Photography With A Broken Heart
By my third trip to Africa I had become well trained in how to manage my emotional parachute. I could fly by the shanties and the sick and manage the gulf stream of unanswered dreams. I had learned how to navigate between knowing my purpose there and not sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. Or so I thought.
My friend, Guide, and confidant, a citizen of Uganda, told me of a place I could anchor my advocacy. It’s a place he had invested some time in, giving back to his countrymen after receiving an American college education. The Mpigi region of Uganda is a lush green cornucopia of unripened potential. Its people live simple lives scattered along a maze of nectarine colored dirt roads. Most of the people there live in fire roasted mud brick homes with dirt floors and tin roofs.
To say Uganda lit a lantern in my heart would be an understatement. Their warmth, joy, and thankfulness for life was unprecedented. During our stay we did a tour walking around the villages scattered throughout Mpigi. Meeting people, shaking hands, and expressing how blessed we felt to be a part of their lives for a few days. Due to my experience in these situations I knew we must be careful with discussing what perils of life each person or family was experiencing.
If I tell the truth about it, I am completely incapable of pulling this off.
We came across many people with a purpose in their day, survive. It wasn’t a mad dash for life, but a consistent struggle to make ends meet. Places like this make you reflect on your own life. It makes you think about why you are so worried about the frivolous things in life.
When photographing in areas with a lot of poverty one must make sure not to exploit the people who are being photographed. Ghettos and villages are not zoos and they deserve respect.
Taking these photos with a broken heart helped me fix my dreams.
In life we must challenge ourselves to approach what hurts. Its the fight against ourselves that we must win. I love photography, its a medium that allows me a lot of range but taking photos without a purpose is nothing I could ever get used too.
I made a pledge that I would let my art advocate for the causes I believe in. I believe in the people of Uganda, Kenya, and Africa as a whole. I will never let the hummingbird in my heart stop flying, even when my soul shatters like dust between the misers fingers? Its imperative that you don’t either. Whatever art you decide to be your medium, ask yourself. Does it break me, remake me, and break me again? Does it make me a better person, a more consistent person.
If it doesn’t…
