Heart to See
“It is not enough to photograph the obviously picturesque.”
Dorothea Lange
Pictures. I can never take too many. Although I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of how many we have at the moment in our downsize/move, I am incredibly grateful to have many. The picture today I visit many days. The love between cousins, the comfort of loving arms, security… peace… so much in one picture.
One of my ventures after high school was acquiring a career certificate in photography. Remember this was 2006. The program I decided to go with required that you use only 35mm camera, nothing digital, nothing automatic. I had been playing around with photography for years – my grandfathers always had a camera in their hands – so I think I probably caught the “catch the moment” fever from them.
My heart was in “playtime photography.” Literally capturing children in their environment, playing. From newborns sleeping and waking up wide-eyed, infants finding their hands and feet, to toddlers playing with matchbox cars and tea sets, to older children playing dress up or kicking a ball. This was my vision.
By the time I was able to finish and complete the program, everybody and their brother, sister, cousin had a digital camera and were starting photography businesses. Those in my life who knew how much I loved children and capturing these moments – still encouraged me to make this a side hustle, but I eventually decided that it was more enjoyable when I didn’t have to compete with other photographers. So I would just take pictures for fun, for family and friends.
I go into this detail today because even though I didn’t take on photography as a career or job, photography is a huge part of what makes me, me.
One reason, I am a visual learner. Give me a picture of drawing, it will be locked in my brain 90% of the time. Write it down, I will remember to do whatever you need me to do.
Another reason, I love history. Family, culture, heritage, regional, world, you name it – I want to know more. Pictures depict more than words can in a lot of these areas. Words can be written all day about places, time, events, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty truth- show me the pictures. Pictures show the people, the environment, the chaos, the calm, the destruction, the restoration, the divide, the common ground. Pictures stop a moment – pause a time, whether happy or sad, and they can hold many emotions, feelings, truths, even hurt, and disillusion.
A picture captures a moment that will never happen again. Not the same way, to the same person, in the exact same place. Photography is a documentary of life- what you see, how you see, when you see, who you see.
There are many photographers that I have found quite amazing along my journey of loving and studying photography. Today, I want to share just one with you.
Dorothea Lange. As a little girl she had polio which left her with a limp and in metal leg braces. She feels invisible, but it also allows her to see with her heart. Compassion. As a young adult she decides to become a photographer without ever touching a camera. Her family isn’t too sure about this path, but she is determined to show them she can do it. She knocks on doors of photographers and asks if she can help in any way in their studios. She takes all kinds of jobs within studios to learn the trade, and eventually opens her own studio. However the Great Depression begins to hit, she looks out her studio window and realizes her heart is calling her outside to photograph the truth about what is really happening to everyday Americans. Her most famous photograph is the “Migrant Mother, 1936.”
Lange’s photography tells the important history of many events in America. Events that should never be forgotten. History is not just for textbooks or for our “school years,” although a lot has been taken out of both. History is important to look back on to inform us of what we don’t want to go back to, and also a look back at what worked and build on it. We far too often want to erase history, when history has the greatest lessons. No one human being can know all history, but we are responsible for what we do and can know. It takes effort. It takes being open to learning something new. It takes being willing to ask questions with grace, also to receive questions with grace. What it doesn’t take is big books with big words, encyclopedias, or watching the history channel 24/7. Although those things I am sure are just dandy to those who can enjoy them, my approach is a bit simpler: Children’s picture books, photography books, Netflix- The Who Was? Show, PBS- many short videos on lots of history. This is a starting point.
And more than anything this week, I hope you see with your heart more than just your eyes. You hear with your heart more than just your ears. You understand and consume with your heart more than just your brain.
Life Book of the Week: Dorothea’s Eyes, Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth, by Barb Rosenstock
Just a few links, if you are interested in knowing more about Dorothea Lange and her photography:
https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/dorothea-lange-seeing-people
