. Certainly this may be true for the compulsive clicking of shutterbug tourists, but for me, carrying my Leica and looking out through its lens makes me an active participant.
Because of the fixed focal-length lens, I walk closer and father away. The process is meditative, intuitive, and emotional. I can’t put a finger on why I’m drawn to a scene, and I don’t want to, because the mystery is a large part of the allure.
I am a 21-year-old student with a serious case of wanderlust. I simply cannot tolerate stasis for too long. Last summer I worked in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting, and my soul died a little. Traveling to the artic with a renowned photographer would be just awesome, in the original sense of the word. I’m shivering just thinking about it.