Presence

Presence - 1. The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing. 2. A person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen. Roland Barthes said " Every photograph is a certification of presence." He also said "The Photograph . . . represents the very subtle moment when . . . I am neither subject nor object but a subject who feels he is becoming an an object: I then experience a micro-version of death (or parenthesis): I am truly becoming a specter.” When photographers create photos they live in between observing, being observed, or creating the moment they want the subject and themselves to acknowledge each other before capturing that moment of time. No matter what scenario some being is always present especially the photographer. The faster the world moves, the more appreciative I am that photography has allowed me with or without the camera to be more aware of an order or composition in every moment. In 2014 I went to India with expectations on how it would change me. What changed me was for many reasons the ability to be what felt like intensely more alert of what was happening in the moment, and when compelled to do so, lift the camera to my eye. There are an equal amount of moments I feel the comfort of not aiming first, but making my presence known in order to give the photo an unusual or hopefully a unique feel. In 2015 I had a desire to go to Nicaragua after learning about the new possibility and then the beginning of the construction of the canal that would be running through Lake Nicaragua and eventually splitting the country in half. After finding out again my expectations were too high and I was not going to be the photojournalist i wanted to be on this trip, again I was again almost forced to be more aware of my presence in every moment and respectfully make my presence aware to the ones already there.