learning to communicate...

a piano, originally uploaded by M.Prophet Photography.

(You will mostly likely have to click on the above photo to see the full version, my blog cuts the side off sometimes.)

When I was young I loved the piano. Learning to play it, forcing my fingers to become independent of each other, eventually getting decent enough to begin creatively composing simple melodies. Over the years this gave way to more advanced songs. I often felt a direct connection between how I was feeling and what was happening at the tips of my fingers. The piano taught me how to funnel emotion into a medium that extended beyond myself. It showed me that it was possible to illustrate emotion in ways that went far beyond verbal explanation and could actually communicate feelings directly to the core of others. While I am mainly a photographer today, I have never lost this respect for what music is capable of. Someday I'll find myself in front of a piano or with a guitar on my lap, but for now I am focussing much more on my camera. While I do feel music is unique in the depth at which it is able to express emotion to others, I do feel that photography has a unique ability to move people similarly. My goal is to become better at this. I think one of the greatest challenges to any artist is to create work that has meaning. Not just pretty photos.. Photos that get past your visual interest and into a level of emotional understanding. This is something I'd like to dedicate a good part of my work to. While I'll always have fun shooting zombies and fashion photos, I'd like to get better, maybe some day master, the art of creating deeper works..