Featured PHOTOGRAPHY
Below are some photos I've done along with the stories behind them. These have all been published on Broken Light: A Photography Collective. I am a huge supporter of creativity as a therapeutic outlet, and Broken Light is an amazing site dedicated to promoting expression. You can follow Broken Light and its founder, Danielle Hark on Twitter at @BrokenLightCo and @DanielleHark View more photography I've done on the Photography Page.
Crossing the Threshold
About this photo: “I believe that the satisfaction in our accomplishments comes more from the process of getting there rather than the result. I recently gave a speech to a crowd of more than a thousand people at a suicide prevention walk in Boston. I had the opportunity to share my story- the struggles I once had with mental health issues and the depression that had broken me to the point of suicide. But beyond that, I had the opportunity to stand before a crowd, filled with focused eyes and attentive ears, and tell them that today I no longer struggle; today I am well.
That afternoon, I set out to take this photo. I trudged through freezing water up to my waste and sank in mud that reached my knees. I fell while carrying the structure I had built to support the door. I scraped my legs on rocks beneath the water and cut my knuckles while getting the door to balance. I pulled fallen tree branches away from the area and dug up sticks that protruded from the water’s surface. When I returned to the shore, I sat on the ground exhausted and emotionally drained from the day. My clothes were soaked through. My body shivered with cold. Mud smeared across my skin, and blood ran from my fingers.
I sat alone staring at the vision I had seen in my mind for so long- a door that seemed impossible to get to. A door that appeared so out of place that many would not believe it was even there. A door that each of us possesses within us. One that may not always be easy to find, but one that is always worth searching for. And when we finally do find it, when we reach for the handle and take our first step forward, the satisfaction comes not in crossing the threshold, but in the journey it took to get there.“
That afternoon, I set out to take this photo. I trudged through freezing water up to my waste and sank in mud that reached my knees. I fell while carrying the structure I had built to support the door. I scraped my legs on rocks beneath the water and cut my knuckles while getting the door to balance. I pulled fallen tree branches away from the area and dug up sticks that protruded from the water’s surface. When I returned to the shore, I sat on the ground exhausted and emotionally drained from the day. My clothes were soaked through. My body shivered with cold. Mud smeared across my skin, and blood ran from my fingers.
I sat alone staring at the vision I had seen in my mind for so long- a door that seemed impossible to get to. A door that appeared so out of place that many would not believe it was even there. A door that each of us possesses within us. One that may not always be easy to find, but one that is always worth searching for. And when we finally do find it, when we reach for the handle and take our first step forward, the satisfaction comes not in crossing the threshold, but in the journey it took to get there.“
Our Whole Heart
About this photo: “As a writer who has struggled for years with mental health issues and thoughts of suicide, it would not be an exaggeration to say that writing has helped save my life. Putting my words on paper taught me more about myself than I could have ever learned otherwise. It not only taught me how to calm my thoughts, it taught me to understand them, control them and express them.
In recent years, photography has slowly paralleled the importance of writing in my life. And photography has taught me many things as well. It’s taught me an incredible lesson in patience. It’s taught me to see the true beauty that is all around us. But most importantly, my love of photography has taught me that it doesn’t matter what we feel passionate about. What’s important is the process of putting our whole heart into something we love.
The fact is, writing isn’t what saved me and kept me balanced for all those years. It was the feeling of purpose it gave me when I had an idea that I just had to get on paper. It was the sense of accomplishment I had when I completed my work. It was learning to not give up on something and seeing it through to completion when I was held accountable to no one but myself. Photography has given me the same. The images I see in my mind before I capture them, the commitment to stand in the rain until the fog is just right, the sense of accomplishment when the final image so perfectly reflects what I am feeling- all of this has taught me more about myself and how to approach life than I could have learned otherwise.
It makes no difference if it’s a camera, a pencil, or a paintbrush. What matters is believing in your passion and your sense of purpose, and putting your whole heart into making it manifest.“
In recent years, photography has slowly paralleled the importance of writing in my life. And photography has taught me many things as well. It’s taught me an incredible lesson in patience. It’s taught me to see the true beauty that is all around us. But most importantly, my love of photography has taught me that it doesn’t matter what we feel passionate about. What’s important is the process of putting our whole heart into something we love.
The fact is, writing isn’t what saved me and kept me balanced for all those years. It was the feeling of purpose it gave me when I had an idea that I just had to get on paper. It was the sense of accomplishment I had when I completed my work. It was learning to not give up on something and seeing it through to completion when I was held accountable to no one but myself. Photography has given me the same. The images I see in my mind before I capture them, the commitment to stand in the rain until the fog is just right, the sense of accomplishment when the final image so perfectly reflects what I am feeling- all of this has taught me more about myself and how to approach life than I could have learned otherwise.
It makes no difference if it’s a camera, a pencil, or a paintbrush. What matters is believing in your passion and your sense of purpose, and putting your whole heart into making it manifest.“
Reflections
About this Photo: A friend of mine once confessed to me that bullying was the motivation behind her suicide attempt. She said, ‘What hurt so badly was that everything they said was wrong with me was exactly the way I already felt about myself.’
