I recently started using Lightroom and have been engaged in a marathon effort to reorganize my photo archives. (“You JUST started using Lightroom??” Yes, yes I did. I’m a slow mover when it comes to changing my workflow.) As I’ve been going through both new and old photos and adding metadata, I’ve observed that I have a large number of images that don’t include people. It’s not that there weren’t people surrounding me – crowds of them, sometimes – but somehow I’ve often chosen moments when they are out of frame or I have found a different focus. I love portraits, I love catching people candidly.  But sometimes, I’ve deliberately excluded people from many of my images.

I pondered this.  I’ve been meditating on the idea of “holding space” recently.  When I think of what that phrase means and how I’ve heard it described, it is about offering support to those who need it… walking beside them on their journey, whatever that may be.  Listening and empathy.  It was very much a part of my life last year when my community lost a dear friend and many of us were at a loss how to help and support his family.  We held space.  We surrounded the family with love and let them know we were there if needed.

But I’ve also realized that I need to hold space for myself too.  Giving myself permission to slow down, putting a layer of fuzzy cotton between myself and the sometimes noisy, chaotic world helps keep me sane, calm, healthy.  It has translated to the images I make, and I can look at a photo I took yesterday or five years ago and remember that at that moment I needed a breather, or a step back from being engaged in whatever was happening.

Perhaps it seems selfish, but I’m okay with that.  I think I can more fully and joyfully engage with life and people when I surrender to my own occasional need for quiet and peace, whether I’m in the middle of a crowd or surrounded by nothing (with a camera in my hands).  And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

cheers,
kim