Sometimes I take a photo and its message is immediately apparent. It's story appears, along with the composition, and inserts itself into the proceedings early in the process...all tied up in a neat little bow.
On other occasions the true meaning and essence of a piece takes some time to percolate through the ether and make itself known.
Case in point with the image "Light at the End".
It was Thanksgiving 2016 and I was exploring my old stomping grounds in SW MO on a photo wandering excursion. It was a perfect late fall afternoon and there was a special crispness in the air that was both refreshing and renewing before the oncoming winter's chill. The fading light of the setting sun was brilliantly magical and filled the landscape with a soft diffused glow that warmed the soul and cut the cool air like a knife through a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I was in full on creative mode and madly trying to hit as many photo spots as possible before this brilliant gift of light faded into the oncoming night.
My photo excursion afternoon was about complete when I happened to remember a quaint little tunnel that could be found under some train tracks near Saginaw Mo. It would be the perfect backdrop to complete my day if only I could remember how to get to the location before my family starts the Thanksgiving feast without me.
Recalling the exact location of the tunnel wasn't without a few wrong turns, and points of indecision, along several meandering country roads but after a few "I think it's over there...um....no over there" moments I was able to find it just as I had hoped.
Parking the car, and canvasing the area to plan my shots, I was pleased to find the tunnel much like I had remembered it from the 80's. The graffiti was funkier and denser now with layer upon layer of vibrant color and shape. The foliage had matured and was framing the area with a twisted organic texture, and the hard/cold concrete of the structure of the tunnel was showing some age, but overall the vibe and visual aesthetic of the place was just how I remembered. Wonderful.
As I framed, and took, shot after shot I had a suspicion that I was capturing some images that had the potential to be special but I had no idea how special at the time.
Flash forward from Nov 2016 to one of my art shows in July 2017 and the photo of the Saginaw tunnel is one of the pieces on display. During the course of the evening I was talking to a friend about the show and her attention turned to the "tunnel photo" and the story behind it. She politely nodded as I recounted the above story to her and, when finished, she looked me in the eye and simply said "Rob. - This piece reminds me of Rob."
I was floored.
She was right.
The photo was about Rob.
Rob was a friend of ours who was, at the time I took the photo, loosing his 14 year battle with brain cancer. It was a tough time for all of us that knew and loved him as we witnessed the absolute finality and cruelty that cancer can bring to those affected by this horrible disease. Rob and his family fought a courageous fight to the end but ultimately the cancer was just too much and he passed, peacefully surrounded by family and friends, on November 28th.
A critical element to my creative process is that I rely on my instincts, and "gut" reactions, to guide me as I produce my work.. Consequently it's only natural that what is going on in my life, especially something as painful as the terminal illness of a friend, naturally seeps through the cracks of my psyche' and finds a way to insert itself into my palate. This was the case with the Saginaw tunnel as at the time I thought I was simply capturing a beautiful aesthetic moment but, in actuality, I was capturing a powerful visual metaphor to Rob's cancer journey.
Looking at the finished photo, and reframing the piece within the context of Rob's illness, provides a deeper, more personal, viewing experience, There is an added emotional weight and the story of the piece now pushes the image to a transformative place. A place where the viewer stands at the threshold of an epic and potentially dangerous journey. A journey that looks to be full of trials, tribulations and danger but with a hopeful/healing warm light, and inticing possibilities of the infinite horizon, beckoning from the other side. What is the journey? is it physical? Spiritual? Emotional? Personal? Yes. No. Maybe. Who's to say? As with all art the journey and destination are left up to your interpretation but whenever I see this piece I think of my friend Rob and it gives me strength, confidence and hope for what lies ahead. May it be of service to you on your journey as well.