Sometime after the workshop in New York City, I went to a service at a church that Anne and I used to attend when we lived in the States. I had to use the men’s room and as I entered, something struck me by its very absence. The huge bathroom mirror was entirely gone! I don’t know if it was damaged or if it was being replaced but it felt strange looking at a bare wall.
At the workshop, Scott invited three of his former students to share with us. All three challenged us to look at things in a whole new way that, if not practiced, will seem strange by its absence (similar to the mirror). Junshien Lau challenged us to dream big and to work towards our dream. Marie Lyssa Dormeus challenged us to consider our dream as not a destination but as one to be lived out moment by moment. And finally, Tauran Woo challenged us to be proactive, to think thoughtfully on how to compose our images. Dream, journey, composition…all three, in my opinion, have an essential element: thoughtful and careful reflection. These require some serious “soul-searching” if we are to excel in both photography and life. A missing mirror is not a big deal but a missing “self” is a big deal when we don’t find the time to examine our lives. Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
