Passion Photography

I can vividly remember a few years back when I attended a friend's photo exhibit at some art gallery in downtown Los Angeles. What striked me the most was the theme of the whole exhibit. "Passion Photography." The photos on display were part of a series which he took while he went on a photo workshop in Laos. Imagine going nearly halfway around the world just to take pictures of monks dressed in orange saffron robes. That, I think, was truly passionate.

And so most of his subjects were Buddhist monks. He told me that, that was how he perceived the place--through a Buddhist's eyes. I noticed one picture of a monk sitting down on a bench casually lighting up a stick of cigarette . I asked him if that was part of passion photography too. Then he laughed at me as if to say that I didn't quite cut through the message that he wanted to impart.

Passion photography is not merely taking pictures out of ordinary events that transpire around us. It is capturing stories; stories that can speak words despite the silence. It's not enough that you merely click your camera on a certain subject; you have to know them; get familiar with them. That way you can as well tell their stories; their passions.