A year of Gathering Light

What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet. -- Anne Frank

The marathon has come to an end.

At the beginning of this year, thanks to my friend Karen for mentioning she had signed up for Laura Valenti’s year-round online class “Gathering light”. I signed up for the class on a whim. I am glad my decision has paid dividends to my creativity this year. The gift of listening to my instinct. I have always felt blessed the right people show up on my path at the time when I need help with deciding which direction to go.

As I look back at how my approach towards my photography practice has evolved this year, I find Laura’s title for this class "gathering light" to be apt. I was recently required to submit some images for applying to a workshop I hoped to attend next year. As I took a holistic look at the images I made throughout this year, I noticed a dramatic evolvement in my photography, especially with the way I approached light, seeing it as first and foremost the key element of my photo taking, the content and subjects being secondary. Who would have thought I will use lens flare as part of the design element in my images at the beginning of the year? Nowadays I am actively looking for it. This is one example of me learning to listen to my instinct regardless of how crazy an idea may seem. I want to thank Laura's teachings from the multiple classes I took from her, in addition to Gathering Light and the mentoring sessions that opened my eyes to so many more venues of photography that I was not aware of. Those valuable lessons have breathed a lot of new life into my photography practice which I felt had been stagnant for quite some time. Now, more than ever I find myself feeling passionate for the medium. For that, I am forever thankful. Since this summer, I have been creating those mini folios where I try to craft stories. Nowadays, I see photography as a tool to narrate my point my view. Thank you, Laura, for introducing me to such a different way of thinking. I feel this system of creating has pushed my photography to a whole new direction, one that I come to enjoy despite finding it very challenging to understand during my first attempts.

I want to thank you for the comradeship shown by the online participants during this year. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to doing this experiment of creating consistently and see what this process will take me. Despite the fact I took it upon myself to take on such a challenge, I doubt I would have had the drive to accomplish the streak without feeling I am being held accountable for by a group of peers. My experience of belonging to a supportive group with regards to my creative effort has been surprisingly positive.

I showed some of my recent work to my previous mentor Bruce who has been influential in my photography development and have known me for years. He was happy to see me forging my own path, but one comment he made -- "the work you are doing now probably means more to you personally than to other people" was the most memorable. I regard that comment reflects the effort I have been putting in more of my personality into my images, hence they become more personal. Now I see photography as a tool to get to know myself, my being witness of my journey as a human living this one life. Without Laura's guidance, I will not see photography in such a different light. More than ever, I see photography as an integral part of my well-being, and I hope to make continuous effort into making it an essential component of my life. In closing, thank you all who have been offering encouragement for such a memorable year. It has been great joy to exchange ideas with my peers. I wish you all a Happy New Year and may your creative spirit continue to soar in the coming year.

May your New Year be filled with light and magic.