2009 was a DOOZY.
When I think over the past year, I can’t count the number of people that feel the same way. Personally it was one for the record books.
I am a firm believer in marking significant events. Keeping them in mind. Honoring them. Our recent trip to Santiago, Chile was such a marker. It designated an end as well as a beginning.
We began the trip on December 21st and spent Christmas and New Years in Chile. During our stay in South America, we scoured the country. Vineyards, local markets, Chilean Starbucks, and taking in bits of history filled two solid weeks.
Santiago rests between the majesty of the Andes and the sweeping hills of the Coastal Range. Within the hour it is possible to find oneself swimming in the crisp Pacific waters or hiking the the steep and rugged terrain of the Andes. Sitting at 33˚ South latitude, the summer temperature seldom varies more than 5 or 10 degrees. (Keep in mind that when I speak of summer I am speaking of December. This fact still confounds the Wyoming part of my brain.) Having such predictable weather is a true blessing when trying to escape the wintery world of Colorado.
The last year helped me realize just how fragile life truly is. Looking back, the statement “life is fragile” seems quite trite and very cliche. And, maybe fragile isn’t the correct word. But, in the same breath, it is correct. Our journey is fragile. In any single moment, we each have stories of hardship. But, nestled within each tale of struggle there lies success and triumph.
These are the stories I wanted to capture and this is the difficult job of the photographer. Wandering around a town that is completely new and expecting insight into a complete stranger’s life seems unrealistic. But, looking into the eyes of any human, stories are told. And somehow they are no longer strangers.
I wanted to catch a glimpse, or rather, capture a glimpse of each tale. How was I supposed to do this in a city of 5 million people, with broken Spanish and a camera? Something wonderful happens with a camera…people let you in.
The last year has helped me to tune in to the struggles that other people face. Each challenge is like reading a chapter in a new book. And, I just can’t put the book down. It is the stuff that makes up life. These are the experiences that make us real, that make us human. It is the pain…the joy…the drunken nights…the nights alone. It is loss. It is near loss. These vignettes are told through the gaze of a stranger. And I wanted to hear the tales.
It was my catharsis. It was my way of sharing my story.
By capturing a look, a moment of reality, I too was able to share my story. Maybe I found some of myself in each person. The young family sitting at a cafe. Two boys, one mischievous, and one somber sat with their father enjoying summer break. The men in the market, selling the fruit they had grown over the last few months. How many years had they been there? What stories had they heard sitting in that booth, year after year?
Armed with my I-phone translator app. I traveled around looking for stories. I found one sitting in a doorway. Again with my broken spanish, I pointed to my camera and asked if I could take his picture. “Yes, my friend” was his response. If I had taken all afternoon to speak with him, I can’t even imagine the adventures I would have heard. I am sure there would have been tales of hard work, women and wine.
My favorite picture happened without words and was finished in the blink of an eye. I saw an old man sitting in the window of a train. He seemed both solemn and serene. Without speaking, I pointed to my camera. He nodded. I took three shots and showed him the viewer. A slight smile graced his lips and with a glow in his eyes he nodded again. That was it. What stories does he have? Did he survive a corrupt government? Was he alone? His eyes told generations of tales.
And this is how I was able to remember the last year. I honored it by searching out the librettos of life, captured in the blink of an eye.