Beyond the Cherry Blossom Tree

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, November 6, 2011 | 4 photos

I don't know anything about photography, I don't know about aperture, focal lengths, contrast or saturation, I have a lot to learn but all I know is the feeling I have when I take my cheap film camera (Minolta X-300) up to my eye to take a shot, is a feeling I wouldn't swap for anything.

Beyond the Cherry Blossom Trees are four shots that I feel really capture the intense emotion I felt when I was in Japan, that kind of emotion when you realize, in that very moment, it’s no longer a dream, you’re actually living it, you did it.

Japan, it's culture and their people are more than just cherry blossom trees.


My shots are probably grainy, over-saturated or composed poorly, quite the contrary to a perfect picture. But, they do represent me, a bit rough around the edges, quite raw, in need of work but have so much heart. The most important thing to me is that when I look back at these shots, even with all their imperfections, I get the exact same rush of emotion and feelings I had when I was physically there taking the shot, it’s almost enough to move me to tears. To me, photography is a lifelong craft that you will never master as there’s always something to learn, so I will be patient and slowly, over time, soak up every bit of knowledge I can, but for now, I’m just making sure my heart is in the right place and my camera is right beside me.