Growing up as a victim of bullying as well, I deeply identify with her. It took me years to quiet the negative words that repeated in my mind every time I reflected on who I was. But today I have reached a place within me where I can say with confidence and conviction that I love who I am. I care about my own feelings just as I do for those I love. What I’ve learned in this process is that our voice is the only one that matters. There is nothing anyone can say to us that can hurt us as badly as we can hurt ourselves. We control how we feel, how we see, and how we allow our perception to be influenced.
This photo is of a pure, white mask reflecting in water. The mask stood steady in a shining, bright light while droplets of water splashed into the reflection below. I watched almost meditatively as the droplets controlled the image in the reflection. They warped it. They distorted it. And, in some cases, they made it completely unrecognizable. But no matter how many times I let the drops fall and no matter how distorted the reflection became, the mask itself remained unchanged- still beautiful and steady in its shining, bright light.
The water may fall. The reflection may become distorted at times. And the image we see may appear as though it is broken. But the truth is our image can only truly be affected from the inside. There is nothing more powerful and more influential than our own voice and our own perception. Love who you are. Always.“
Growing up as a victim of bullying as well, I deeply identify with her. It took me years to quiet the negative words that repeated in my mind every time I reflected on who I was. But today I have reached a place within me where I can say with confidence and conviction that I love who I am. I care about my own feelings just as I do for those I love. What I’ve learned in this process is that our voice is the only one that matters. There is nothing anyone can say to us that can hurt us as badly as we can hurt ourselves. We control how we feel, how we see, and how we allow our perception to be influenced.
This photo is of a pure, white mask reflecting in water. The mask stood steady in a shining, bright light while droplets of water splashed into the reflection below. I watched almost meditatively as the droplets controlled the image in the reflection. They warped it. They distorted it. And, in some cases, they made it completely unrecognizable. But no matter how many times I let the drops fall and no matter how distorted the reflection became, the mask itself remained unchanged- still beautiful and steady in its shining, bright light.
The water may fall. The reflection may become distorted at times. And the image we see may appear as though it is broken. But the truth is our image can only truly be affected from the inside. There is nothing more powerful and more influential than our own voice and our own perception. Love who you are. Always.“
Still In Motion
About this photo: “This was one of the first photos I took when I acknowledged that I was well enough to tell the story of my suicide attempt and the battle I believe I won over my mental health issues. It is two photos combined. One in motion and another still. For me, it represents the achievement of overcoming my struggles. Slowing down and being still is one of the most important things for me to do in order to remain balanced. Though I am doing well these days, my mind still moves very quickly as does my life. It is critical for me to take the time to stop when I need to. On days like this, I take my camera and my laptop, I sometimes spin a pen in front of me and whichever direction it points, is the direction I drive. I never know my destination until I get there, and when I do, I don’t know if I will sit and write or if I will choose to photograph it. I just do whatever feels right, and in recent years, I usually do both.“
A New Horizon
About this photo: “There was a time when I believed that every thought within me worked against me. I continually fought away the negativity that came into my mind convinced I would never be well unless I conquered the imbalance. Without even realizing it, my life had become a war- every day, every night, every breath- a war. Me against me. And with each day I fought, my mind grew smaller, my life moved further inward, and my perception of the world became blocked out by the walls I had built around myself.
Today I am well. In fact my life is better than I ever dreamed it would be. And one of the questions I am asked most often is how I remain well. The answer is quite involved but in short, I’ve learned to embrace everything I am. I’ve learned to love myself in all ways possible. But even still, I have my difficult times. And when I do, I allow the seemingly heavy and dark thoughts to come as they will. I let them stay within me just long enough for me to understand them and extract any value they may have to offer. Then I dismiss them. I let them go. It’s not always easy, but writing and photography have proven to be the perfect creative outlets for me to accomplish this. When I put it on paper, the worlds are no longer repeating in my head. When I capture it on a screen, the image is no longer in my mind.
This year’s winter in New England has been very difficult for me. It was particularly dark and cold with constant shades of gray shadowing the sky and landscape. And for a moment, I felt the walls going up and those old, heavy thoughts nearly overstaying their welcome. But with this photo, I dismiss them and I now welcome a new horizon.“
Today I am well. In fact my life is better than I ever dreamed it would be. And one of the questions I am asked most often is how I remain well. The answer is quite involved but in short, I’ve learned to embrace everything I am. I’ve learned to love myself in all ways possible. But even still, I have my difficult times. And when I do, I allow the seemingly heavy and dark thoughts to come as they will. I let them stay within me just long enough for me to understand them and extract any value they may have to offer. Then I dismiss them. I let them go. It’s not always easy, but writing and photography have proven to be the perfect creative outlets for me to accomplish this. When I put it on paper, the worlds are no longer repeating in my head. When I capture it on a screen, the image is no longer in my mind.
This year’s winter in New England has been very difficult for me. It was particularly dark and cold with constant shades of gray shadowing the sky and landscape. And for a moment, I felt the walls going up and those old, heavy thoughts nearly overstaying their welcome. But with this photo, I dismiss them and I now welcome a new horizon.“