Remarkable.

I read an article this morning about the rise in popularity of iPhone apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic. It illuminated the idea that part of the appeal of photography is it’s ability allow the viewer to bring emotions and past experiences to the photograph, to fill in the gaps in reality that didn’t translate onto film. That is in part why photography stirs up emotion in our hearts and heads. Each viewing is a personal journey into our own memories and previous experiences.  A single image can sum up a story, a trip, or an entire emotion.

One photo hangs above my bed. I don’t often print and frame my own photography for myself so this one is special. It captures place, time, and the amazing feeling of finding just the right light, in just the right place and being there all alone surrounded by a city that is deeply yours.

I have written before that I love cranes. They dominated the skyline of Calgary for a long time, much of the last decade to be exact. Moving gracefully, bright, vivid colours contrasted against that cerulean sky. I always imagined the men and women who operate them and the stories they could tell of building up our city piece by piece, beam by beam.  In addition to cranes I am also drawn to the beauty of ally ways. Places that are often hidden or forgotten are some of my favourite to walk, to explore, to photograph.  These two things came together one evening in a perfect Calgary light. The shimmering, golden evening making everything, the sky, crane, ally, dirty, unremarkable buildings, truly and utterly remarkable.

And that is what photography does for our lives. It makes the ordinary remarkable. It gives us a rare chance in the day to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks. It is inspiring. It is beautiful.