The Wordless Power of You

Every day I look through photos I have taken and write about one. This forces me to think about photography. This helps me to remember why I do what I do.

Writing is disciplined thinking. It’s thinking that’s thought through.

Photography is disciplined perception. It’s seeing well-managed.

When I look at a person during the course of a normal day I see but fleeting glimpses of them. I don’t stare and I don’t analyze. I see them, but I don’t really see them.

When I do a portrait, or what some people might call a headshot, I see much deeper. But I don’t just see, I feel. The camera provides an excuse for spending enough time with someone to achieve some level of intimacy. I get to say “Look at me.”, and the person looks.

Even when I’m doing dozens of portraits under time constraints (like the one of Sam above at Twitter) I strive for a moment like this when something human, something timeless, emerges. This is not a person you can sum up in a Tweet. Few of us are. Our resumes and our profiles are replete with descriptions but ultimately our strength and beauty is wordless.

It is that wordless energy, that presence, that I hope to capture.