Anyone that knows me, knows how much I value photos and the act of photo-taking. In fact, there have been plenty of times I have gone out of my way to “get the shot.” There is something about capturing a moment or even interesting architecture that just makes sense. On an even deeper level, as I look back on the places I have been, my photos are some of my most prized possessions.
If you take a look around my site, you will notice the way that pictures are definitely prevalent, and that is not by chance. Photography, like writing, for much of my life thus far, has been a medium of expression, but with very little thought given to the idea of sharing anything. Similar to writing, I always found value in seeing the fruits of my labor, but that by no means meant having some kind of audience. It was feedback from the people around that happened to interact with my work, that pushed me to further devote myself. I think as creative creatures sharing what we find value in is the most brilliant thing we can do.
Enter: CoolPix
What I love about CoolPix is the clear diverse range of vision when we think individually about what photography means to each of us. Some find beauty in rolling landscapes, while others work through muses, sharing stories told via portraits. Likewise, one person’s rating of 1, might be another person’s 10.
In many ways, as a writer, I think I lose sight of the value that pictures provide us. I spend plenty of time working on putting my thoughts down in the form of words, but in a lapse of judgment, I have forgotten how equally important pictures are in my conceptualization of storytelling. Looking at CoolPix, I see not just photos to be ranked, but a broad selection of stories waiting to be interpreted.
As one travels through life, our photos, similar to our words, serve as freeze frames of the lives we have lived. So much of ourselves exists in our images, and I think it’s incredible to get a peek into the lives of others. As time goes on, we may lose sight of many things; our memories and souvenirs are all lost along the way. However, our photos will always remain.
What photos stand out to you as you think about storytelling? I honestly never thought about any of this until looking at CoolPix! In a very simple way, they have captured the concept of ranking and rating stories in their visual manifestations. I would suggest taking time to look through their site and determine what stories appear to you. Ironically, I think we can all agree our photos stand for far more than pixels on a screen. They are stories, memories, and time machines.